Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1)

Publisher: In-Sight Publishing

Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014

Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com

Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Journal Founding: August 2, 2012

Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year

Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed

Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access

Fees: None (Free)

Volume Numbering: 12

Issue Numbering: 3

Section: A

Theme Type: Idea

Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”

Theme Part: 31

Formal Sub-Theme: None

Individual Publication Date: July 15, 2024

Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2024

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Word Count: 1,716

Image Credits: None.

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*

Abstract

Filipe Palma is a Member of ISI-I Society, Torr, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry, BRAIN Society, and the Poetic Genius Society. Palma discusses: growing up; family; social life; credentials; intelligence; tests; genius; philosophies; and meaning and love.

Keywords: atheist mother’s side, Catholic grandmother, distant uncle with multiple abilities, extended self or family legacy, family stories, gifted plan in sixth grade, generalized anxiety disorder, greatest geniuses in history, high intelligence discovered early, hundred percent Portuguese.

Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1)

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were growing up, what prominent family stories were being told over time?

Filipe Palma: One that I remember being told quite a lot was one about a distant uncle (grandfather’s uncle) who had multiple abilities. I don’t know much, but he, without previous experience in these fields, sewed a dress for his sister all by himself and dismantled a damaged watch to reassemble all the pieces together and make it work, which I find quite hard to do.

Jacobsen: Have these stories helped provide a sense of an extended self or a sense of the family legacy?

Palma: They didn’t in any way; I hadn’t heard much about my family growing up, and nothing has provided any insight into who I was or could be besides their kindness towards me.

Jacobsen: What was the family background, e.g., geography, culture, language, and religion or lack thereof?

Palma: Interestingly, my family is “a hundred percent” Portuguese and actually from the city of Olhão (until my four grandparents, to my knowledge). I was closer to my father’s side as my parents were raised quite young, and my grandmother (my father’s mother) helped a lot in that process. Also, she is a Catholic, but no one in my family is devout, so to speak.

From my mother’s side, I believe they are all atheists and never gave too much attention to the religious and/or spiritual side.

Jacobsen: How was the experience with peers and schoolmates as a child and an adolescent?

Palma: I was extroverted and playful and was mainly seen as very intelligent. I hadn’t much trouble, but I sure had my ideas and irrational fears (GAD – Generalized anxiety disorder, since seven or so), which were intangible to them, and I would not share such. Some things are also quite subjective and hard for others to understand from our view… They juststructure it from theirs, and that is fine.

In the sixth grade, I was put in a gifted plan emphasizing the idea of being “a genius.” That, combined with my extroversion and some pride, was a problem… I was never seen as the popular kid, though (hehe)

Jacobsen: What professional certifications, qualifications, and training have you earned?

Palma: As a 24-year-old man, I have gotten my high school degree and am majoring in applied mathematics – economy and management. I started to study at the university when I was 17. As I was always used to go through used to going through all the subjects without studying, I had no method or responsability, and the classes in the University weren’t mandatory as in high school and middle school, and for that reason I would end up missing all of the classes and comfort myself in the thought that I could just study at home and pass the exams, which would not happen as I end up falling on a life of self-indulgence never fulfilling any of the requirements of the various subjects. This year, four years past, I decided to take a shot at the course and put myself in place by being more responsible and self-disciplined.

Jacobsen: What is the purpose of intelligence tests to you?

Palma: To have fun, but also to get the gratification of the score, like a game. Also, there is a hidden satisfaction taken from the high scores by the ego, which is visible to me and much easier to speak about now.

Jacobsen: When was high intelligence discovered for you?

Palma: Very early, perhaps at 8. I was considered the “most curious” at pre-school and had already learned about astronomy. People would say things like “quite an intelligent kid” and compliment me on my abilities.

Later, as a ten-year-old, I learned about IQ tests and started taking them, even WISC, in which I scored in the 140s. 

Jacobsen: When you think of how the geniuses of the past have either been mocked, vilified, and condemned if not killed, or praised, flattered, platformed, and revered, what seems like the reason for the extreme reactions to and treatment of geniuses? Many alive today seem camera shy – many, not all.

Palma: I’d say the fear of the unknowing is a reason. Another is hardly raised morals, which more intelligent people would doubt and put in question, creating an aversion from those who had settled to those.

Jacobsen: Who seems like the greatest geniuses in history to you?

Palma: Isaac Newton with the invention of Calculus, that is ineffable… Quite a feat! I’d say Socrates had something amazing with his words, and to be able to touch so many people and bring them to the Truth by themselves with mere words is amazing to me. He had a deep perception of human beings, quoting him, “All men seek only what they perceive as good.” This shows the intrinsic innocence of the ego and how that affects one’s perception and, therefore, actions in any context. 

There are many more. Leonardo Da Vinci was a polymath who painted, invented, and worked on medicine, among other things.

Jacobsen: What differentiates a genius from a profoundly intelligent person?

Palma: A genius is someone in whom potentiality is used, and therefore, something useful and impactful is created. A profoundly intelligent person is gifted, but that doesn’t imply the latter. A mere potentiality is sometimes shown subtly, but that person might not emerge as a genius. 

Jacobsen: Is profound intelligence necessary for genius?

Palma: I believe that genius is the consequence of the active manifestation of profound intelligence, so yes. Quoting Schopenhauer, “Talent hits a target that no one else can. Genius hits a target no one else can see”. 

Jacobsen: What have been some of your work experiences and jobs?

Palma: Waiter (what I do on weekends in parallel with my studies) and child-carer (in the Summer as a seasonal job).

Jacobsen: Why pursue this particular job path?

Palma: I’m pursuing a career in mathematics because I like and have a gift for numbers, not economics or management in particular. I would like to work on research in this area.

The other jobs referred to were just what was/is available, nothing more.

Jacobsen: What are some of the more important aspects of the idea of the gifted and geniuses? Those myths that pervade the cultures of the world. What are those myths? What truths dispel them?

Palma: They are normal and go through trouble like the others; there is just a deeper insight in life or a particular field (or fields), but the gifted individual is still a human being, undoubtedly. 

Another myth that should be dispelled is that gifted people can do everything with no effort. There is always effort; giftedness is only a director and a catalyzer of it.

Jacobsen: Any thoughts on the God concept or gods idea and philosophy, theology, and religion?

Palma: I believe in God as the Creator, All That Is… The Love we see in the world, the people who help us, and the strength we experience in crucial moments are manifestations of such… There is no need to anthropomorphize God as long as one is conscious of such; although it is absolute, it is also subjectively experienced.

Jacobsen: How much does science play into the worldview for you?

Palma: I like to learn about different sciences and facts, but I believe science and this world are still making sense to me progressively as I tend to wander a lot in my thoughts and rarely have my feet grounded.

Jacobsen: What have been some of the tests taken and scores earned (with standard deviations) for you?

Palma: Numerus Light by Ivan Ivec – 148.5 SD15 

ISPE’s Self Test (M 4.0) – >= 146 SD15

VAST I by Iakovos Koukas (timed) – 152 SD15

Asterix by Jason Betts – 148 SD15

3 SD + 

Jacobsen: What ethical philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Palma: Kant’s ethical philosophy with its categorical imperative.

Jacobsen: What social philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Palma: Critical Theory.

Jacobsen: What political philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Palma: I have no political philosophy to which I adhere, and my knowledge and interest in politics are scarce.

Jacobsen: What metaphysics makes some sense to you, even the most workable sense to you?

Palma: Plato’s metaphysics. But I tend to see metaphysics more in the realm of spirituality and as something tangible with some level of consciousness and not so intangible.

Jacobsen: What worldview-encompassing philosophical system makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?

Palma: Dr. David Hawkins’ “philosophy” of devotion and letting go of everything to God. To be faithful and to grow in consciousness, being able to love each time more and understand that we all have an ego that seeks satisfaction from negative outputs, and that shall be relinquished too as it is illusory in reality, the Self is the reality. We make our choices, but the more we get conscious, the more we see that we do not choose that much but rather align ourselves with the purpose of life, to Love and, therefore, be useful to society without regrets.

Jacobsen: What provides meaning in life for you?

Palma: Studying, praying, reading, learning and creating connections with other human beings, being able to understand and be understood mutually. 

Jacobsen: Is meaning externally derived, internally generated, both, or something else?

Palma: Meaning is internally generated; meaning is already within oneself, but life serves as meaning to learn and to do so, to initially believe we derive it from the outside to see how scarce it becomes when we do not adhere to our realselves. (“The Kingdom of God is within you).

Jacobsen: Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, why, and what form? If not, why not?

Palma: Yes. Our essence is immutable; corporeous life is a state to evolve that referred essence (soul).

Jacobsen: What do you make of the mystery and transience of life?

Palma: I do my best to let go of my ego and free myself to Truth and God, as well as learn as much as possible. I want to align as much as possible with Truth and take the best from this life.

Jacobsen: What is Love to you?

Palma: Everything.

Bibliography

None

Footnotes

None

Citations

American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Jacobsen S. Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1). July 2024; 12(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1

American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Jacobsen, S. (2024, July 15). Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1). In-Sight Publishing. 12(3).

Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1). In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 3, 2024.

Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2024. “Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (Summer). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1.

Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Jacobsen, S “Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (July 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1.

Harvard: Jacobsen, S. (2024) ‘Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1>.

Harvard (Australian): Jacobsen, S 2024, ‘Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1>.

Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. “Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 3, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1.

Vancouver/ICMJE: Scott J. Conversation with Filipe Palma on Family, Tests, and Meaning: Member, International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (1) [Internet]. 2024 Jul; 12(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/palma-1.

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