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> "they're not as smart as us."

There's probably some truth to that part of the statement in most cases, using the human definition of smarts of course.

But, I think we tend to overestimate our own intelligence and underestimate the intelligence of other species. I think even in cases where you'd expect an enormous gap in intelligence, it's always smaller than we expect.

Did you know they've identified at least 10 different calls of prairie dogs? Prairie dogs!

These are large ground squirrels. They're rodents. But, they have a different call for human and human with gun! And, when they tested this, a guy walked by the prairie dog colony with a gun. They, of course, correctly gave the alarm call for "human with gun". They're never wrong about that.

More interestingly, when he went by some days later without the gun, they recognized a specific individual of another species and again gave the call "human with gun"!

There are so many great examples of animal intelligence both in formal research and in anecdotal observed cases such as The Parrot's Lament, which is the title story in a book of anecdotal stories of animal intelligence. It was written as a statement that we need to investigate this more, not as if anecdotes count as scientific evidence.

Is it just me, or does he bear a distinct resemblance to Gonzo from the Muppets?

In all seriousness, on the topic of self-help and the whole BS "positivity" movement, I highly recommend the book "Bright-Sided" by Barbara Ehrenreich: https://www.amazon.com/Bright-sided-Positive-Thinking-Undermining-America/dp/0312658850

Here's an excellent taste of her perspective, also amusingly illustrated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo

Start picking up Comp Sci books like this one: Comp Sci Overview 12th Edi and start writing code (scripts, apps, etc) Python, Javascript, C#, or anything really. Also become familiar with the different programming paradigms and terms like floating point notation, variables, syntax and semantics. Also it doesn't hurt knowing the basics of how computers work. That will get your feet wet while you learn in school and hopefully you can start connecting the dots from there.

Robinson Jeffers: Poet and Prophet

Not sure how it compares to other information available on him. I just remember him catching my attention after stumbling across a few of his poems and realizing "this guy gets it". There's also a documentary on him you can google. You can see the house he built out of stone on the coast. He had a dream life. Was thinking of visiting it some day.

Deep at the core, we are still animals. Biologically programmed to "eat, survive and reproduce". As our consciousness evolved, we began to question,"what's the point to it all". Most humans go through their entire lives without so much as questioning that basic question of existence. Humans have made "denial" as their escape from reality. There's a book on this that i recommend. https://www.amazon.com/Denial-Self-Deception-False-Beliefs-Origins-ebook/dp/B00A2CF28Q. It explores the concept of "mind over reality". Check and tell me what you think.

Here is Gandhi's work on non violence, but if you want something cheaper or quicker here's a few other PDFs/papers: here is a very informative website full of examples and explanations, albeit with a clear preference for nonviolence over violence, and here is a very well done paper on nonviolence and civil resistance.

You may have been asking for me to explain why nonviolence can work, but frankly I'd rather let the facts speak for themselves and keep my interpretations as separate as I can. Both methods have and haven't worked over the course of time, but it's usually accepted by most academics and politicians that nonviolent resistance can be just as effective or more than violent resistance.