I must confess that for as long as I can remember, I've felt felt a tinge of loneliness; ok, more than a tinge. It isn't because I don't have tons of friends--I mean, I don't, but I don't need tons. The few I've got are all I need because I've never been the type of person who judges herself on popularity (Thank Buddha, or else I'd have been morbidly depressed by now!) No, the truth is that I've almost always felt lonely for one reason: the sinking feeling that there are precious few people who view the world and those in it the way I do. For some reason, this matters a great deal to me. And this is the reason that I sometimes feel like I'm miles away even while surrounded by humans.
Often, when I'm feeling alone, I like to keep moving. Specifically, I like to go for walks. Don't ask me why. So this is the state of affairs that brought me to Center City Philly the other night. As I roamed Queen Village after dark, I found myself replaying some of the interactions with various people I'd had up to that point in the day. When my mind settled on one of the day's conversations--I don't remember which--I distinctly recall feeling a rising tide of frustration. And while I'm sketchy on the details of the conversation which sparked these thoughts, I know precisely what frustrated me that evening, because it's something that consistently frustrates me to no end: the realization that most people seem to have no handle on what it means to be "intelligent." Not that I feel that I have a monopoly on the definition. It's just that I feel that people throw the word around like it's a hacky sack, with little to no thought about how their use of the term speaks volumes about what they value in terms of mental capacity. This is in now way meant to say that I only talk to stupid people or that I am surrounded by them--that is not what I am talking about. There just seems to be a disconnect in what I deem "intelligent" and the rest of the world does.
So, you guessed it. I'd like you to weigh in on the subject. What does it mean to be "intelligent"? Who's the smartest person you've ever known? What is it that makes them so intelligent in your view? Be specific, cite examples and do your best to arrive at a definition. But DON'T consult a dictionary. If you absolutely can't resist the temptation to chew on someone else's thoughts on the subject, I'd like you to google quotations on intelligence and tell me if you come across one that sums up your views on the topic--or one that doesn't if playing devil's advocate is your thing (ahem, Kyle!). Share the quote with us and connect it with your response. Don't rush your thinking. Let it marinate...(450 words/60pts)
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Wisdom is an amalgamation of knowledge and understanding [see the Kabbalah for the ‘proof’, in the mathematical sense]. Wisdom is not intelligence. Therefore, intelligence is composed neither of knowledge nor understanding. So what is it? Since the nature of ‘intelligence’ is not covered extensively in the Kabbalah, Bible, or Torah, I have to look elsewhere for an answer. The quality of intelligence is generally attributed to people who are ‘smart’, but that does not provide an easy explanation: there are many kinds of smart, which include book smarts, which I do not regard as intelligence. Anybody with two synapses to rub together can memorize things, and apply them in hot-glue fashion. A little knowledge here, a little knowledge there, and you appear competent. This is not intelligent: this is the bare minimum requirement of operation, and a mere ploy to appear intelligence. In effect, book smarts is a façade for bare competence. Intelligence affords ingenuity and style – intelligent people make the future, not compile the past. So intelligence is the essence of ingenuity. It can be applied to any field of study, any domain of experience, any path of life, and still means the same thing. You can be an intelligent carpenter without having a college degree. You can be an intelligent student without getting good grades. You can be an intelligent vagabond, with not a care in the world and a penchant for navigation. All of these kinds of people are intelligent, and their intelligence could be measured by how ingenious they are, in terms of number and magnitude of ingenuities. In my life, the most ingenious person I know is my mother. My father is brilliant, a knowledgeable language man and excellent teacher, but my mother, humble (and spazztastik) though she may be, is the most intelligent person I know [of the people who I know are intelligent – you never know when someone turns out to be intelligent]. She has a way of being able to tackle problems from different directions and with sometimes bizarre tactics that have no basis in conventional logic, particularly in dealing with people, and if not for her I would not have a family, and would be far more obviously handicapped than I am now.
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ReplyDeleteTo me, being intelligent is to know things, obviously, that will help you in life. I don't think that there is any limits to what the people have to know, it could be on science, english, sports, street smarts.. whatever. Someone can know all there is to know about how to survive in the ghetto part of city while another person knows everything there is to know about calculus. Either way, both people are intelligent- they know things. They aren't just random, trivial facts, because those usually don't help in life. Knowing how to survive and knowing about math are two very essential subjects in life that will help anyone get by.
ReplyDeleteThe most intelligent person that I've ever known is my mom by far. She knew things about life that nobody else had ever thought of. My mom was intelligent enough to battle cancer and support a family with two teenagers at the same time and those are probably in the top ten hardest tasks to do. The first time I ever realized my mom was the most intelligent person I've met was when I was about five. My brother and I were in the back seat of the car arguing with each other about who got to play Pokemon. My mom, being so intelligent, decided that she couldn't take it any more so she separated us with a box. After a while, as my mom predicted, we began to miss each other. Then before we knew it, we were teamed up against my mom saying how mean she was. She didn't care that we temporarily were upset with her, because we stopped arguing and loved each other again, which was her goal in the first place.
My mom didn't go to Harvard, or any college as a matter of fact, but she was still intelligent. She did more than just stop my brother and I from arguing, she knew how to keep us from being too sad when she was sick and when she passed away. She never worried about her own cancer related problems and she focused on other people, like the rest of my family. My mom was intelligent in a way that is different from anyone else. Not many people can deal with being as sick as she was because they become depressed, but she knew that she had to focus on other things to keep her mind off of it and by her staying positive it would help the cancer to subside.
For that reason, I believe intelligence is knowing about things that will actually help you in life. The intelligence that my mother had helped her survive for an extra year or two and also helped her to raise two kids. She didn't have to know about quantum mechanics or the cubed root of pie, because in her situation that would not help her at all. She knew what she needed to know that would help her and because of that I think she is the most intelligent person that I've ever met.
Hamah S.: "She knew things about life that nobody else had ever thought of." That is very much like what I think intelligence is, right there - ingenuity. Because it had never been done before. But your first phrase, about intelligence being knowing things valuable to life, is what I would call experience, which is different. But your experience would contribute, then, to your ability to use intelligence, wouldn't it?
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ReplyDeleteHannah Straub -
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Hannah, that knowing what you need to succeed, no matter what it is, is intelligence. And I also believe that creativity has something to do with intelligence, because it does. You're right- people can know all the facts in the world, but that never achieves anything. Creativity can be applied in art, sports, math, science, writing, anything. There are not many people that bother to use it though, or even know they have it in them.
Robert F: “Wisdom is an amalgamation of knowledge and understanding [see the Kabbalah for the ‘proof’, in the mathematical sense].” I loved this first sentence. Not only was it short and distinct, but the fact that there is a mathematical proof for wisdom made me say “Oh?!” Also when you described your mother as a person who “has a way of being able to tackle problems from different directions and with sometimes bizarre tactics,” I agree with you that that characteristic makes an intelligent person. I think people how can solve programs efficiently using the ‘tradition way’ can be intelligent, in a sense. But the people who see things in a different and new perspective are the most intelligent people out there. That is one reason why I named the three teachers as the smartest people I’ve met because they’ve introduced me to original and fresh ideas.
ReplyDeleteHannah: At first, I was a bit confused when you said “My mom was intelligent enough to battle cancer and support a family with two teenagers at the same time.” However, as I continued you reading, it all made sense. I liked the way you see “intelligent” as something close to ‘adaptive.” Your mother was able to adapt to the situation presented to her and therefore, it’s smart of her to push away the unnecessary information and cling onto the relevant things. While I understand where you’re coming from, I don’t necessarily agree with you because ‘intelligent’ and ‘adaptive’ are, in my eyes, two separate things.
One of the smartest people I know is Alice Hu. Although she may be socially awkward at times with her adorable little Asian curiosity, the way she can remember a little piece of information out of no where or come up with a solution to a problem within seconds makes her one the most intelligent people I know.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of intelligence entails being academically smart but also street smart. You cannot just be one to be intelligent. Intelligence is like the complete package, like everything everyone wants to be and more all wrapped up in a beautiful little box. To be intelligent in my eyes, you have to be good in school. You can be lazy and not do the work, but you still know your stuff. Remembering facts from years ago is usually a trait of an intelligent person, but it is not a necessity. However, it is not all about school and the stuff you learn there that makes you an intelligent person. I believe that you have to be able to solve problem, balance things in your life, have good ways of communication, and even social skills to be intelligent because all of this things are important in being successful. Although, I do not believe all intelligent people use their intelligence to become successful, most do as well.
On multiple occasions, Alice Hu has proved herself to be one of the most intelligent people that I know. Academically, she has helped me in Chemistry, English, and History while also teaching me Spanish. I have stayed after school a bunch of times and literally had her teach me whole lessons in the classes I take this year. She can almost say a whole lecture that Matlack had given her over a year ago. In English, she gives me helpful hints that I could use to make things more clear and even a little more interesting. I respect her writing and her advice because it has always proven itself to be one hundred percent correct.
Outside of school, Alice is my chess trainer and bridge partner. While she helped me work my way up to varsity on the chess team this year and last year, we are both complete naturals at bridge, mostly considered to be an old people card game. The way she can see over ten moves ahead, while assuming what her partner will do, and winning a game boggled my mind. She counts card in her head for bridge like I wish I could. She is extremely talented with these two games but they are known as games of logic, both games that show how smart or intelligent a person is in their head.
Lastly, she has wonderful social skills. I am not sure how she does it because I have never been able to but she can get along with practically anyone, even if she does not like them. She actually attracts people toward her with her silly smile and adorable run. The way she speaks, while sounding extremely intelligent, she also allows the person she in which she is speaking to be able to understand. She can adapt to the environment she is in to know which part of her personality to show in order to fit in. She is friendly and kind with something nice to say about everyone.
I cannot really put words together that define intelligence the way that I believe it to be, however, there is one person who I can label intelligent because she does a justice to it. Alice Hu is one of the most intelligent people I know and I love her to death.
Shirley: When I first read the blog, I had a hard time not going to the discussion between "smart people" and "intellectuals" I had think I slipped up a few times but I still believe there is a difference between the two.
ReplyDeleteRob: I liked how your blog had a historical background to help explain how you define intelligence. I liked that you used sources that were religious too. Although, I do not agree with how you came about your definition because it seems like it did not come from you but from other sources, I liked your blog.
Hannah: I completely disagree with your first sentence. Intelligence cannot possibly be knowing things that will help you in life. That is far too vague. It almost does not go into enough detail about what you want to say. A bunch of things can help you in life. Knowing how to fish can feed you, so does knowing how to fish make you intelligent??
Stephanie: I think that knowing how to fish makes a person intelligent. I know how to line a rod and hook bait and cast the line into the water just like I know how to form all twenty-six letters of the alphabet. So there you go- I know how to fish and write, right? Wrong. A person who truly knows how to fish has put the same dedication, thought, and innovation into his or her craft as a person who truly knows how to write. The fisher is able to feed himself, even without a box of Honey Bunches of Oats and milk (that's better than I can do), and he is able to feed his people, again without HB of Os and milk. He knows when to fish, what to fish, with what to fish, and where to fish. He may even have designed his own method of more effectively fishing. If we call Shakespeare, Faulkner, and Dante intelligent because they mastered the art of rhetoric, then are we not obligated to call the fisherman intelligent?
ReplyDeleteStephanie W: I admire the fact that the smartest person you know is so close in age with us. I think that is inspiring for us to strive to help the younger people. While I do not know Alice, I know some seniors and I’m amazed at how many very intelligent people there are in her grade. I admire so many of them because they all give off an air of confidence and wisdom. Every time one of them walks in to our Lang class and says something intelligent, I say to myself, “I want to be just like him or her!”
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ReplyDeleteI hate to toot my own horn (actually I find it rather enjoyable- kidding), but quite often, I am referred to as smart, intelligent, and at times even clever, bright, or scholarly. As AP students, we all likely have, at some point in time, been coined intelligent by a teacher, parent, guidance counselor, or test scores.
ReplyDeleteGretel got a 2390 on her SATs. Ludwig takes 17 AP classes. Goliath only uses word with six or more syllables. Gretel, Ludwig, and Goliath walk around with these numbers tattooed on their foreheads and every person who walks by marvels at their intelligence. I’m sometimes guilty of drooling over a test score, and I would venture to say that you are, too. It never ceases to amaze me how often people, including myself, try to define intelligence with a number. In my sixteen years of intensive study of intelligence (After all, aren‘t we all experts of ourselves? Don’t worry- I’m only kidding.), I have come to the conclusion that intelligence is best measured not by a number, but by the ability to differentiate, integrate, generate, and translate.
Consider the fictional Dr. Gregory House and his team. In one episode, House tells the story of a farmer with a rattlesnake bite. The skin on the farmer’s leg begins to rot, but tests show that snake venom is the cause of neither the rotting skin nor further health complications. Thinking he has exhausted all of his options, House informs the farmer that he has only a short time left to live. Shortly after though, House recalls the man speaking of his dog and links that to his previous studies in epidemiology, realizing that the dog’s saliva may have carried disease that in turn caused the skin deterioration and accompanying issues. He tests this final hypothesis and determines it to be correct. He then takes his findings and tells the farmer what is wrong with him, the surgeons what needs to be done, and the pharmacist what prescriptions to fill. Here and in every other episode of House, M.D. as well as in the actual field of medicine, not to mention the countless other fields out there, the four basic tenets of intelligence are displayed.
Considering all of the information available at this moment and the insane amount that will be added by the time I actually click “Post Comment,” it is necessary for a person to differentiate one piece of information from another. Basically, our minds are filters. We are constantly bombarded with information and it is up to each person, individually, to strain through everything, sometimes consciously and sometimes not, and separate meaningless material from relevant intelligence. If my face turns blue and my lips turn purple in Lang tomorrow, the fact that I had a pear for breakfast last Sunday is meaningless material while the fact that I have asthma is much more relevant. This differentiation process is no exact science, for sometimes something that seems relevant may be the central piece of a puzzle. Initially, it seemed unimportant to House that the patient owned a dog, but later, he was able to use this piece of information to link his schooling and the situation.
This putting together of the puzzle is integration. What’s the use of a pile of two-by-fours if you aren’t going to build anything? Ideas, if left loose and unassociated, are just as useless as the rotting heap of plywood that was left out in the rain. Basically, integration is logic. I have a pile of two-by-fours. A house can be built with two-by-fours. I can use these two-by-fours to build a house. Dr. House had to integrate his knowledge that canines can carry strep and that the farmer had a dog, and his logic was as follows: The farmer has a dog, and dogs carry strep, so perhaps the farmer’s disease was caused by strep.
ReplyDeleteCreation is where it all comes together. It’s when you draft the blueprint to that dream house you plan on building from the two-by-fours. It’s when Dr. House realizes the patient’s problem. It is, essentially, the moment that logic becomes a viable plan. When an author actually pens his masterpiece, that is creation.
Although creation, to me, is the most beautiful of the four tenets, translation is the most vital. In my personal favorite reading of the year, The Public Obligations of Intellectuals, Michael Eric Dyson quoted Jesse Jackson, saying “If you say something I can’t understand, that’s a failure of your education, not mine.” The final test of being intelligent is the ability to translate a new creation to the people around you. House’s diagnosis would have been meaningless had he failed to let the patient, surgeon, or pharmacist know what was going on. If you want to build that dream home, you may just need to make sure your blueprints are legible for a contractor and construction workers to read. No matter how smart your antisocial professor who is incapable of teaching may be, I do not consider him as intelligent as the man who innovates his village’s fishing methods by designing new methods of fishing and teaching his peers, for he is not a complete package. A truly intelligent person will find a way to propagate his ideas.
The most intelligent person I know is Mr. Matlack. Sometimes I disagree with his views, but he has an uncanny knack for displaying his mastery of the four tenets of intelligence. When he teaches a lesson, he nearly always relates it to an example that requires zero knowledge of chemistry. Today, he compared the natural tendency towards entropy in radioactivity and various trends in the periodic table to interracial love in a way that even I, the product of interracial love, could not effectively relay, but totally understood. On a more concrete level, he constantly analogizes electron affinity and effective charge to a babysitter and the number of kids (s)he is watching. In doing this, good ol’ Matlack differentiates, integrates, creates, and finally translates, resulting in the class leaving with a greater understanding of chemistry and, dare I say it, life.
Intelligence. Hm. Since intelligence, for me, is such an abstract concept, I’ll begin by stating what intelligence doesn’t mean. I don’t consider someone adept at a particular topic intelligent. For example, my best friend Ryuji, as he professionally showed on senior takeover day, is virtually impeccable when it comes to Calculus. However, I wouldn’t consider him intelligent -- only very smart. On the flip side, Maegan Reese, as most of us already know, possesses an undeniable mastery of words. Nonetheless, I only consider her extremely smart, not intelligent. There’s nothing wrong with being smart though! Please don’t mistake me. Personally though, intelligence is just on a higher, less obtainable level.
ReplyDeleteSo what is intelligence? The only way I can begin to define it is through the man that defined it for me. About three years ago, I was lackadaisically going through Deviant Art (a sort of myspace for artists). Many people don’t know this, but I love to draw -- a passion I sorrowfully had to sacrifice this year. Anyway, on Deviant Art, there’s a button called ‘random deviant.’ So I clicked on it and up came the page of a twenty-one year old photographer from California: Maxximilian Vonkalkman. Like a creeper, I AIMed him and said “haha! I’m a random girl from DA stopping to say hi!” He asked what my DA account was and added me as a friend right away. I asked “Why did you add me? You’re a photographer and I draw DBZ.” Then, in a prophetic line that I will never forget, he answered “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Since then, I can honestly say I’ve poured my soul to this man; three years later and we still talk pretty frequently. There are as many things I can tell you about him that would undoubtedly make you agree that he is indeed intelligent. Just look at his name! Maxximilian Vonkalkman, really?! There’s one specific incident though where Maxx really defined what I believe intelligence to be. It was sophomore year; I was a mess. I cried literally everyday last year and all in all just felt completely abandoned by the world. I went on AIM and got a simple “’ello” from Maxx. As usual, every word he says holds some type of sententious, proverbial meaning with me, so I spilled what I was so doleful about. I hated men for being allowed to be so perverted, I hated girls for being so selfish, and, most of all, I hated myself for not being beautiful.
But then Maxx happened. In approximately a two hour discourse, Maxx gave reasons, one by one, while every single person bothering me truly meant nothing. He flipped reality and prettied it up so as my heart wouldn’t hurt anymore. He told me the vast majority of men were perverted because God wanted to make the selection process easier for me. He also said I was beautiful, but that, just at my age, my beauty was more of a curse that will soon turn into a boon. Most saliently though, Maxx said “You are invaluable. Just by being here, you make the world a better place.” Sound familiar? Yes, my ‘this I believe’ comes straight from this man. Maxx means the world to me.
So how does this all tie in with intelligence? It’s in the way Maxx thinks. Maxx is extremely smart: he started college at 15, dropped out senior year to pursue photography, then went back to finish at 19. He created his own photography/journalism company that promotes harmony and understanding among nations and ethic groups, and has legitimate standing with some big names -- none of this fell out of the sky. Maxx is a juggernaut: he finds exactly what he wants, and tears everything down in his way. How? He warps the world to fit his purpose, then conquers it. In the words of Myth busters “I reject your reality and substitute it with my own.” Maxx is a superhero.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence is, then, the ability to create an environment from which to facilitate your own growth. Whenever something stood in Maxx’s way, he made it work for him. Whenever the obstacle was unchangeable, Maxx took everything he could out of the experience. As with me, he gave me the power and purpose to continue being myself. This is intelligence. Maxximilian Vonkalkman is the only intelligent person I know, although I’m trying really, really hard.
Jourdan: I can tell your blog was extremely well planned out, for I had a lot of full circle moments. You used outside information very thoughtfully, well done! I like how you quoted the Public Obligation of Intellectuals because, while most of that piece I don’t remember, I specifically remember Jesse Jackson’s quote since I thought it was so true. Also, hahaha, good reference to Matlack. May you ride on the coattails of his God-mobile. :P
ReplyDeleteShirley: I agree that the misuse of a word doesn’t make the word any less meaningful or effective. For example, although everyone uses “awesome” to mean cool, I don’t expect to be misunderstood when I say the trip to DC was awesome, or awe-inspiring. Secondly, there’s nothing I specifically disagree with in your definition, I just think there’s more to intelligence than what you wrote -- your definition sort of implies that everyone’s intelligent since everyone is mentally capable in the area they want to be in. Basically, I’m not fond of your definition because it lacks the concept of mental discipline being crucial to intelligence.
Robert: I agree that memorization isn’t indicative of intelligence, but I do believe you aren’t giving a person with book smarts enough credit. Being book smart doesn’t only mean possessing a good memory; discipline, work ethic, character and logical analysis are all tied in with book smarts. I like your definition of intelligence though. I’m just starting to feel a bit left out since my definition, of course, is quixotic and practically inapplicable.
Deanna:
ReplyDeleteGod-mobiles don't have curttails! Silly Deanna! Maybe I'll invest in a sidecar though. On another note, even though our definitions are not the same, I really enjoyed reading about your definition of intelligence as it relates to Maxx. I don't know if I would have used the word intelligence to describe the traits you relayed, but after reading your post, I agree that while Maxx is obviously smart, his intelligence is expressed through the pursuit of his goals.
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ReplyDeleteOk, I’m still deciphering my thoughts, so bear with me if I’m a little confusing. Before I can go into the definition of intelligent, I first want to say I believe there is a pretty big difference between being smart and being intelligent. They are similar, no doubt, but they’ve got a few key contrasts.
ReplyDeleteSmart people know things. They’re well learned and have an array of facts stored up in their noggins. I believe everyone has the ability to be smart. Though slightly unrelated, just today a certain teacher said “People are born smart,” to which I replied something like, “People aren’t born smart, babies don’t know anything.” I believe as long as a person has the drive to study their butts off and do the work necessary, they can acquire smarts. And to clarify, you can be smart in a subject of your forte to get the label of “smart.” Those math nerds in calc 2 and linear algebra, no offense (really there’s none, I’m absolutely just jealous) are smart, us people who are more gifted in the English department are smart, etc. That’s my only qualification for being smart: know things. Pretty simple.
But intelligent people, they are smart plus, the package deal. They’ve got something special. They know a lot about a lot and are not satisfied with that, they want to know more. They have wisdom to share. They have a presence. Now, that last part is important. Intelligent people have to carry themselves as such. I don’t want to encourage any judging, but you know who you’re looking at upon a glance when it comes to intelligence. When someone doesn’t look like the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, they’re 99 out of 100 times not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. When you’re looking at Einstein, you just know. Not to say there’s a look, you can be intelligent in sweats for all I care. But there’s a persona about intelligent people, it’s the way they speak and hold themselves. There’s an eloquence that just evades from them. I don’t want to make being smart sound bad though, being smart is fantastic. I just believe intelligence is just on a different level.
I think it kind of makes it hard for me to name the most intelligent person I know, just because I make it such a big deal. I can tell you about the smartest people I know, I mean everyone in this course is smart, or else they wouldn’t be in it. But intelligent, that’s a bit bigger. I guess I’d say the most intelligent person I’ve known is my Aunt’s ex-sugar daddy- I mean boyfriend. Ok so don’t take his situation for anything, on a marital level he wasn’t the best guy, but he was a fountain of knowledge and he had the presence to match. He was a business lawyer, so he knew his stuff, but he also knew just about everything else. Like ask what happened in (insert place) exactly 3.4 years ago and boy did he know all about it. He was eloquent and held himself well. He was the epitome of intelligent. But again, personally, total d-bag. Just saying, if you ever come to be someone of the same stature intellectually, be a good person. There’s a lot to be said for being intelligent, but there’s also a lot to be counteracted if you’re not the best person. Those are just my thoughts.
Shirley -
ReplyDeleteI actually very much disagree with you, but maybe I misunderstood. I think it is a smart person that is the one that lives up to the society's expectations and I think it is that intellectuals are those who are brilliant but aren't exactly in the mold of society's liking. When I used to tell people about my grades and the classes I take, people say, "Oh you're so smart!" "You're in smart classes!". It's never, "You must be an intellectual" or "You're very intelligent!" "Smart" is a society word. It is the word the people in society uses to approve of you and your knowledge, no matter what it is. I hardly ever hear intellectual, therefore I don't understand why it would be the term used for a society concept.
Jourdan -
ReplyDeleteI really like how you broke down individual traits of an intellectual. It made picturing it and understanding so much more clear as opposed to a vague concept definition. In the process, you also pointed out something that I think I completely looked over when thinking about this blog, which was translation. That is something I haven't even considered touching when it comes to intellectuals, simply because I feel like expressing your ideas to make other people fully understand is a skill that most intellectuals don't understand, but that might just be because when I think of intellectuals, their minds are often misunderstood in general.
I really should've posted my own response before responding to other people. Hah oh dear.
Lucas pointed out to me that I'm dumb and write curttails instead of coattails in my comment to Deanna(he was nicer about it though). I guess I was more tired than I realized...
ReplyDeleteDeanna: You're definition for "Intelligence" was passionate, which I absolutely loved. However, I can't help but believe that the main reason you feel that Maxx is the only intelligent person you know, is because you've developed such a close relationship with him. Everyone has a deep "intelligence" and beauty, that cannot be understood upon first impression, it will only be manifested after genuine trust is formed. You're belief of who has actual intelligence versus smarts is eye-opening. On the other hand, I don't think your eyes are open to see the other "intelligent" people in your life.
ReplyDeleteTaylor: Your organization in your blog was helpful, and I agree in your idea of what defines "smart." However I disagree that "When someone doesn’t look like the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, they’re 99 out of 100 times not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree." There are many people in our school that are labeled dumb, but if you know them on a personal level, their level of smarts/intelligence sky rockets! My favorite line of your blog was, "There’s a lot to be said for being intelligent, but there’s also a lot to be counteracted if you’re not the best person." Agreed!
Shirley: "An intellectual is exactly the same as a smart person--only an intellectual is someone who lives up to society's expectations." This quote gave an interesting spin to the blogs idea. I wish I could of heard your OP! I liked how you mentioned a few of our teachers, it gave all of us, at least one of them to relate your blog to.
Hannah S.- Your blog really put a new perspective on what intelligence could really be. I think a lot of people could learn a lot from your mom and her inner strength. Most people in that situation would in fact be doom and gloom and she knew that was not an ideal option. I liked that you measured intelligence in the scope of one's individual trials and tribulations and not collectively as a whole. Sometimes I feel society gets caught up in the ideal intelligent person when beneath the surface lays intelligent people.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence is subjective. It is not a defined ring that surrounds the intelligent and shuns the rest. Rather than a set, black-and-white line that separates the unintelligent and the intelligent, I view the word "intelligence" as a fluctuating label that should apply to certain people for certain amounts of time, but can easily be removed. After all, humans are ever-changing people and if a 'so-called’ intelligent person wants to act like a complete fool and, for instance, smoke their life away, how can they still be considered intelligent? With this I am implying that intelligence is based the action that stems from knowledge, rather than mere knowledge. And those actions are judged differently by different people.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence, though I object to using a clear-cut definition, is a characteristic attributed to people who are comprehensive and mentally-skilled, with enough aspects of the world to ensure that other people see them as "intelligent." Let's focus on the "comprehensive and mentally-skilled" portion of my definition. Continually, people are introduced to new ideas about the world. Intelligent people are able to understand the inner workings of what they are learning. But simply by having the knowledge of a certain subject does not make a person "intelligent," rather it makes them "learned.” Those labeled with "intelligence" are those who utilize the facets of their knowledge in an effective way. For instances, generically, lawyers are intelligent people (well, the goods ones are). They understand the art of language and persuasion, as well as mechanics of the court system and its laws. In turn, they use this knowledge for good: they help their clients win their trials. Without these actions, a people cannot display their knowledge and thus other people cannot label them "intelligent."
Now centering on the "enough aspects" portion, I am implying that intelligent people know more than how to open a can, or turn the lights on, or any other ridiculously simple task. Intelligent people are intelligent in a broader area, or several areas, that the Average Joe does not see every second of their lifetime. As in the case of the lawyer, understanding of the United States' intricate regulations, laws, and bills are typically beyond the scope of, say, the plumber across the street. But also, intelligent people, as the cliché analogy goes, throw their eggs into [a few] baskets. A person can be intelligent if he or she is competent in one area but impaired in another. The lawyer, for instance, may be phenomenal in speaking but lousy in dealing with his finances. However, an intelligent person must be competent in "enough" areas in order for others to see them as intelligent.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would like to add is the character that I believe ‘ups’ a person's susceptibility to be called "intelligent": the quality of inventiveness. The people I consider the most intelligent are those who, with the knowledge a lot of people have, act innovatively. In other words, what makes 'intelligent' people ‘more intelligent' is the fact that they possess creativity as well as knowledge. Typically, new ways makes action more effective (like technology). But intelligent people do not necessarily have to be drastically unique.
ReplyDeleteThus as far as the most intelligent person [people] I’ve met, I point to unique teachers because one, so far teachers are the only people who have a wealth of knowledge compared the other people I know, and two, their different methods have opened my eyes to new ideas and perspectives. Mr. Sera--through the way he run's his classroom: Several times in a single period, he cunningly fools the entire class into believe certain lies; eventually we questioned whether he's telling the truth or not. I now know this helps us with dealing with the government in the real world. Mr. Matlack--though his wise tales of life lessons and ability to entertain and teach us. And unquestionably, Ms. Bunje--with the way she twists our minds into thinking in ways we've never though we could, whether with rhetoric or life. These people, like the rest of the world, are not superheroes—they are not perfect—but the label of “intelligence” applies to them more often than others, making them the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.
Pablo Picasso once said:
ReplyDelete“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.”
You know what that tells me? It tells me that with intelligence, a person can make magic. Intelligence is nothing you can learn from just staying inside and reading. Don’t get me wrong. Reading is one of the most important things in the world that can help you become the person who you want to be. But, it is nothing if you don’t apply it.
Lately, as we explore the depths of Death Month, I’m finding myself reading more. I’m finding myself discovering good music. I’m finding myself exploring the world. But most of all, I’m finding myself.
Intelligence is doing just that. It is being able to take everything that you learn, everything that you encounter, and applying them to the world around you. But most of all, it is applying them to yourself and to those around you. To me, it really just means that you’d be able use all this knowledge on the world when problems and give it back to the world when challenges arise.
I know that some of you are going to say that intelligence is being able to gain a tremendous amount of information. I know that many people believe that intelligence is knowing this that many other people don’t. But the thing is, I don’t think that only labels a person to be “knowledgeable.” It’s not being intelligent. What’s the point of having knowledge if you’re just going to let it sit there?
The most intelligent person that I know is my grandmother. Why? Because she’s told me so many stories about her youth that it’s unbelievable. I think my favorite, other than the stories of her walking miles to school, is when she talked about how she escaped the Japanese when they were attacking the Philippines. Now, I don’t solely base my view on her intelligence on that, but I do base it on the fact that all her experiences and knowledge she’s gained in her life has lead her to where she is right now. She’s a woman whose life was full of purpose. My grandmother has been able to transform her life as an example to her grandchildren just like Picasso transformed that yellow spot into a sun.
So, plain and simple, I think that intelligence is not the measure of how much knowledge a person can store in their brain. Intelligence is the ability of learning a concept, applying it to your surroundings, and spreading it to the generations beyond. Without intelligence, there would be no future. Without intelligence, our society will cease to exist.
If you have a large cup, what good is it if you never have anything to fill it with? Is a sandbox really a sandbox….if it has no sand? If someone is smart but they stop actively learning, then what good are their natural smarts? The subject matter doesn’t REALLY matter, as long as you try and expand your knowledge you are truly showing intelligence. Whether you can’t get enough of politics and love reading books like Hardball or you are a music nerd who can’t stop finding more and more sheet music to play you are still expanding your knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThe most intelligent person I’ve ever met is my PopPop, my mom’s father. He wasn’t naturally the smartest man and he only went to school up to 8th grade. But up until the day he died when he was 89, he was constantly trying to learn. Every Sunday he did the crossword puzzle. It would take him hours, days, sometimes the entire week to finish the crossword puzzle, but he did it. When I would come over to visit (which I did about three times a week), he would ask me and my mom questions about things he’d seen in the puzzles like wars, kings, and scientific things that he didn’t know about otherwise. If we gave him an answer that really intrigued him, the next week when I came to visit he would make sure to tell me everything he learned about that subject in the last week. I was and always will be inspired by his thirst for knowledge, even in his old age. This life-long quest for more and more information is a true example of intelligence in my eyes.
“Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.”
--Eugene Wilson
Eugene Wilson expresses a similar view of the quest for knowledge except that he believes that the quest and intelligence itself are different entities. His first sentence is the more intriguing to me though because it expresses the challenges that someone who really wants to learn must overcome. My grandfather, for example, could have easily just ignored the questions he didn’t know in the crosswords. Since I was only 11 at the time, he also could have let his pride overcome him when asking such a young person for help on knowledge that he believed he should know. He didn’t let either of those things stop him though. He had the curiosity and the resoluteness that is required for intelligence. He never gave up his quest.
Rob
ReplyDelete"Anybody with two synapses to rub together can memorize things, and apply them in hot-glue fashion. A little knowledge here, a little knowledge there, and you appear competent. This is not intelligent: this is the bare minimum requirement of operation, and a mere ploy to appear intelligence."
I laughed a little when you said this in your comment. But more than that, I agree with you in saying that intelligence is merely not just being "book smart." When you talked about your mother being able to tackle problems from many different directions, it made me think of this quote by Abigail Adams,
“I've always felt that a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.”
Alix
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the fact that your definition was the actual chase for knowledge and not just actually having it already. I also am a little jealous of your grandfather and his thirst for knowledge. It's really rare to find someone nowadays who's so eager to know more and more about life.
Alix: I like your look on intelligence because I usually just think that it's what you do know, not what you are TRYING to know. Most people's blogs will be what people know, even mine was like that, but yours was very different and I like the new perspective.
ReplyDeleteYou're PopPop sounds really cute, too, I might add. Old people doing cross word puzzles is adorable!
Taylor
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of how an intelligent person just has a persona about them. Of course, it's not only their persona that makes them intelligent, but it's the whole package, indeed. It reminds me of those three boys that came to talk to us about the budget cuts. They didn't have the entire package deal.
Shirley- In a way I disagree with what you said because you based intelligence off of what people are taught and how they use it. But I think that intelligence can come from other areas, like what that person has observed, not necessarily taught. Some people just view things certain ways and base their actions off of their beliefs. If that is effective in their life in a good way it shows intelligence because they have adapted to the situation.
ReplyDeleteDeanna- "He flipped reality and prettied it up so as my heart wouldn’t hurt anymore." This is exactly what I believe intelligence is. He was able to look at a situation and use his intelligence to make it all better. People like that are the true intellectuals of the world because they use and apply their knowledge to better themselves or other people in ways nobody thought possible.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence. Intelligence. Intelligence. Intelligence. Intelligence is not how “smart” you are or how fast you can learn new concepts or how much you know about a particular subject or how much information you know in general or how creative you are or how quickly you can solve problems. Intelligence is none of these. Intelligence, instead, is the ability to think, an ability we humans are all born with. An intelligent person, then, is a person who can think, and because we all can all think, we are all intelligent. We have the same level of intelligence, and no one—not Einstein or You or I—is more intelligent than another person.
ReplyDeleteWhat separates us is not a difference in intelligence—for we are all equally intelligent—it is a difference in physical build, a difference in opportunity, a difference in manner of thought. Although everyone thinks and therefore has the same level of intelligence, people think differently. It is this difference in thought, combined with differences in personality and physicalities, that makes certain individuals seem more intelligent while, in fact, he or she is not. To say that a person is more intelligent is incorrect; rather it is more correct to say that a person assumes a more intellectual image.
For example, here Oakcrest High School, the place where we dedicate the majority of our day to, students may view other students as more intelligent, which is, again, incorrect. The students that are typically viewed as more intelligent by other students are not more intelligent, but merely devote more thought to school and to the intellectual image. An individual in AP classes and an individual in General classes are of the same intelligence. The AP student, however, is perceived to be more intelligent because he or she fits the image of intelligence painted by society. Indeed, in a subject test, an AP student would score higher than a General student, but that is because the AP student has focused his thinking to academic material all his or her life. Given a test street knowledge, however, and the AP student may not be so advanced or the General student so general after all. For this reason, intelligence cannot be tested, but there is no reason to test intelligence in the first place as who is intelligent is determined by society and not the tested individuals.
Thus, the “smartest” person I have ever known is you. You are the smartest person I have ever known. Yes, you. It is you. It is me. It is him. It is her. It is Chuck Norris. It is we. Everyone is equally intelligent and so the most intelligent person I have ever known is the person is the person who is not intelligent, but instead, knows all. This person is God.
Taylor: 'But intelligent people, they are smart plus, the package deal. They’ve got something special. They know a lot about a lot and are not satisfied with that, they want to know more. They have wisdom to share. They have a presence.'
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Intelligent people are just smart people who push the envelope further. They refuse to sit down and be content with their knowledge, and they seek to expand their horizons daily. It is this drive that makes them intelligent, and which separates them from the rest of the 'smart people'
Alix: I wrote about my grandfather too! At first, i believed that it was only my grandfathers' experiences that made him intelligent, but upon deeper though, I realized that it was his thirst of knowledge and the drive to keep learning until the end of his life. Seems like our grandfathers had something in common...besides being cute and old. :)
Jordan: 'The final test of being intelligent is the ability to translate a new creation to the people around you'
Wow, I never thought of that, but I totally agree with it. An intellect has to be a person that not only expresses their knowledge in new ways, but who also knows how to express and explain these ways to different groups of people. Being able to teach your ideas and thoughts on certain topics not only shows that you understand what you are teaching, but that you are comfortable enough to share these with other people.
Upon first reading this blog, I also had a flashback to the period where we discussed the difference between being ‘intelligent’ and being ‘smart’. We all mentioned how, from a young age, we’ve all been referred to as either smart or intelligent. To most people, these words are interchangeable. But are they really? At the end of the discussion, the class as a collective still did not have a definition for either of the terms, but one thing was for sure; being smart and being intelligent are two completely different things.
ReplyDeleteSmart people know a lot of things. That’s what makes them smart. Whether it’s only in one subject or spread throughout several, the knowledge that they posses is undeniably impressive at times. However, the difference between them and an intellect [ in my opinion] is what an individual does with that knowledge. To be intelligent, you have to take the knowledge that you possess, and transform it into something more then what you had before. To be an intellect you have to push yourself, and your boundaries, further than what is expected of you. Simply relying on your knowledge is not enough.
Now, trying to narrow down that definition, and also finding and individual that emulated this definition was no easy task. I first wanted to name my father, because his knowledge was always something that I had envied growing up. But the more I thought about it, my father didn’t completely fill the definition I had created. He was smart no doubt, and full of experiences, but I am not entirely sure if he ever pushed his knowledge far enough to make something new out of it.
My second thought was my grandfather. He died two years after I came to America, but in the short time, I knew him, he came the closest to what I believed to be an intellect. When I knew him, I knew nothing about his past life. The only information I had was that he was married to my grandma, lived in Atlantic City, was born in Philadelphia, and helped to raise my father and his three brothers. Besides that, the rest of his life was practically a mystery to me. I knew nothing, and yet, I didn’t need to. My grandfather had a knack for knowledge. Particularly English. I remembered the way he used to tell stories and the way he used to manipulate the English language into ways that made everything he said seem magical. It never seemed to take him much effort to come up with anything, and it was always a facet of his personality that perplexed me.
Not too long ago, I learned that my grandfather was a Marine and involved in Special Operations. Around his 30th birthday, he was sent away to a remote location for some type of mission. Upon his arrival back, he was immediately allowed to retire, and he was also given special medication for an injury he received while he was away. Despite this strange setback that nearly left him incapacitated to do anything, my grandfather refused to let this strip him from learning. He would continuously read books until the end of his life. After he finished a book, he would write a small blurb about it in a notebook and then start another one. If he learned something new, he would push himself to learn more about that topic so that he could teach my cousins and me about his new discovery. I learned countless lessons from him, and they all stemmed from his desire to keep learning.
To be intelligent, this passion to learn needs to be apparent in that individual’s life. They have to take their knowledge and make it into something new and something that can be taught to the people around them. This driving force is that one thing that separates these individuals’ from the rest of the ‘smart people’ out in the world.
I, like many others who have already posted, believe that there is a distinct difference between being smart and being intelligent. I come across smart people every day of my life. Smart people, in my opinion, are those who have the ability to pick concepts up quickly and master information. These are usually the people at the top of a high school class. Intelligent people, however, are those who can look deeper than just the concepts that are presented to them. They can take the information that they are given and apply it to real life situations, whether they seem relevant or not. What sets them apart, however, is their rare ability to consider the meaning of life, the deeper motives behind everyone’s actions. Having already mastered their own minds, intelligent people set out to master the minds of others, and it is this endeavor that makes them great.
ReplyDeleteThe Oakcrest hallways abound with “smart” people. Almost everyone I know is smart in some way, but they just lack the motivation to continue on and better themselves. I suppose that real smart people have to be “smart”, but they must also have the desire for self-improvement. Anyone that is permanently satisfied with the position they are in is not smart, in my opinion. Smart people always work to better themselves and advance their knowledge in a broad spectrum of fields. To find the smartest people in a high school class, you must look no further than the top ten. This ranking represents a combination of determination and natural ability that is not found in many people. These people will most likely go on to be very successful people in the real world, for their skills are very well suited to surviving in the cutthroat capitalist system we live in. However, these people are not always the “intelligent” ones.
Intelligent people are not always the most successful people in the world. Instead of focusing on making money and advancing their careers, intelligent people often neglect their personal needs and responsibilities in order to think about the world and its mysteries. While thinking about the cruelty of mankind, for example, they might forget to pay their rent for three months and get evicted from their home. However, these people often make immense contributions to mankind in the end. Great philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates were intelligent, and they have left a lasting impact on the world of philosophy and psychology. Stephen Hawking has contributed greatly to the world of science. Einstein, though he failed a math class in school, made some of the most important discoveries in scientific and mathematical history. Though not always the case, intelligent people have the potential to change the world.
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ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I have never met an intellectual, if my definition of one holds true. However, I have met plenty of smart people. One of the smartest people I have ever met is Deanna Nardy, simply because she never stops learning. From what I can tell, her desire to learn and succeed surpasses that of anyone else I have ever met. In my family, the smartest person is definitely my brother. He excelled in everything he decided to pursue, and is currently on his way to becoming ordained as a Greek Orthodox priest (don’t ask me why, because I wouldn’t be able to explain). He only took three AP classes while at Oakcrest, but he got fives on two of the exams (including Lang). He fits my definition of a smart person almost exactly.
ReplyDeleteIn truth, though, labels really do not even matter. They are just a way for us to more simply sort information for quicker processing. However, each person is individual, and with their individuality come unique traits and quirks. Someone who is smart to one person may seem mind-numbingly stupid to another. Ultimately, I suppose it depends on the values of the person assigning the labels. Instead of striving to be “smart”, I suppose the best way to approach life is simply to be the best we can possibly be, no matter what that means. Hopefully, one day I can look back on my life and be satisfied with the way it turned out. Until then, I can only keep on working.
Deanna- I feel the same way that intelligent people really do touch our lives. They make it brighter, clearer and sometimes they are what we need in life to make it better or okay. I do feel there are rare people that know exactly what to do or say. Or maybe its not even that. I know i am being quite vague but I feel that it is a very complex concept to even describe!
ReplyDeleteLife is a room. People have been in this room for millions of years, and have learned a few things. One day George arrives. He throws a fit in the middle of the room, ignoring everyone who tells him it won’t help him escape. Next George decides to copy the actions of the other people in the room, but since it has only gotten them so far, it doesn’t get George any farther. Basically he’s still stuck in the room. One day Ralph shows up. Ralph observes the people in the room, and understands why they have done what they’ve done. Ralph puts some of their techniques together and adds new ones. When these techniques fail, he understands why, then develops new plans. He gets out of the room. You’ve probably figured out by now that Ralph is the intelligent one. Poor little George is considerably less well endowed up top.
ReplyDeleteGeorge might occasionally impress some fellow prisoners with uniqueness for the sake of uniqueness or memorization skills. However they in no way add up to intelligence. They might spice up life or come in handy, but intelligence transcends such slights of hand. The evolution of man’s technology reveals the nature of this elusive beast. Discovery occurs first through intellectual curiosity. Understanding follows as new terrain is thoroughly examined. In the most triumphant stage, man flies with the new technology, using it to take him to new heights. Fire, the wheel, and the Americas stand as obvious examples. This process also occurs in more subtle forms constantly. Asking questions is a sign of these steps in motion. Questions reveal that the asker is evaluating their understanding or investigating the perimeters of their knowledge. Both are crucial to the progression of intelligent thought. This higher thinking occurs in many different areas. Inventors, scientists, writers, artists, philosophers, teachers, musicians, politicians, and many others all must utilize intelligence in different ways.
Everyone is different, from our DNA to our souls and even to our intelligence. I don’t believe intelligence can be measured on a ladder, so any system that tries to rank people in such a way is egregious. People are intelligent in different ways. One person might be socially brilliant, and can easily persuade people. Others might be antisocial, but spend their days creating equations to connect the speed of light with the volume of the universe and time. Someone else might find hidden truths buried in the human condition, and reveal them to the world through a story. People are a mix of different forms of intelligence. I frequently get frustrated with the ignorance and pure cluelessness that clouds Oakcrest. However I believe the people who I find the least intelligent are the ones whose forms of intelligence I haven’t discovered yet or haven’t learned to appreciate.
Simon V:
ReplyDeleteI have often thought about what you talked about. The concepts I discussed in my blog entry contradict what you said, but at different points in my life I have thought that both were true. Sometimes, life seems to make more sense if approached in the way that you described. To have all the power in the world to be the best you possibly can be is a liberating feeling. I'm not sure which theory is right, and because they are really just theories, I suppose it doesn't matter. I think there is merit in approaching a problem with each theory in mind, and that ultimately either one could be true.
Thank you Lucas. I honestly would not have expected you to say that. You just drew a ":)" on a my heart.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence has no boundaries. Intelligence is a free soul who floats gracefully above the clutches of “rut thinking”. Intelligence will never be a prisoner to his desperate situation. For he is a free spirit. It is easy to memorize information so as to spit it back up in a few hours. Sure, you’ll get a good grade but are you intelligent? Intelligence is thinking outside of the box. It is learning, retaining something of value, without the intent of being rewarded. Most important intelligence is opening up you mind to the beauty of other’s intelligence; be it art, literature, or poetry.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to name the most intelligent person I know, I would have to say my father. As far back as I can remember I have had this intense desire to be exactly like him. My dad can read books upon books (a rarity in my family). He learned three different languages so because he felt like it. He wrote short stories in Urdu and an even wrote some embarrassing sonnets for my mom (which she whips out to embarrass him from time to time). He is one those people that has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He wants to learn (When I started taking Spanish, he would ask me to teach him words and test him). Intelligence is knowing that you can never have “enough” knowledge. That the bare minimal is not enough.
I first realized how intelligent my father was in Kindergarten. My dad picked me up from Texas Avenue School, as he always did, and we set out to walk home. On the way over, we saw a bright mural of fish and other various sea creatures. Even back then I was annoying so, as expected, I asked why anyone would draw something so pointless. My dad looked at me, with his hard eyes, and said (roughly translated from Pashtu) “Not understanding something different does not make the artist stupid but rather shows how narrow minded and idiotic the eyes that look at it are”. I don’t know why those words have stayed with me. All I know is that I realized that intelligence was being able to not only think differently, but allow and understands others thoughts and to learn form it/them
My father is not intelligent because he has had schooling. My father is intelligent because he can make an intricate and entrapping fairytale that would entertain adult and child alike. My father is intelligent because he can argue any point any time and will win. My father is intelligent because he knows that he doesn’t know everything. So at the end of the day, even Einstein is not more intelligent than my father because my dad is smart enough to know that he is not brilliant yet he is committed to always challenging and bettering himself everyday. Hence comes, after all that rambling, my definition of “intelligence.
Intelligence (from the dictionary of Zeb)-
a. the ability to appreciate other’s intelligence
b. thinking outside the box
c. learning for the sake of learning
d. Knowing there is always more room for knowledge and the bare minimal just doesn’t cut it.
Comments
ReplyDeleteTo Robert Forney:
“You can be an intelligent student without getting good grades.”
I have to disagree with you here Rob. People will good grades are not necessarily intelligent. However intelligent student should have good grades (does that make sense?). Intelligence requires going above and beyond. It is the well-roundness of knowledge. Therefore intelligence is a collaboration of not only innovation and understanding but also the more mundane knowledge (which is handy in getting good grades).
To Hannah Straub
I agree. Intelligence is being able to use it. What’s the point in genius if one does not share it with the world and make it a better place? Intelligence is having knowledge and then being innovative enough to make it work for different situations. For your life (like your mom did with the box thing).
To Shirley Ngo:
I don’t think you can compare intelligence as you suggested. Intelligence is not subjective in that it is not how good you are at doing one thing. For example, if I am in a class of 20. 19 of them are failing with a 58 and I am failing with a 59 that does not make me more intelligent than the other 19 even though I may be the best in the class. Intelligence is how your mind works and has a great deal to do with your ability and desire to grow mentally. How can you possibly measure desire?
Robby F ~ I like your idea on intelligence. At first( when you were trying to quote kabalah and the bible and such) I was like...Robby...whatcha doin??? But After all that You just kinda.....took off. I understand what your idea is, though I don't think I could reword it, but I relate to it in a way. Its not just knowing, its being able to cope when the answer isn't really known at all, being able to create things for people to knowvor to come up with it on your own.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I really hope thats kind of what you were going for cause if not I totally misinterpreted it =/
Jourdan S:
ReplyDeleteThough your post made my brain cry for mercy occasionally by unintentionally referencing Calculus, I found that I agreed with what you said. I have never had Mr. Matlack, but I look forward to having him as a teacher next year, mostly because of the praise he receives from all of his students. If he can incorporate these ideas so effectively, he will probably be one of the best teachers I've ever had.
(Calculus references, in case you were wondering: 1)differentiate and integrate, which were really obvious, and 2) Public Obligations of Intellectuals. While quickly glancing at your post, I noticed that the three letters that were capitalized spelled out P.O.I., and I'm sure you know what that means. I hope I don't have nightmares about second derivatives tonight. If I do, thanks in advance.)
Uroosa
ReplyDelete"Intelligence is thinking outside of the box. It is learning, retaining something of value, without the intent of being rewarded."
I dig it. Intelligent people don't learn cause they have to, nor do they limmit themselves to a basic grasp of an idea. They think CONSTANTLY and about everything. They think about fishies in a mural on a wall and they'll keep thinking about it, and they WILL hear other people's opinions on those fishies and consider them and use them to become MORE intelligent. Thats what I got out of your blog. lol. And I agree with all that. AND I agree that your father sounds like an intelligent gentleman. I see a lot of that in you too. You just say mines too much =]
P.S. You have enlightened me to the fact that the word "Fishies" absolutely fascinates me. Thank you!
Deanna N:
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I hope I didn't draw the smiley face in ink, because if I did, you might get ink poisoning in the muscle tissue, which could cause serious complications (That might seriously be the worst attempt at a joke anyone has ever heard). Anyway, it is a good thing that you found someone like Maxx who has supported you through tough times. I think it's important for everyone to have someone like that, because facing life alone is a daunting task indeed. There have been plenty of times that I wished that I had someone to just make sense of things when they went wrong, and it's great that you found somebody that can do that for you.
Someone who is smart is someone who knows a whole lot about a certain area. Intelligence goes far beyond being smart however. The easiest way to explain the difference between smartness and intelligence is through the world of school, but both can be found outside of school. A smart person can get 100's on all their tests, memorize their text books, and get A's in all their classes. An intelligent person can do well in their classes, but also use what they learn from all their sources of knowledge in application and communication. Intelligent people can solve one problem, then move onto a totally different situation and solve another problem. Think about the great politicians of the modern era. Nobody is going to argue that Franklin D. Roosevelt was not intelligent. He managed to lead a country through not only a time of economic depression and domestic instability, but also a world war. He could adapt to different situations. Roosevelt didn't lead the country on his own though, he surrounded himself with experts advisers who could help him make decisions. Intelligent people understand they can't be smart in everything, recognize their weaknesses, and aren't afraid to ask for help.
ReplyDeleteRoosevelt is obviously a near perfect example of my definition of intelligence. He was knowledgeable, could draw on all his knowledge and apply it, was a very effective communicator, could adapt to different situations, and recognized his weaknesses. Unfortunately, I have never met Franklin Roosevelt. My mom, however, is probably the most intelligent person I've met in her field of preschool education. My mom isn't you average preschool teacher; she teaches preschool special education. Most of her students need immediate help, called Early Intervention, which can change their lives. My mom's job is obviously very important, and is not something I think I could do. Every child she gets in her classroom is different. All of them learn in different ways and need help in different areas. My mom is able to draw on all her knowledge and adapt to the different circumstances of each child in order to help them. Because of my mom's intelligence, she has had non-verbal students begin to use the basic forms of speech and has put other students through the inclusion process into a regular classroom. My mom doesn't do this alone either, everyday I hear about how big a help her classroom aides were to her. My mom would never admit to being so intelligent, but you must be in order to successfully do what she does.
An intelligent person can't just be knowledgeable, or just a good speaker, or just adaptable, or just strategic, they have to be all of those in one. This is why intelligent people are so hard to come by, it isn't easy to be highly proficient in all of those different areas. Franklin D. Roosevelt's intelligence is certainly hard to match, but current and future leaders would do well to model FDR.
Lucas ~ See, I love these blogs because they spit out soooo many new and different ideas and opinions, all the new thoughts are like trying new foods and some of them taste mighty fine. Your blog is particularly delicious. =]
ReplyDelete"In truth, though, labels really do not even matter. They are just a way for us to more simply sort information for quicker processing"
I absolutely love it. Its so true yet so obnoxious to think about. Why do we label people? Cause its easier than getting to know all the little people that occupy their mind. Most of us have yet to meet all the little people in our own minds! Even though this quote has little to do with the main line of the blog its one of my favorite things you wrote. Its so Lucas-ey I can hardly take it.
"Ultimately, I suppose it depends on the values of the person assigning the labels."
This quote was in regards to the label "smart". You said smart is an idea that someone can apply to people as they deem fit, that the criteria for the label is up to the labeler, which is true in some ways. I can't make some think someone else is smart unless they truly believe it, but there IS a point when denying someone is smart (or stupid) is ridonkulous. If someone told me "Oh Lucas Schairer (spelling?) isn't smart" I'd tell them they were stupid because you are a smart kid. Your grades are good, your classes are challenging and I've yet to see you struggle at a mental conundrum. Until the accuser proves to me your NOT smart, then they have no grounds to say you aren't. If they insist on saying it anyway...well...thats dumb. And I've rambled very much but this argument in my mind is rather yummy.
P.S. I've discovered I have an affinity for the word "delicious" as well as "fishies".
Gwen:
ReplyDeleteI remember that day in class when we discussed the difference between smart and intelligent. It was such a great discussion! Anyway, "To be intelligent, this passion to learn needs to be apparent in that individual’s life." I thought it was interesting how your grandfather never wanted to stop learning. I think that is another integral part of intelligence, the constant pursuit of knowledge and discovery. You're right, he did show a great passion for learning.
If someone is intelligent, they have a vast amount of knowledge that they can effectively apply to life. Being intelligent is equivalent to maxing out the smartness scale. Anyone can be smart with a little bit of effort and thought; however intelligence is something that is not easily achieved. Many hours spent studying and natural aptitude are just two of the essential steps to becoming intelligent. If I had to pick a synonym for intelligence, I would choose brilliance. Many people call people brilliant all the time, but are that many people really brilliant? No. Intelligent? This is also false. There are few intelligent people in the world, but they lose any exceptional honor they should receive for their unique, rarely found mental capacity because of the overuse of this word.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe I’ve ever meant someone that was truly intelligent in every facet that exists. I’ve met a lot of smart people in my life, some even extremely smart. However, being intelligent is a whole different level. Intelligence is hardly achieved because there are so many different topics to be knowledgeable about. The hardest part though is not only knowing the facts about these various topics, but being able to apply them to make clever decisions. Although this is true, I do think it’s possible to have intelligence about only certain topics.
I think being labeled intelligent is a huge honor, so it’s hard for me to pick out someone that I feel fits my definition for it. I can truly say that I think my mom is the most intelligent mom though. She may not be able to help me with my homework, not knowing what an integral is or the basic identities of trigonometry, but she knows everything there is about being a mom. Even situation that is thrown at her, she is able to make the best choice to benefit both me and my sister. She possesses sufficient knowledge to allow her to make the right decision for any situation, no matter how difficult, that is thrown at her. A smart person with their book definitions cannot do this. This takes someone who is intelligent. My mom uses all the knowledge she has and applies it to make wise decisions. My mom is intelligent in the “mom” field. Does this make her an intelligent person? Sure, but there are definitely other fields of knowledge she could improve on to being truly intelligent in every facet. Although she may not know every definition in the dictionary, I can say that in my opinion, she’s maxed out the parenthood scale of smarts with what she has dealt with so far, making intelligent decisions up to this point.
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ReplyDeleteJourdan: Your example from House definitely ties in with my definition of intelligence. I think to be intelligent, someone must not only know the facts, but must be able to apply them to situations to make the right decisions. By presenting the example from House, you were able to depict this in a way that others may be more able to understand than the words I’ve put together.
ReplyDeleteDeanna: I truly believe that you have the potential to be intelligent. You are already extremely smart, but with the knowledge and life experience you will attain in the coming years, I think you will be someone that I can truly call in every way intelligent. Just reading your blog, I couldn’t stop. You have such a way with words and always seem so sure of what you’re saying. You have a powerful voice and exude confidence with your words. I would say this is an early indication that we may have an intelligent one among us.
JV: I love the quote you’ve provided us with! It definitely helps explain my personal definition of intelligence as well. When given something shabby, like a boring yellow spot, an intelligent person possesses the ability to make it into something spectacular, like a sun. Any situation thrown their way, they know the answer. I think your entire blog was well written. It basically stated everything I said in mine, just in a more eloquent, understandable way.
Tay Palm:
ReplyDelete"Just today a certain teacher said “People are born smart,” to which I replied something like, “People aren’t born smart, babies don’t know anything.”"
Oh Taylor, what would I do without you in that class?
Anyway, I thought your idea about the persona of an intelligent person. You're right, when you look at Einstein you just know he is brilliant. Your idea is a little bit like what I said in my post about an intelligent person being a good communicator.
part one-
ReplyDeleteIntelligence in society is all about labeling. Everyone I feel goes around looking at test scores (especially in school) and saying Oh, well their SATs scores were average or they are number 80 so they’re not intelligent. That’s at least what I see through my eyes everyday people practically killing themselves and stacking their resumes with AP classes so colleges will view them as intelligent. Maybe I am cynical on the whole intelligent idea, but I just feel like society has morphed us into believing that is who we have to be in order to achieve in life or be the “supreme alpha.” Intelligence isn’t a label, a score; even knowing all the answers to everything is more about a learning process. It’s about questing and seeking knowledge on your own to enhance your abilities, using everything you learn to apply to life, changing others around you and lastly even though it may not seem intelligent knowing how to enjoy life.
My step dad fits all those criteria’s of what I feel composes an intelligent person. Every since the day I met him at the young age of three. At three, I was a fiery butter checked girl, who was feisty and bluntly asked “When are you going back to Missouri.” Others would have ran the other way and said see you to my mom but not my step-dad and that not only showed character but intelligence. How? He observed what I liked to do, learned everything about my brother and I and then connected with us. He had never been a step-dad before, never had a kid but he never let that disadvantage defeat him. He learned who we are as individuals and from their calculated his approach. Along the way with trials and tribulations he finally is considered basically my dad , he raised me. The reason why that represents intelligence to me is because he knew the first step to solving the problem wasn’t putting on his running shoes, but playing Barbie’s along the way would help to build the relationship and he knew that when others would never grasp that.
Now, on an intellect level my step-dad is extremely diverse and knowledgeable sometimes I feel stupid when I talk to him. My family also tunes him out when he goes on a rant about the way things
Part 2-
ReplyDeletework but if you actually listened to him you would learn a great deal. He helps me with math homework and when I say unintelligently “ Why do we need this stupid stuff,” he answers with a reasonable answer and why try to combat the issue he answers with Why? and he convinces it will be vital in the future. He coached my sister’s soccer team, never even really knowing soccer was a sport, since he was from the Midwest. What did he do? He bought a book studied it cover to cover, but once he got done the book he understood soccer like he played it his whole life. I mean he could have had failed but he didn’t care he wanted to coach so he went out there and did it. He asks questions and seeks his own knowledge and even when he fails he never gives up until he fully grasp the concept.
What really made me view my step-dad as the smartest person is because he has changed me and my mother. You can all argue that changing a person doesn’t give someone intelligence but he gave us new perspectives. He has showed me tough-love which I think will make me grow stronger as a person but also he was supplied me with tools and life lessons that will supply me better than any book could teach me. Sometimes he inspires to want to quest my own answers and want to learn things.
Lastly, he knows how to not take life serious. Yes, he quest to enhance his brain and knowledge and he is all for education but he is very funny and brings my family together with laughter. Though he could let his job pressures of getting projects in on time get to him he doesn’t. I have never seen him stressed, because as soon as he enters the door he no longer is an engineer but he is the one cracking the jokes. Sometimes he can be annoying but I have found he does this because he wants to remind us that life shouldn’t be so uptight.
So maybe my stepdad wasn’t number eight in his class, or took AP classes in high school or was an average student but it doesn’t matter if he wasn’t the overachiever in school he has showed me what true intelligence is. Yes, it comes from your brain but you have to want it. I guess that is what I am trying to conclude on is what my overview of intelligence is.
In my world intelligence is about “ Your own quest to find new perspectives, ideas on issues in life that you may be unsure about. Cultivating your own approach that could influence others and having the spirit that life is about taking risks, learning from them and finding a solution and never losing sight of the essence of life.
Long-winded but it’s what I believe is what measures intelligence but it’s the best way I can describe the matter.
Alix L:
ReplyDelete"If we gave him an answer that really intrigued him, the next week when I came to visit he would make sure to tell me everything he learned about that subject in the last week."
That is really inspiring! Your PopPop shows how important it is to continue to pursue knowledge and discovery throughout your life. It reminds me of what Gwen said about her grandfather in her blog response. Passion for knowledge is definitely part of intelligence.
Alix- Your blog reminded of my own grandfather. I mean he is always questing knowledge too along with my step-dad. I find people more intelligent when they want to learn but maybe arent on the same caliaber. I feel the quest for knowledge is what makes someone intelligent so I totally agree. I feel our grandparents generation are so anal about a good education because they were never given that and thats what they would love to do. They quest to know things and though they have life experience they want that freedom to learn. I probably went on a rant but that is what I interpretted from your blog.
ReplyDeleteTo Be Intelligent -
ReplyDelete-think on your own.
-come up with your own conclusions and thoughts.
-taking everything you could possibly cross in, not the parts that are handed to you.
-is to be open minded to learn about anything and have different perspectives.
-to have a burning desire to learn and seek knowledge.
-An individual Personality! (bad or good if it pops! it's working.)
I can't say that I have one person that I find the most intelligent because as long as you have the above points then you are intelligent. I believe that there are many intellects throughout history that presented different subjects and of course throughout our daily lives. It would seem to be unfair if I picked my father when my mother is too. So I decided to pick someone that wouldn't care because they have passed away. If I had to pick who stood out to me there would be three people that I always think have proven that knowledge can not be bought or measured according to society and deserve their two minutes of fame.
The first is my dad's aunt, A'tadal Mohammed Hamad. She was married very very young and quit school around the 7th grade. That was not where her knowledge came to a halt. She would buy books and not be ashamed that she was at a lower level then her own kids sometimes. She kept studying until she became a professional Arabic writer. She studied social behaviors in relationship to the change over time. Her books aren't world acclaimed but they are pretty famous in Egypt. She overcame a personal goal that she wanted to know and so this was on her own. To me, considering the society she was raised in as a woman, she was intelligent enough to not let anything get in the way of her knowledge and fought anyone that tried to oppress her. She passed away at 70 with a completion of 8 books which is amazing to me considering she raised 6 kids. All the cover has is a title and her name, no awards or titles of how many degrees she has. Simply her intelligence pouring through.
The second person would be my grandfather. He went to law school and later felt that being a lawyer sometimes made you a criminal. In Egypt if you stop your education, it's not as easy to just go back. He decided to study the Arabic language and the Islamic religion. On his own. He passed all the tests that needed for him to be a sheikh (priest) and from there on he wrote, protested, and preached. Though this would sometimes get him in trouble because Egypt was at one point influenced by communism, he did not let that stop him even when he was thrown in jail. I believe that that shows he was intelligent to be able to teach himself and not be ashamed of his age, or let anything oppress his intelligence or views. He also became very successful at it. He wasn't rich and when he passed away not much was left, but I'd glad my father insisted on keeping his library because that vast library of books from all over the world (some illegal at the time but still were kept) lead me to discover my third intelligent person, Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad.
Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad was born in 1889 in Upper Egypt which is actually the poverty south. He had to quit school when he was still in elementary to work on a train because his family needed the money. If there was any spare money, he would rent or buy books. He read in all the subjects he could possible lay eyes on. He self educated himself and ended up writing more then 100 books about philosophy, history, geography, religion, novels, and poetry. He was hired at the age of 17 to write articles for the government. He even founded a poetry school, became a journalist, translator, and wrote biographies for famous people. Many of his books were translated and googling him is easy. He was jailed, prosecuted, and when he spoke against Hitler he was sent to the Sudan. It wasn't beneficial to do so, he did in the sake of being intellectual. Who would have expected that from someone that looked like he had no future? His intelligence was natural and he obviously choose his way out of poverty and ignorance because he looked for knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAll three of them meet my definition of intelligence. Intelligence seems more rare and rare by the day. . I believe the scholars of the old days were more of intelligence because there was no system that forced upon them that this is the smart thing to do to be successful or this is more important. They simply were who they were because it's knowledge that they desired. People like Biruni, al-Khwārizmī, Cleopatra, Aristotle, or Plato were intelligent. They either showed it through their actions or by what they had to offer to their surroundings.
Intelligence, the way I see it, is focused around action. A smart person knows information and is capable of telling you different bits that they have acquired through their studies but an intelligent person takes what they’ve learned and applies it to life. Intelligence requires being able to pull yourself away from the surface of a situation and being able to look deeper. Being able to look deep enough so that one may understand which decision is really better for them. Intelligent people make mistakes just as everyone else does but they truly learn from them and use those mistakes to better themselves in the future. An intelligent person can see and admit when they are wrong. They can also make the wrong choices seem right in some cases. There is a different outlook on life that comes with intelligence. I have met a handful of intelligent people in my life. I look up to these people and have much respect for them. Among them though is one specific woman named Peggy. Peggy’s late husband, Art, was my grandpa’s best friend ever since they were young kids. So basically our families have been intertwined for a very long time. Peggy was a teacher before retiring and she truly enjoyed her job. She loves helping others and offering any advice that she can. Peggy has gone through many hardships in her life just as other people have but through it all she has held onto a positive outlook on life. She still does what she can to help others and she is always so happy to be around people. Every time I see her she always has a few words of wisdom for me. Many people try to give me advice on little issues that I deal with but not Peggy. Peggy gives me life advice; the advice that can only come from somebody who has lived through and seen so much. She doesn’t try to stop me from making mistakes but instead explains how things really are. Peggy does not see herself the way that others do; she is simply just telling people what she has learned in hopes that they will have as good of a life as hers. The beliefs that she holds are her standards for living. She doesn’t bend to the beliefs of others but instead marches to her own drum. That, to me, is true intelligence; the person who can separate themselves from what everyone else believes and follow what they believe is intelligent. An intelligent person sees reality for how it is and yet still finds ways to get around the obstacles thrown at them.
ReplyDelete“For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.” –Lao Tzu
An intelligent person is someone who does not give up on something that is truly important to them. They work at it until they reach the point they want, no matter how long it may take. They work through problems and endure in the best possible way. Peggy has endured all kinds of problems and yet she still has a positive view on life and encourages everyone to live their lives to the fullest. She reminds me that fear can hold us back in life. The advice and stories that she has passed on to me will always stay with me; it is advice that I plan to use in my life and as I think about the word intelligent she is the first person to pop into my mind.
Alix—I definitely believe that the thirst for knowledge is a sign of intelligence. Your grandpa sounds like an inspiration. My grandpa was always the complete opposite, since he didn’t go to school for long he gave up on learning. When I was little I offered to help him learn to read (this was as I was learning to read myself) but he rejected the help saying that he was too old to learn. I never believed that and I still don’t. I believe that he could learn anything if he wanted to like your grandpa did. It definitely encouraged me to keep learning no matter how old I am.
ReplyDeleteLucas—“Someone who is smart to one person may seem mind-numbingly stupid to another. Ultimately, I suppose it depends on the values of the person assigning the labels.”
This is completely true. Everyone is different so it is difficult, if not impossible, to create definite labels as far as who is smart and who is not. It all depends on one person’s ideas and beliefs. We all see things from a different view so labels are and always will be different to each individual. So I agree with you, all we can do is strive to be our best.
Sarah L—I considered individuality and the fact that each individual sees certain people as intelligent while others may see them as, well, not so intelligent. But I forgot to consider that everyone is intelligent, only in different aspects of life. I really like that you brought up this point. People have skills that make them brilliant in their own way. I’m not sure how I missed this but I’m so glad you brought it up.
Roosa - "It is learning, retaining something of value, without the intent of being rewarded."
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love that line. I see everyday people and I'm afraid I do this at times too when I dislike certain work given to us, but we cram and put it all temporarily into our minds to satisfy a teacher then through out all the information is in the dumps. If we did for ourselves then the information would much better have stayed with us.
Hamah- "To me, being intelligent is to know things, obviously, that will help you in life. "
I would disagree with that line, because facts or knowing things won't always help in life. They might give you a different view or more to think about but I wouldn't necessarily say that thinking of something will one day help you as it might have helped your mom (pbuh). I believe that they could benefit you but not every intellect. But that's your definition and I also love how your mom thought out of the box to stop your brother and you from fighting.
Brittany O-"Intelligent people make mistakes just as everyone else does but they truly learn from them and use those mistakes to better themselves in the future. An intelligent person can see and admit when they are wrong."
I agree because I feel that a close minded person would be focused on their way only therefore never think themselves wrong. I enjoyed how you put depth into your definition because intelligence sometimes I feel is not really describable and anything deep is sorta mysterious... I'm not sure if it would make sense to you what I'm saying but I hope so. lol
Reply to Uroosa:
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t saying that intelligence can be measured numerically. I was saying that “being called intelligent” is based on the way a person views another person. (It’s essentially a label that people give to other people…it’s not true indication of their ‘mental-skill’). Calling someone else intelligent—that is what’s subjective, because it is based on a person’s perspective and idea of a person compared to everyone else).
Reply to Hannah:
I think I was unclear here. I said “people are introduced to new ideas about the world.” People can learn through being taught but also through observation. In fact, I agree with you: people can learn in many, many ways—experience, history, etc. I included all these sources of knowledge as what contributes to a person’s intelligence.
In my eyes intelligence is not that unattainable level of masterful geniuses that is related to something like a mind nirvana, but instead I believe intelligence is a more attainable condition. Intelligence is beyond smartness, not through an IQ comparison but the ability to do more than just memorize facts and learn vocab. Where intelligence comes in is when a person extends their insight to see beyond what is in front of them, which is not done through learning facts but through experience and putting their mind to work, so to speak. Rene Descartes, a mathematician puts the definition of intelligence into a clearer aspect, “It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” I have known a load full of people who possess the ability to be intelligent, but find it better to sit in all cp classes and not apply themselves or think above the level of facts, if they even study facts in the first place. Intelligence is not just something that is measurable like an IQ but needs to be shown through various ways. Math is not always a good way to measure intelligence because it does not exactly allow a person to expand on the idea of math, there is either a right or wrong answer. However when someone questions the logical aspects and why the right answer is right, instead of just following steps in an equation shows a person who expands their mind and thinks outside of the box. As Rene Descartes stated, intelligence is not just what you’re born with like IQ, but the ability to use the mind given in the correct way in order to maximize its full potential.
ReplyDeleteNow I have explained intelligence in a very generous manner, but very few people I know have true intelligence. I am talking about the intelligence which expands past learning and the ability to assess an idea, but to discover things that very few others can understand or decipher. Now again, I am not referring to if someone takes Calculus 4, these few people may be the only ones that understand and take the class, but they all get the same answer, none expand on the basis of math. This is why people who are extensively good at math are hard to be distinguished between intelligent and just extremely smart.
If I had to name one person that was the most intelligent person I knew I would have to say my brother Matt. His knowledge of the world and his ability to explain, dissect, and examine ideas are different than just being smart and knowing facts (even though he also knows EVERY capital in the world and got 5’s on the European and World history AP tests without taking the classes). These are things that I…sadly cannot do, but even though my brother is extensively knowledgeable in facts and history, his ability to look into an idea astounds me how every time he digs deeper into an analysis than me, not to mention he argues the best out of anyone I know. If anyone actually knows me they would know that I am a very good arguer and play a great devil’s advocate, but my brother makes my oppositions look like a 3-year-old formulated them. Telling if a person is intelligent is not easy, you can’t just know from talking to someone for five minutes, I have had people in my classes for a year and still cannot decipher if they are intelligent. It takes more than just an IQ or memorization to be intelligent, it takes that rare insight into concepts that very few can understand or perceive.
Few kinds of artwork capture my imagination quite like a collage. I love how a million little bits of seemingly insignificant paper, fabric, and/or other art-related sundries come together into a meaningful picture. Recently, the Art Portfolio Development kids who share period two art class with my Studio II group designed their own collages. One combined magazine bits to form a cool blue sky featuring a small airplane soaring amongst fluffy clouds; another designed a peace-sign earth. An intelligent person is like an artist who creates a collage. Instead of simply amassing knowledge, the intelligent person pursues it, builds upon it, and applies it.
ReplyDeleteTo be intelligent, by my definition, anyway, a person should actually want to learn. Rather than learning to pass a class, get by in a career, etc, this person strives to obtain knowledge. It could be in any field: science, math, literature, or even landscaping. In the words of a wise chemistry professor, “have to” becomes “want to”.
Of course, running after knowledge like SpongeBob would a jellyfish does not create intelligence. It is the insightful approach to the chase that does. Someone who is intelligent wants to not only to “know”, but also to discover knowledge for themselves and add to it, rather than mastering pieces of information thrown tantalizingly in their path. This person questions what they are told and attempts to develop their own solutions to problems, “thinking outside the box” and making logical connections between bits of knowledge to develop a solution. Two people who are intelligent in this respect are Jason Palermo and Mike Warrener, two sophomores in my PreCalc class. Both are enthusiastic about learning math, and their zeal really shows when we explore a new topic, or, better yet, when a problem comes up for which the teacher has no explanation. These situations put Jason and Mike in their element. They relish the opportunity to question what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. More times than not, they are able to deduce the “why” behind a method or mathematical phenomena, calling upon previously learned concepts and reasoning their way to a solution. Sometimes, they even manage create a new method of solving a problem, their mathematical minds working faster than I can fathom.
Another important aspect of being intelligent is the ability to recall knowledge and tactfully apply it in real-life situations. This could be to defend an argument, for instance. The intelligent person would seamlessly and skillfully weave relevant information into his or her argument, creating a persuasive appeal that is not only backed by fact but also well thought out and clearly presented. This aspect of intelligence completes the circle, giving purpose to knowledge pursuit and development/expansion. The one person comes to mind when I think of intelligence in this light is Deanna Nardy. She’s driven to learn, not only taking five AP courses but also learning a new language on the side, with no one but herself to provide motivation. She approaches problems creatively, and “connects the pieces” more quickly and effectively than I am able. Of course, a skillful speaker and writer, she is also exceptionally talented at retaining and recalling knowledge. Her intelligence never fails to amaze and inspire me.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo be intelligent, you need more than knowledge. Intelligence comes after lessons have been finished, after the books have closed and after the class is over. Putting more thought into it, intelligence is a combination of the lesson learned with experience. The smartest person in class could lack intelligence because of their lack of experience. When I say experience, I don’t mean how much they’ve been through – completely. I mean how they have taken what they’ve learned a step further, like interest beyond the lesson. A person will learn something, take it upon themselves to engage deeper into it and live it which, in the end, makes them intelligent.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had two people in mind all day while pondering over the question of the most intelligent person I know. Either my Aunt or my Grandpop. After debating with myself for hours, I’ve settled on my aunt, Heather. Before she had my cousins, she was heavily into drugs. She worked in one of the casinos to get money to get drugs to be able to cope long enough to work to get money, and so on. I bet everyone’s wondering why the hell I’ve chosen a former drug addict as my most intelligent person…. Well it’s the fact that she didn’t let her life end. She was able to learn from her addiction – she got out of it and has experienced more than I know. My Aunt Heather had three amazing children and recently another after buying her own house with her new husband. The fact that she was so deep into depression and addiction and was able to start all over without the help of her parents or anybody completely baffles and fascinates me. She saw her problems, every one of them, as opportunities to learn and grow, and put them into real situations. She knows more than I ever will about life itself, and I find that so intelligent.
Chuck Palahniuk once stated “Only through destroying myself can I discover the greater power of my spirit.” I’ve recently fallen in love with Palahniuk and his quotes because of the obvious life experience that he has behind each one. By his diction and wisdom and knowledge, I see his intelligence. Upon my definition of intelligence, I see that only through growing through shit and diving head first into it to discover more can one gain intelligence and really know and experience life. In doing so, one is intelligent.
Intelligence to me has always fallen under knowledge, wisdom, smartness, etc. all before. I have finally discovered the distinction between smart and intelligent – life experience. I find myself leaning towards the more introspective peers around me – the ones that can see their experiences as lessons more than for themselves but for life itself. I’ve never thought of myself as the most intelligent person, but I can see I’m growing to be more intelligent as the year progresses. I can finally take my failures as growing opportunities, just like my Aunt has always done.
I have met only a small fraction of the total amount of people I’m going to meet in my whole lifetime. Out of the small fraction of this large number, there are only a handful of people that I find legitimately intelligent. That is due to two factors: for one thing, most of the people I interact with daily are young people, who have had yet to find their own ways of thinking or the skill to present their intelligence. For another thing, many adults I meet in my life are authority figures that don’t care what young people think, which, in my eyes, is very unintelligent.
ReplyDeleteNow, the way I see it, to be “intelligent” means that a person is able to combine their knowledge about a subject, any subject, with creativity. Intelligent people are able to expand their minds to create new things, challenge old concepts and be constantly inspired. In essence, being intelligent is having the capability to bend and expand their mind, have a powerful mind- which is why I don’t consider narrow minded people intelligent. Expansion of mind comes from inspiration, inspiration comes from outside forces, but if the mind is closed to other points of views and ideas, how will one ever expand their mind? They will be limited to their own walls that they build for themselves. By me saying that my peers have yet to show their intelligence, it doesn't mean that it's not there. Of course it's there, but in a school environment there aren't many opportunities to show it, because in a school environment we're almost deprived of creative opportunities.
The smartest person I’ve ever known probably has to be Bunje, I'm not going to lie. That's not to be a suck up, but she was just the first person that came to mind. Bunje has knowledge of writing and literature, infinite knowledge. But, she doesn't just spit it out and expect that to get her through life. She challenges the different boundaries of writing, considers different techniques that most teachers tell us to avoid and encourages her students to do the same. She looks into a normal piece of literature and can find things in it that the author implied that normal people would miss. So, she fits my definition of intelligence. Bunje takes what she does know, and tries to expand and challenge that world with her own mind, and she keeps an open mind. I don't think I've ever heard Bunje ever completely dismiss a person's point of view. She will certainly challenge it, admit that she doesn't see the same way, but she will never just blatantly dismiss it. She even says, "I don't believe in absolutes". Bunje's extremely intelligent, and just by that quote I know she is because her mind is totally at her control and she helps the world she does know grow.
Stephen:
ReplyDelete“Intelligent people understand they can't be smart in everything, recognize their weaknesses, and aren't afraid to ask for help.” I liked how you gave people with intelligence a realization of flaws, which I whole-heartedly agree with. An intelligent person understands that they actually know nothing in retrospect of the entire world and the extent of knowledge that is out there, but the smart people believe the extent of school is where knowing everything is and therefore that is why they neglect to expand their mindset past constricted.
Sarah L:
I enjoyed your little scenario in the beginning of your blog, and as I was reading it, it made me think back to project adventure when we were given a task to complete and we had to figure out a way to solve it by trying different methods. It was easy to tell the smart or dumb people apart from those who possess the ability to be intelligent (I say ability because intelligent is too complex to determine through project adventure.) Trying effective imaginative ways to complete the obstacles were always given by the same people, and these people are those candidates of the intelligent.
Lucas:
“Intelligent people, however, are those who can look deeper than just the concepts that are presented to them.” I said practically the same exact thing in my blog, which obviously means I agree with the majority of your blog. The difference between how a person can learn information and want to learn information than looking deeper into the information is what draws the line between being smart and intelligent. Though some of us might be insightful or have good ideas, the extents at which an intelligent person can master these insights are beyond most smart people can comprehend.
Brittany: “Intelligent people make mistakes just as everyone else does but they truly learn from them and use those mistakes to better themselves in the future.”
ReplyDeleteI didn’t think of this as part my definition, but I really liked how you brought up that intelligent people learn from their mistakes. We all know how easy to brush off a mistake, ignoring it because it’s too embarrassing or taxing to confront. But if we are able to look back on instances of poor judgment and extract a lesson or two, our abilities to exercise good judgment and to act with tact improves dramatically.
Dylan - As I read your comment and definition, I found myself knodding my head in agreement. I, too, believe that intelligence is beyond knowledge gained in the classroom through textbooks and such. You said it better than I did, though. And your brother didn't even take those classes!? Sheesh! And I loved how you explained why your brother is so intelligent - "his ability to explain, dissect, and examine..." Love it!
ReplyDeleteKaitlin - I was actually considering my mom too as I was writing my blog because of how, on some days, great of a mom she is. However, I'm telling your mom about this blog because she needs to know you feel this way! I agree that my mom is so intelligent, although the lack of help she provides for my homework and boy problems, but for the help she gives me as a mom. It's so nice to see you write that about your mom, especially because she probably doesn't know you feel that way. Tell her!
ReplyDeleteDeanna- Growing up being placed in all of the “smart” classes, we have the word “intelligent” thrown at us in many occasions. While many people can agree we have seen our share of “smart” people (Maegan and Dan), but the true meaning intelligent never truly surfaces until we are impacted by such intelligence. Someone or something that truly changes our lives from the ideas and advice they share they possess intelligence. I could not agree more with the points you made. Your aspiring story of someone who truly cared and lifted you up from your worst times, really showed me another side of intelligence. In my opinion, when a person is receiving advice and remembers specific quotes from the conversation, the person giving the advice is intelligent. Intelligent enough to make the person start to think.
ReplyDeleteDeanna, I love reading your blogs. They always make me think about life in a whole new perspective.
JV- “Intelligence is the ability of learning a concept, applying it to your surroundings, and spreading it to the generations beyond.”
I agree with the statement above. After reading your blog I began to wonder whether everyone is capable of being intelligent, and if everyone is, what is it that separates them from one another. I guess many people could learn something and apply it (which could eventually spread to generations) but what makes them different? I personally believe to be considered intelligent there has to be something special about you. Your blog was very well written and I am happy to see that you are beginning to find yourself! Junior year is good for something :)
Brynne- I have known your stepdad for a very long time and I have always viewed him as intelligent, but never understood how much he impacted your life. Reading everyone’s blog it seems true that the person they view as intelligent has impacted their lives in many ways. Your relationship with your stepfather is a unique but envied one. Having him as a role model of intelligence gives you so someone to look up to everyday at home. Seeing only a few instances of why you consider your step father intelligent I can see why you chose him.
Alexis: “…being intelligent is having the capability to bend and expand their mind…”
ReplyDeleteGood point. Being open-minded is extremely important to intelligence as I see it, as well. By allowing ourselves to consider every possibility, especially in novel ways, we avoid the knowledge-blocking blinders that characterize a narrow view. Being willing to think new, even unconventional, thoughts, on the other hand, allows us to make useful, insightful connections between seemingly disparate concepts.
Manar - I love your definition of intelligence. I saw it has experience through each lesson learned, as opposed to your individuality. You've opened up a new path for me on this one, with doing things yourself to engage your own intelligence. Reading through your blog, I'm inspired by your dad's aunt (which you HAVE to pronouce for me tomorrow!) and all that she has accomplished. I look up to her, without even knowing her! I know if I stopped school after 7th grade, I'd be so lazy. The fact that she was able to learn on her own, write books and raise a family - she's one hell of an intelligent woman!
ReplyDeleteSteph: "To be intelligent in my eyes, you have to be good in school."
ReplyDeleteI didn't read everyone's blogs tonight, but I found it interesting that out of the many I did read, you were the one that ventured to say that you have to be good in school to be intelligent. However, I strongly disagree. One of the most intelligent people that I know, lacked the desire and motivation in school. I don't believe that intelligence can be measured by grades or anything in school, because the most intelligent person in the world may lack the desire to prove himself.
Manar
ReplyDelete“To Be Intelligent -
-think on your own.
-come up with your own conclusions and thoughts.
-taking everything you could possibly cross in, not the parts that are handed to you.
-is to be open minded to learn about anything and have different perspectives.
-to have a burning desire to learn and seek knowledge.
-An individual Personality! (bad or good if it pops! it's working.)”
I definitely agree that an intelligent person should be open minded and have the desire to keep learning, but don’t fully agree with the others. Although they do apply to intelligent people, they also apply to all other people. Sure there are some who blindly follow, but most people do think for themselves and with this thought come to their own conclusions. Just because they’ve done this doesn’t necessarily mean these conclusions are relevant or well thought out. But even though I disagreed, I really liked your post!
Kaitlin
“Being intelligent is equivalent to maxing out the smartness scale. Anyone can be smart with a little bit of effort and thought; however intelligence is something that is not easily achieved.”
Haha I thought this was cute and I definitely agree. Intelligence is over used for most people. To call everyone brilliant, takes the merit away from people who truly are. It’s kind of unfair to them, like you can’t shine when everyone else is called the sun, too. Like it was really hard for me to pick anyone because smart is far more common than intelligent.
Luci
“I, like many others who have already posted, believe that there is a distinct difference between being smart and being intelligent. I come across smart people every day of my life.”
This was basically my post, so I definitely concur! They’re on a totally different level than the smart folk. It’s a lot more work, it’s not just natural ability or some extra studying.Smart people are everywhere, they’re in our classes, in our houses, just about anywhere you look you can find a smart person. But intelligence is rare, it’s a needle in a hay stack.
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ReplyDeleteHannah S
ReplyDelete“To me, being intelligent is to know things, obviously, that will help you in life.” I like your broad view on intelligence. It labels people intelligent who deserve the label but are often left out. Society’s expectation of intelligence is going to Harvard, but the truth is, there are plenty of “average” people who are also intelligent like your mom. Intelligence is unique for each individual because each individual needs to know different things that will help him or her in life. I can see why you consider your mom the most intelligent person you ever met as she demonstrates true ingenuity and a strong knowledge of you and Carl.
Lucas S
“Instead of striving to be ‘smart’, I suppose the best way to approach life is simply to be the best we can possibly be, no matter what that means.” I agree! Who cares what people think! Who cares whether people think we are smart or stupid! What matters is what we think of ourselves and how happy we are of ourselves! Yet, the problem is, we often compare ourselves with others and are not satisfied until we surpass or match the status of others. Best can always be better and hence, we will probably never stop working.
Kristie A
Wow. I never knew that about your Aunt, and now that I do—even though so it’s so little I don’t even know her last name—I have a strong respect for her. Knowledge really is nothing without experience to build upon it. Knowledge is just facts, but knowledge and experience together really is intelligence. To learn from experience is so much better than learning from a classroom. Life lessons are really the best lessons.
Jessie: I love your writing and your passionate words told through metaphorical language, including your reference to Spongebob which was the perfect example of chasing knowledge. Aside from the exceptional flow of your writing, I agreed with the point you made that intelligence is possessing the knowledge and having the ability to apply it in life. I think that's the biggest factor in intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is fun. I've enjoyed the responses way too much to be normal. Plus, commenting on everyone else's blogs has helped me form my own opinion. So thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Intelligence is a sort of...fourth dimension, its a fine trail of dots that don't really add up to a line because intelligence is partially subject to opinions, which we know vary. So each dot is a sort of universally accepted trait of an intelligent person that an individual can connect by their own preference.
Intelligent people tend to be smart. I haven't heard of one who was not, but I'll just cover my bases. Intelligent people are smart not because they've got something to prove or they gotta get them grades. No, intellectuals are so brilliant because they want to be; they want to know things to know more things to learn more to discover things and know even more because knowing and learning are powerful, wonderful things. Having this mindset is what gets the big stuff done and keeps the world from going belly-up.
Besides loving to learn, the intelligent USE their knowledge. Some people put information out of their mind after awhile (math and i have this issue), or simply retain what they've learned in order to inject it into their ordinary lives and fill out the same old paperwork. Intelligent folks create with their smarts. they shape and make and form ideas. They exceed at what they do and reach conclusions that most never will.
Intelligent people live better than anyone else. They see so much more. I sometimes think I can be classified as intelligent, sometimes I think I'm insane, and sometimes I think I'm too young to know the difference. I don't think I know too many intelligent people. I've had a few teachers who've opened my mind a little more and I've talked with some very intriguing people, but I can't say whether they were intelligent people or not. Intelligence is sort of intimate. Its a way of living and seeing thats unique to an individual, and I haven't had the opportunity to see that deeply into certain people's lives.
Jourdan: “Gretel got a 2390 on her SATs. Ludwig takes 17 AP classes. Goliath only uses word with six or more syllables. Gretel, Ludwig, and Goliath walk around with these numbers tattooed on their foreheads and every person who walks by marvels at their intelligence.”
ReplyDeleteNice example Jourdan; the names you chose made me smile. :) But anyway, I agree that people get too hung up on numbers that seem to suggest intellect. Sure, Ludwig could take 17 AP classes, but maybe his parents forced him to and perhaps Goliath has no idea what half of the gargantuan words he utters really mean. Looking deeper, at qualities like you went on to describe, will reveal true intelligence.
Lucas: We've spoken about being intelligent and being smart before, as we talk about many things that pertain at all to psychology and the way people's minds work. After our discussion a while ago, I find it shocking to hear that you haven't met someone truly intelligent, but I really like your definition of an intellectual. I still disagree, however, that you can find the smartest people in the school in the top ten of the class. Those are the people who apply themselves, but there are many people who are smart and do nothing to reflect it. We've talked about this, as well, and commented that David Green is extremely smart. Yet he does no work. So do you think that those who apply themselves are necessarily the smartest?
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard for me to put a pin on what I believe intelligence to be. I believe that intelligence to me is what I don’t poses. For instance, if I can do something, it doesn’t impress me that someone else can do it also. However, the people who posses mental abilities that I don’t I am very impressed by, and those people I believe are intelligent. I know this may sound stupid, or make me sound like I think I am smart, but think about it. I know of this guy named Matt, who recently went to jail for killing someone while he was driving drunk. He is a college graduate, who signed a soccer deal with the Kicks. He has amazing athletic abilities, but is nothing out of the ordinary brain wise. His friend was telling me the other day, that everyone in jail thinks he’s a genius, and to them he is. There definition of intelligent is obviously different then mine.
ReplyDeleteMr. Seaman, my physics teacher, amazes me again and again. If I had to assign a name to my definition of smart, it would be him. I believe one of my biggest flaws with my brain is that a few years after I learn something I forget it. From what I’ve seen, Mr. Seaman doesn’t have this flaw. Most of my teachers are geniuses when it comes to the subject they’re teaching, not all of them at the act of teaching, but the subjects I can honestly say they all have down pat. This doesn’t impresses me, anyone who does the same thing over and over again would be a genius at it. What impresses me so much about Mr. Seaman, and what makes me think he is very intelligent is that he knows about everything, literally. I would venture to say that there is not one homework assignment that any of us have, that Mr. Seaman couldn’t do and get an A on it. For that reason, to me, Mr. Seaman is the most intelligent person I know.
I get so annoyed when someone points out an AP student and says, “oh he’s smart, he takes AP…”. Taking hard classes doesn’t make someone smart. The boy I believe to be the smartest person in our school takes maybe one AP cl
“Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used” Dr. Carl Sagan
ReplyDeleteI was not exactly sure where I wanted to go with this, so I took your suggestion and looked up a few quotes. Most compared intelligence with smarts, which I do not agree with. Sure, it pays to be smart, but someone who knows everything in the world may not be an intelligent person. They need to use their knowledge and apply it to life and situations to be intelligent in my book.
A stupid person can still be intelligent in some ways. They may not be educated, but they know things, one of which being that they are not smart. If you know that you don't know something, you show an intelligence that an oblivious and unwilling person lacks. The desire to learn also shows intelligence; the taste of knowledge is so great that it must be pursued. Intelligence can be measured by how much a person thinks. Not just about information, as the quote suggests, but also about life and experiences, etc. A large number of slaves, though uneducated, showed incredible intelligence. I believe that intelligence is comparable to wisdom, in the sense that you do not need to know a lot to have either of those traits. Although it ceratinly may help in many cases.
My dad is probably the most intelligent person I know. Not just cause he's my dad and I love him, and not just because he knows everything (all dads do, duhh). It's because he is one of the most insightful people I know. He really puts thought into everything. One example I can think of was last year, after one of the crew races. We were driving my friend Maria home, and she was talking about this totally gorgeous kid named Tom Muskett. Well, my dad overheard her saying that he was "a creation of God" due to his damn good looks. He told her: "Never put someone on a pedestal like that, because they will take it and use it, thinking that they are better than you, when really, they aren't." Her eyes lit up as she realized he was right, and she said to me "Man Kyra, your dad is so insightful!" I believe that this is what makes him so intelligent. No matter the situation, he has reasonable advice for it, and it is all just from life experience. To be able to use your experiences and learn from them takes something, and it makes you all the more intelligent.
The meaning of being intelligent, is being able to understand, beforehand, and set possibilities in action. Let me elucidate this statement some more. It is that knowledge you use as a tool that benefits you in someway. Because you understand, that if you do this, or that, whatever to reach some goal, you then would be considered intelligent. It is the complete opposite of ignorant. This does not necessarily mean that every intelligent person goes to school and requires a perfect score. Nor does it necessarily mean they have to even graduate from school. I mean look at Bill Gates, he dropped out of school. Bill Gates is an intelligent man. He introduced a convenient technology, that everybody has in their homes; the computer. However I’m also not saying that intelligent people drop out of school, because that is morally wrong for me. Like Gates, another person who defines intelligence best in my perception and that is my dad.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was born and raised in India. He comes from the “city”, as he likes to call it, where middle lower class people dwell. He didn’t even graduate high school, instead he wanted to come here to live the ‘American Dream’. And so he did, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. A large proportion of working Indian immigrants, well those here that I know of, are employees. However my dad ventured into the business world looking to become a businessman. Not just any job, but one in the realm of running a business. Today he owns two businesses, and is looking for a third one. Everything he has received so far didn‘t come in a cute little package mailed from God, instantaneously. It came with great difficulty, right when he first stepped off the plane onto American soil not knowing a word of English. He understood the fact that in order to reach his goal he had to first, inflate his ball of cognition. He understood that he had to save every penny. He understood he had to start off as an employee. Until that one day he saved enough money, he finally bought his first store. The process was the same for him owning his successive stores.
Yes, my dad’s intelligence was the impetus of achieving this goal, and in India his occupation is considered big. He understood the sacrifices and effort he had to partake in. And he does this by acquiring the necessary knowledge, and increasing it further in which in turn gave him, eventually, him success. See it all fits in the equation! (well.. Hopefully)
Intelligent people make changes for a benefit. Gates invention of Microsoft benefits him as well as all people who use computers. My dad lived his dream that benefited not only himself, but his family and the economy, I guess. Either it is for the greater good of society or for personal growth and wellbeing, those that exercise their brain and apply it are intelligent. Like all our leaders that advocate change. Even, I perceive, my peers as intelligent, because they all work hard to make it to the top. My definition, is probably ambiguous and I apologize for that. It is very loose, that tons of people can fit into my definition and that is my purpose. Anybody can be intelligent as long as they sketch the process, and enforce it, to become successful… unlike Paris Hilton.
Jordan
ReplyDelete"Gretel got a 2390 on her SATs. Ludwig takes 17 AP classes. Goliath only uses word with six or more syllables. Gretel, Ludwig, and Goliath walk around with these numbers tattooed on their foreheads and every person who walks by marvels at their intelligence"
I love how you put this. I agree that I don't think any of the graded labels that follow us measure our intelligence. This is what annoys me so much about college. I believe that the only thing that they use for acceptances, that actually measures intelligence in the essays kids write.
Jordan
ReplyDelete"Gretel got a 2390 on her SATs. Ludwig takes 17 AP classes. Goliath only uses word with six or more syllables. Gretel, Ludwig, and Goliath walk around with these numbers tattooed on their foreheads and every person who walks by marvels at their intelligence"
I love how you put this. I agree that I don't think any of the graded labels that follow us measure our intelligence. This is what annoys me so much about college. I believe that the only thing that they use for acceptances, that actually measures intelligence in the essays kids write.
To be intelligent, is to be smart. To be smart is to have understanding, logic, and an open mind. In order to be intelligent, it is necessary to contain all the traits of a smart person, plus the drive and ambition to take those smart person traits, and use them in your exploration of life and interests. For example, if you are a smart person with a flair for fashion, and you were to research and explore the entirety of the fashion world, that would make you intelligent.
ReplyDeleteThere have been millions of intelligent people. There had to be, or we wouldn’t of discovered cities underground, the internet, or the Pythagoras theorem…as useless as they may seem to some, they have sculpted our society and pushed the people of the world forward. The computer, wouldn’t of been invented. The microwave wouldn’t of been invented. Journalism would not exist, if it wasn’t for intelligent people. It is their traits, that make our culture and the world progressive. As of today, an intelligent person, familiar to all of us would be Obama. Whether you love or hate his politics, there is no denying his intelligence. It’s in the way he presents himself; ambitious, he knows what he wants and acts in the way needed to get there. Another familiar figure would be Albert Einstein. Known for being a genius, and E=MC^2, Einstein is a very intelligent person. However, his intelligent is manifested mainly through his ambition, logic, and open mind! He would not of discovered anything, if his drive did not lead him to open his mind to new ways in science and math. On a personal note, the most intelligent person I know is, no surprise, my mother. I can never explain how amazing she is. Not only is her I.Q incredibly high, but her open mind and hard work ethic is admirable. She had to grow up fast in a world that wasn’t on her side, but it made her who she is. She’s lived a life, which needed logic, understanding, and an open mind to survive. She is, absolutely, without a doubt, the most intelligent person I know.
Someone who is intelligent is someone who goes above and beyond what is necessary. Someone who researches an interest. Someone who’s ingenuity leads them to discovery. Being intelligent, is going beyond being smart! You must keep an open mind; be able to understand how to help the whole. There are many intelligent people out there… there has to be. In order for anything to be actually accomplished, intelligence is necessary, because people who are all talk and no action are a dime a dozen.
Alex N: I love your blog, Mr. Seaman is awesome! I can agree with it, because it really is difficult to come up with a defintion for a word that has a different meaning to different people. But I respect your views, and agree!
ReplyDeletePooja: I love it!! Haha your example of Paris Hilton made me laugh. But on a more serious note, I really admire your dad's story and I can agree that he has intelligence, along with drive and determination. That is admirable :)
Alex V: "I sometimes think I can be classified as intelligent, sometimes I think I'm insane, and sometimes I think I'm too young to know the difference." You aren't the only one! I think stuff like this all the time; I am glad to know I'm not alone in this haha. I admire your definition because it is similar to mine :) lol.
PART 1
ReplyDeleteBack when I didn’t overanalyze many concepts of life, I simply associated the word “smart” with the word “intelligence”. They were just synonyms for each other: plain and simple. But this isn’t so, as I’ve grown to learn. Intelligence is a category that is open to interpretation. My interpretation, influenced by my interpretation of life, generates a pretty unique definition. And this definition is definitely more complex than “smart”.
Intelligence, through my eyes, isn’t necessarily measured through your brain size. I wouldn’t consider an AP Calculus genius intelligent because, to be brutally frank, I’m not that impressed. It is only when my jaw drops, my eyes widen, and my heart is inspired, that I will classify someone as intelligent. Sure, I will gladly consider this math genius smart, for he knows what he’s doing and he excels with great motivation. Yet, what else has he done? Intelligence is so much more than smart; it isn’t even a word to describe your academic merit. A person who is understanding, a person who is conscious, and a person who is real, is a person whom is intelligent. They get the world. They get how cruel and how beautiful life can be, and don’t need a façade to face it. They push aside the suit and the briefcases, the conformity and the prejudices, and find the little things in life beautiful. Little kids, the purest of them all, probably have a better connection with the world than adults do. Their imagination is endless, and their thought-process is rapidly increasing. They strive to learn more each and every day. That, in my estimation, is true intelligence. Adults merely hit a climax and put their mind on “auto-pilot” for the remainder of their life. Intelligence is thinking without influence. Thinking without caring what others would say. Thinking without fear. And thinking as though it’s your last thought. Those qualities are the ones that truly impress me. Unfortunately for the intelligent people, they are more aware, and thus more aware of the blatant and ubiquitous stupidity. This causes the intelligent to frequently doubt, as you mentioned Bunje.
So, after I wrote that paragraph, I googled “Intelligence quotes” and scrolled through multiple websites for a good half an hour. I took in every quote, nodded my head a few times, and willingly took in the wise advice and aphorisms given by wise men. One, in particular, hit my definition right on target. If only I knew who’s quote this was. On the website, it stated that the quote was by an “unknown”. Anyways:
PART 2
ReplyDelete“The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience.”
This quote, on so many levels, sums up my complex and stringy definition in a nut shell. Intelligence cannot be fully achieved without motivation to learn. Intelligent people, with each breath they take, take in more ideas and configure it in their head for days to form new hypothesis’. It’s like you’re never done thinking until your final breath, which is completely true. Unfortunately, the majority of the public are lazy and feel as though the final day of college is the final day of thinking. Poor them.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again, the person that I’ve encountered who seems to have the tightest grip on the world, without a doubt, is Emily Brill. Although she may be just a freshmen in college, I’ve considered her intelligent since the first day I met her. She’s been my inspiration to look at the world in a strange yet refreshing perspective. Emily and I did 4-H together for a strenuous amount of time (I use the word strenuous to describe 4-H, not Em). With this strenuous amount of time, she finally opened my eyes. She tended to point out the stupidity in the world, and I, only an elementary student, couldn’t quite follow her theories. Her hilarious puns and witty statements were always inspirational to me, but I didn’t fully appreciate them until I entered High School. Emily Brill gets the world, in all its glory and in all its haste. She is not only book smart, but she laughs at the world for its utter foolishness. I don’t think she cared what other thought about her, nor what she thought about herself. She just strove to help others, learn from others, and interact with others. Even if we didn’t take showers at the 4-H fair, Emily still made the most out of it. To this day, she inspires me to think beyond the realm of thinkers. Her intelligence of the world and its stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Thanks E-Brill.
Intelligence is not a characteristic that the average individual possesses. Its much more than the ability to memorize and recite simple information, its the ability to drawl conclusions and have your own opinion. An intelligent person is also someone with street smarts and the ability to relate to any individual, whether it be a person on his or her own level of intelligence or someone with a level completely lower than your own. Intelligence is not something you are born with, it must be acquired through the way you are raised as well as your surroundings. Parents have almost everything to did with their child's intelligence. If a parent keeps a close eye, but allows their child to make their own decisions, the child will usually turn out with a great deal of self reliance. Self reliance is a main characteristic of someone who is intelligent, but is is not the only trait that guardians instil into their children. Another characteristic that adds to intelligence of an individual is the determination and will to do their best at everything they do. The second set of guidelines which helps make an individual intelligent is their surroundings. When a child grows up they are heavily influenced by their surroundings especially their household and school. A good school an household will intern give a normal individual more of a chance of becoming an intelligent person. The most intelligent person i have ever encountered was my grandmother. Not because she was a whiz with facts and simple information, but because she always knew the right thing to do. She was experienced, caring, but also let her own opinions be heard. She wasn't a pushover by any stretch but she could listen to everyone in the room before making her own judgment. In my eyes this is the true show of intelligence, the ability to know when to stop and listen or the ability to know when to speak up for what you know is right.
ReplyDeleteKaitlin H.-
ReplyDelete"Many hours spent studying and natural aptitude are just two of the essential steps to becoming intelligent"
Overall, I considerably agree with your blog, but this statement stuck with me throughout, so I simply had to comment about it. Is hours of studying truly an essential step to becoming intelligent? So, if I study a lot, I'll automatically become intelligent? You might want to re-word this statement, because it can be interpreted in different ways. For me, I'm assuming that you are saying that intelligence is an extremely difficult feat, and that it can only be achieved through academic achievements. I have to disagree. I feel as though children, or kids moreso, are more intelligent than adults. This is because adults have been corrupted by modern institutionalism, thus influencing their imaginative and growing minds to transform into mini robots. Yes, intelligence deals with the motivation to learn, but studying isn;t the only way to express your motivation. Like Bunje likes to do, taking a walk expresses motivation. It's a motivation to examine life and the little things that make it spectacular--or stupid.
Last week I had a doctor’s appointment in Philly at Children’s Hospital. When my mom and I walked into the dermatologist’s office, I saw a sign that listed all of the doctors practicing in the office and looked for the name of the doctor I was going to see. Since it is my dream to be a doctor at CHOP one day, I was especially impressed when I saw that my doctor not only had the qualifications of a medical doctor, but also an additional Ph. D. I could not wait to meet her since I aspire to be just like her in a few years. Before the doctor met with my mom and I, a resident and student at the University of Pennsylvania talked with us about my skin and the possible courses of treatment. The resident was extremely knowledgeable and I could tell she had a passion for helping others. After about five minutes, they left the examination room and returned with the doctor a short while later. When the doctor walked in she was a total bitch right off the bat! She was arguing with my mom about her “medical opinion” and some statistics that didn’t even support her cause. She did not even look my way, let alone examine my face to diagnose the problem herself. It was a fruitless appointment, and I was disappointed that such an educated person could be so unintelligent.
ReplyDeleteSo, what is intelligence anyway? First of all, the number of degrees a person has earned, or from where they’ve earned said degrees, cannot measure intelligence. To be intelligent is to be logical, to be able to teach others, to be able to communicate effectively with others, and to know a little bit about everything. Most importantly, intelligence can be measured by how a person reacts to myriads of situations.
By far, my dad is the most intelligent person I know. Not only can he fix anything, build anything, and figure out the answer to any problem, the highest degree in his possession is a diploma from Oakcrest High School. His realm of knowledge ranges from cars to cooking, from laws to lawn care, and from sports to sewing; he does it all! Being “smart” doesn’t qualify a person to be outstanding in all of the previously stated areas. Going back to the doctor’s appointment from hell, the doctor I saw could have been the smartest person in the world, but could she hold a civil conversation? No. Could she set aside her different opinion and give me the most quality care she could offer? No. She couldn’t even step down from her high horse and give my mom and I the time of day. Actions similar to these do not display intelligence, they actually exhibit ignorance.
With this said, an intelligent person can be defined as “Best All-Around” because they demonstrate understanding in all areas of life. Maybe my dad didn’t go to college, but he makes our front lawn the envy of the neighborhood, he can change the oil in any car with his eyes closed, and he whips up the best plate of ham and eggs that I’ve ever tasted. He knows how to get out of any situation safely, he can find his way out of the woods at dusk without the aide of technology, and can have a conversation with anyone, about anything, without running out of things to say. The number of things I have learned from my dad is infinite; I’m positive that I learn something new from him every day. Not only do all of these things make my dad the greatest dad in the world, they make him the most intelligent person I’ve ever met as well.
Alex N.-
ReplyDeleteYour definition of intelligence definitely confused me. You kept relating smart with intelligencem, which is a good thing, but you did it so much that I just got confused. An example of this was when you mentioned Mr. Seaman, which you said, "If I had to assign a name to my definition of smart, it would be him". So, he is both the smartest and most intelligent man you've ever met? It didn't really differentiate the two words. You basically mashed the two different words together and made them synonyms, when they clearly are not synonyms. I'm sorry, but your definition for intelligence wasn't really clear, in my opinion.
In my college prep history class (yeah, yeah…laugh it up) I have a wide variety of Oakcrest students that are incredibly different, and because of this, most of our class discussions end in yells and insults instead of any good input…at all. Everyone usually argues and bickers because each person talks over one another, trying to stay in the lime light and seem like a super genius. (This also happens in AP classes, but it’s not as crazy or unorganized….or loud.) I will focus on one particular student in my class though. Let’s call him Gerald. Gerald has to have a say…IN EVERYTHING. You make a comment; he has to add something in. Teacher states a question; he has to try to poke holes into it to make the teacher look bad. Sure, many of the things he blurts out are really smart, and often trip the teacher up. Still, he seems to be completely unaware that the entire class despises him, and because of this, I believe he’s not intelligent. These opinions tie in with the quote I chose.
ReplyDelete“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”
You can learn all the facts and numbers in the book, but I still won’t think you’re intelligent. To me, to be intelligent is to be aware and to adapt; to apply what you know, no matter how little or great, and adjust to new situations and circumstances. Also, I believe you almost need to be curious. You just don’t need to be aware of what’s going on now, but what could go on later. You should always think ahead and imagine new possibilities for any situation.
The most intelligent person I know would have to be my own pop. Every day he’s keeping me in line with life lessons and tips that get me through obstacles. This goes together with wisdom, but I believe he’s intelligent because he’s always looking ahead. As many of you know, my family owns an ice cream store, and my father is the head honcho there. He does not take this job lightly. He’s constantly observing customers and striving to find new and exciting dishes that will attract people to our shop. He’s also an architect, and last year he decided to have us remodel the place a bit because he wanted to see if the results would be in our favor. They were, but he is never satisfied, and strives to top what he did last, using what he has learned the past summer.
I still believe that you should study and work hard to pertain new facts and information, but to be intelligent, you need to know how to apply that information in any sort of circumstance.
Naturally, I'm going to compare intelligence to singing, as I find a way to do subconsciously with everything. As much as I've argued with people who believe that anything is possible, and that talent can be learned, I will not compromise to say that anyone can sing. Sure anyone can sing, but not anyone can be good at it. The singer who can read every note on the staff,who can memorize words and melodies, but fails to produce a harmonious sound is the person with the desire and quest for knowledge. The person who sounds great regardless of the ability to read music is the "smart" person. But the "smart" singer who lets the passion streaming from his or her voice be heard, the person who shares that love with the world--this is the intelligent person. I suppose I'll venture to say that every intelligent person is smart, but not all smart people are intelligent.
ReplyDeleteThe SATs can be improved and mastered with enough practice. These tests don’t measure intelligence, but exploit the effects of determination, or lack thereof it. To me, this holds the same in school. I’ve never thought that tests measure intelligence, nor do they always measure “smartness,” for lack of a better word. More often than not, the smart people do well on tests, but to make that generalization that the smart people are the ones with the highest grades would be unfair. I have met very many smart people that do poorly in school, only due to the lack of drive. With that said, it becomes difficult to tell who’s smart. I suppose the only way to do so is interaction.
Intelligence can only be measured by interaction as well, because without a demonstration of that natural ability, no one would ever know that the person is an intellectual. The most intelligent person I know is someone who I look up to. He is far from being good in school, yet he’s an extremely smart person. In fact, he didn’t even complete school. Well, this person is my brother, and although he failed in school, it wasn’t because he couldn’t do it. What my brother possess, though, that many people don’t is awareness of almost everything that goes on in his life outside of a comfort zone. He’s lived on the streets. As I’ve written in another blog, he’s made far more mistakes than I can count. He heavily abused drugs at one point, and left a suicide note on his bed, because he decided that he wanted to be free. During this time when he disappeared for over a month, he learned the difficulties, not to mention the dangers of living alone on the streets of Atlantic City. My brother is far from a good decision maker, and he lacks a lot of desire for everything and anything that doesn’t spark his interest. Yet he’s one of the most intelligent people I know. He’s supportive, and he can apply any situation to his experience in the outside world. In many short years, considering he is only twenty, he has gained more wisdom that I could fathom in such a short amount of time. He speaks from experience and can rationalize anything thrown his way. He considers all outside factors, including everyone’s opinions, and he is smart. You’d never know any of this just by a test though, because school is something that he never cared much about, sadly to say. And though he lacks the desire and drive that make a lot of people smart, or even intelligent in some cases, he compensates with his ability to view any given circumstance in several perspectives. His experience, though negative, has ultimately made him the most intelligent people I know, as well as one of the people I care most about.
There's a difference between being smart, intelligent and wise. Being smart is knowing things from learning them. Being intelligent is thinking and applying the things you have learned in your life. Being wise is thinking about the things you know through many different dimensions and being able to think beyond the common perception of those things because you have had experience in life. To be smart, you do not have to be intelligent or wise, however to be wise you must be smart and intelligent. But since this blog is about intelligence and not wiseness, I won't go on about it.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence is commonly referred to as the same thing as being smart. I do not think the two terms are the same at all. You can be smart but not necessarily intelligent, whereas you can be intelligent and also smart because part of being intelligent is being smart. For example, a person who is smart can learn calculus, ace every test, and get both an A in the class and a 5 on the AP exam. But a person who is intelligent will learn calculus, do well on tests, get a decent grade in the class and on the AP exam, and using the knowledge and applying it in their life. The difference between the two is that an intelligent person will probably make mistakes, but he/she will learn from them and find different routes to learning more things.
Now, who is the smartest person I've ever known? There are many smart people that I know. I don't think any one is smarter than the other because they all have strengths and weaknesses, but there are a few people that are more driven and motivated than others. If the question was who is the most intelligent person I have ever known, I would, again, have more than one answer because I know many people that put their knowledge to use daily. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc. are all very intelligent people because they know how to apply their vast knowledge of the things they have learned from school and from life experiences. If the question was asking me who is the wisest person I have ever known, there would be only one answer. Although, I would say Mr. Matlack is one of the wisest people I have met, I do not know him well enough to say he is the wisest of them all. The wisest person I know is the closest person to me, my best friend, Nosh. At twenty-one years old, it's hard to say he is the wisest person I know, but his intelligence, his experience, and his ability to look at things from multiple dimensions, and simply, just the way he thinks makes him wise. He may not be the best at math or english, but his immense knowledge about religions, philosophies, art, history and especially people make up for that. Not only does he share his knowledge with me, he teaches them to me. I think that is the most important aspect of being wise.
Lauren D.-
ReplyDeleteI loved your miniature narrative! I was getting extremely into it, and I never saw the bitchiness coming! That shocked me! Haha, anyways, I definitely agreed with your blog. As I was planning my response as I was reading your description of your dad, I thought to myself "Intelligent people are the ones whom are most likely going to win the superlative 'Best All Around'". Coincidently, you mentioned that the very next paragraph! Intelligent people basically have the whole package, and that can be both a good thing a bad thing. It's a good thing because your reptiore of knowledge is endless, and applying it to the real world is always a great experience. However, it can be a bad thing because you often feel lonely, for the majority of the people in the world take the easy way out and choose to not be intelligent. As you said, intelligence isn;t solely based off of your academic achievements. Take Dr. Bitch, for example. Sure, she may be smart in the medical field, but she sure doesn't have the whole package.
Sarah L - "However I believe the people who I find the least intelligent are the ones whose forms of intelligence I haven’t discovered yet or haven’t learned to appreciate."
ReplyDeleteSO GOOD. For me, I feel the same way, and even when thinking about all aspects of someone's personality. I believe that every person has inner talents and beauty no matter what. They just haven't been discovered.
Alix - " When I would come over to visit (which I did about three times a week), he would ask me and my mom questions about things he’d seen in the puzzles like wars, kings, and scientific things that he didn’t know about otherwise."
First of all, loved your writing about you PopPop. I really thought this quote was important because sometimes I think people miss the fact that to be intelligent, you must ask questions to prove your thirst for knowledge. To me, anyone too proud to ask a question is not intelligent at all.
Paola - "For example, if you are a smart person with a flair for fashion, and you were to research and explore the entirety of the fashion world, that would make you intelligent."
I really enjoyed the fact that you added in an example about fashion instead of examples about school learning and book smarts. You're right when you say that to be intelligent, you must explore all aspects of something. For example, with animation. I believe that if you want to be intelligent in that, you must learn every form of animation. (Traditional, computer animation, stop motion...etc)
Kyra:
ReplyDeleteAww I like that quote, it best defines my definition. I’m just sucky at finding things online cause I read about a trillion quotes about intelligence and none came close. But anyways, I agree with this statement completely “Sure, it pays to be smart, but someone who knows everything in the world may not be an intelligent person. They need to use their knowledge and apply it to life and situations to be intelligent in my book.”, My blog was about the same thing except I incorporated the outcome with success… I’m still, even done my blog, am fuzzy about my definition though. I used my dad too in my blog. I liked how you used slaves as an example, I never even thought about that. I guess what we each have a common ground in our blogs is the ability to use what we have inorder to be considered intelligent.
Alex N:
I had a hard time defining intelligence too. Like all these scenarios flooded my brain where there might be instances where one can be intelligent and one isn’t and I couldn’t come up with an exact definition… so frustrating. Anyways, I believe everybody’s definition of intelligence differs in someways. What caught my attention was how you said you are impressed with people who have a different mentality as you. I’m impressed with people who have photographic memory, no… actually I envy them. The point is, I can relate, like I’m impressed with how people can articulate so well on paper, or can read things deeply, something I can’t do and that can be intelligence in its own way.
Alex V:
Ah, your intro was captivating it brought my attention, not saying none of your blogs do, this one in particular I just really like. Overall I like this blog of yours, it was very general and straightforward. I agree with what your saying, especially the beginning because these blogs are evident that we all have different definitions for intelligence. I’d also like to add, even though I agree with everything you said, that intelligent people get the knowledge they need to apply it. I don’t believe that all intelligent people have to obtain vast information in their noggin, just to increase their brain cells for the heck of it. I favor the former definition.. That information has to be applied.
Jon:
ReplyDelete"Its much more than the ability to memorize and recite simple information, its the ability to drawl conclusions and have your own opinion."
I agree with you completely. When a person memorizes information and can spit it out verbatim for a few days only shows that they have discipline. Someone with intelligence studies the information on their own terms and will remember it for years to come. I also agree with your statement about self-reliance; it is definitely an instrumental criterion for intelligence. I really enjoyed reading your post because it was short, simple, and completely clear. Congratulations, StuCo president! :)
Alex V:
"I sometimes think I can be classified as intelligent, sometimes I think I'm insane, and sometimes I think I'm too young to know the difference."
This is so well put! I sometimes struggle with the same argument in my head because certain things I do convince me of my intelligence, but others make me question my sanity. I really enjoyed reading your metaphor between intelligence and the trail of dots. Now that I’m thinking about it, it was a really great way to describe intelligence because most of the time it’s all over the place and unable to predict, just like a non-linear trail. Your ideas are fresh, and I always look forward to reading your blog responses. :)
Kaitlin:
"The hardest part though is not only knowing the facts about these various topics, but being able to apply them to make clever decisions."
I totally and completely agree with this statement! Anyone can memorize information that is supposed to help with making decisions, but only people with the gift of intelligence can consult EVERYTHING they know, and base their decisions off of it. I also agree with your choice of the most intelligent person you know. You’re mom knows everything there is to know about being an awesome Booster Parent for the OHS Swim Team, and she does a great job keeping our team together. Mrs. Hare keeps the Falcon’s Swim Team afloat! (Hehehe ;-) )
Intelligent people are happy people. Intelligent people are aware and conscious and confident of themselves and their surroundings and can clearly view the world from multiple perspectives when the need arises. Intelligent people are adaptable, able to use their skills and intellect to combat most life challenges that come their way. Intelligent people always have a plan; they have a clear set of ideals to live their lives by and do not need to be dependent on others for much, especially in dealing with their own internal conflicts, if they ever have any. Intelligent people can be optimists or pessimists, children or adults, scholars or hobos who have never read a book in their life. The most intelligent people I can think of are those that are successful in their own right and can mold their perception and abilities to suit the situation around them. As for general categories of people that I would consider if I were looking for intelligent people: chess players, elite athletes, politicians and good debaters, and, of course, AP Lang teachers. So long as they can survive on their own mental fortitude, and have the mental capacity to constantly improve and adapt, they are intelligent in my book.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of me, I would consider myself the most intelligent person I know, or at least that I can think of right now. I feel like over the past year or so I have solidified myself, my ideals, and my underlying plans for life. The former two especially (which may vary often according to the situation) serve to guide me through a lot of life challenges. I'm the most adaptable person I know; I can honestly say that I don't know anyone else who is more sure of themselves personally than me as well. I feel like I can make myself confident in situations where I'm not to begin with, and overall, I would consider myself one of the best problem-solvers and critical thinkers I know as well (though I can definitely think of a few people whom I would consider more crafty and clever than I could ever be). As for quotations and other outside influences on what I might consider to be my definition of intelligence, I neither need nor want any. I don't need to look up any quotations on intelligence, because I just described my own little version of it above, and I don't want any either because I feel like that would just complicate everything for me, and I just really like stuff when it's simple.
Sarah L.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea that intelligence generally involves some degree of problem solving and understanding other people's beliefs and what came before them to make decisions for the future. I think people who neglect learning from others' (and their own) mistakes are definitely not truly intelligent people.
Kaitlin H.
I'm a little confused about your definition of intelligence. Are you calling intelligent people knowledgeable? Or are you saying they are merely adaptable to different circumstances? Or both? And what's the difference between being intelligent and smart for you?
Chrissy H.
I agree with just about everything you said except the part about adults putting their minds on “auto-pilot” for most of their lives. I think that there are many adults (though not many parents, strangely) who are very open-minded and constantly looking for meaning in life's daily challenges. Adults can be just as imaginative as children—unless they already have children—and I think that anyone at any level of life can still qualify for what you call intelligence.
Paola- "Being intelligent, is going beyond being smart! You must keep an open mind; be able to understand how to help the whole."
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your blog. To be intelligent, you not only have to be smart, but you also have to go above and beyond smart to the point where you think, apply and understand. It's similar to what I wrote in mine, but you put it in a better way.
Pooja- "Intelligent people make changes for a benefit... Either it is for the greater good of society or for personal growth and wellbeing, those that exercise their brain and apply it are intelligent."
I get what you mean here. I didn't really think about the results of being intelligent, but I agree with what you say exactly because I think that to be intelligent you must apply your knowledge of things.
Kyra- "The desire to learn also shows intelligence; the taste of knowledge is so great that it must be pursued. Intelligence can be measured by how much a person thinks."
I agree. I think there has to be that yearning for knowledge in order to really be intelligent. I think that's part of the difference between a smart person and an intelligent person. A smart person will just do it, an intelligent person will do it because they want to, for the pure desire for learning.
The quality of being intelligent is one that is certainly rarer than it would appear based on casual conversation. Many people are smart, there’s no doubt about that, but few, in my eyes, are truly “intelligent”.
ReplyDeleteIntelligence is the quality to utilize one’s abilities or knowledge. An intelligent person has the ability to demonstrate all of the knowledge and talents that they have garnered throughout their life, much like a wise person. A person that memorizes every definition and concept is not intelligent. Those who are often dubbed intelligent are dubbed so based on qualities such as these, an over abundance of studying or training that leads to initial success. But the person who studies hard and succeeds for a brief time, even if that time is each and every time they are faced with a new concept. The ability to master a concept for a time based on intensive study is not necessarily intelligent, though they could be.
AN intelligent person does not gloat, does not display their intelligence for attention. They find unconventional ways to draw upon their earned knowledge to accomplish a greater goal. An intellectual is an innovator, a revolutionary. One who finds a goal in life, and active3ly pursues it, internally and externally, is practicing intellectualism. It is for that reason that intelligence cannot be measured by any given standard or trial. The SATs aren’t a measure of one’s intelligence, AP exams aren’t a test of one’s intelligence, but more of tests of one’s ability to effectively tale tests based on concepts. An example of a true intellectual was Albert Einstein. Einstein was smart, a mathematical genius, and expanded on his abilities to become and intellectual. He took three known and fully understood concepts, energy, mass, and the speed of light, and created an equation that revolutionized the way we view science. Albert Einstein thought outside of the box and applied all of his knowledge in particular subjects in order to deduct a totally new and ground-breaking concept. Albert Einstein was an intellectual as were many other revolutionary thinkers, inventors, and leaders.
Personally, according to my definition, I don’t know any intellectuals. No one I know personally has achieved intelligence in the context for which I associate it. I know plenty of smart people, and plenty of hardworking people, and plenty of uniquely radical people, but none that truly fit my definition of an intellectual. I guess the closest to an intellectual I know semi-personally would be a teacher or doctor. A teacher uses their knowledge, knowledge that they gained through the same means as they are now a participant in, and apply it to teach others in new, exciting ways. Doctor’s use previously obtained knowledge in the field of medicine in order to save the lives of countless people, each an individual accomplishment of the highest degree. So, while I can’t personally point out a certain person whom I associate with being intelligent, there are figures and those in certain positions that I could call intelligent.
Maryam- " Teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc. are all very intelligent people because they know how to apply their vast knowledge of the things they have learned from school and from life experiences" I totally agree with this statement, and I can honestly say that I wrote my post using the examples of doctors and teachers without looking at your post. I agree that teachers and doctors are some of the most intellectual people and I am glad someone else thinks the same way.
ReplyDeleteLauren- I agree that an intelligent person can, most of the time, be described as "Best All Around". The ability to take any ability or knowledge that one has garnered throughout their life and apply it to any spectrum of life is truly intelligent.
Pooja- I enjoyed your example of an intelligent person and how you related hard work with intelligence. I agree that an intellectual person doesn't have to graduate high school or recieve awards of immense accomplishment to be considered intelligent. I enjoyed your post and the way you worded things, overall it was very easy to understand and insightful at the same time. Good job.
Deanna: "Intelligence is, then, the ability to create an environment from which to facilitate your own growth." I like that definition a lot. It fits, and it fits well. But I wonder if you feel that someone needs to be smart in order to be intelligent?
ReplyDeleteUroosa, in response to your response, I think that an intelligent student can get bad grades, sure. No person is perfect, and sometimes an intelligent person is deficient in some area, such as motivation or the ability to take tests well - I've noticed many people overthinking things, or mistranslating intricately worded questions. This would be reflected in average grades.
ReplyDeleteDeanna, I didn't mean for book smart people to be put down - I felt that it was not the topic of my response, that's all. I agree, there is more to book smarts than memorization skills, and the dedication required to be a good student is applaudable regardless of the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteKyle: I know this is a little late, but I wanted to answer your questions. I do believe intelligent people are knowledgeable; however I do not think that they merely possess knowledge. Intelligent people must be able to take this knowledge they possess and apply it to the situations life throws at them, making wise choices by doing so. I do believe intelligent people know how to adapt to different circumstances. Adaptation and application are important skills someone must have in order to also possess the characteristic of intelligence. And like I said, intelligence is like maxing out the smartness scale. Anyone with a little bit of effort can be smart, but intelligence takes a lot of work and skills that the average “smart” person doesn’t possess. Intelligent people not only possess the knowledge a smart person does, but are able to apply this knowledge to life.
ReplyDelete