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.
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, Reesey!). 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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78 comments:
Bunje, do you want to know the smartest or most intelligent person we know? I only ask becase I think the two can be lightyears away from each other in definition.
I'm only posting this to get the comments e-mailed forward. This one is going to take a while.
mmmmmm, i had marinated chicken for dinner tonight. it was delicious
*throws the dictionary over his shoulder*
GREAT........there goes plan A.
Mike Nanfara: I had chicken tonight for dinner too, except mine was all dry and burnt out because my dad's tiny head couldn't comprehend the idea of turning off the oven while he picked me up from swim practice. So, alas, my chicken was flavorless and had the consistency of sawdust. Yum!
My sister has to be the most intelligent person I know. This is mostly because her thoughts align so closely with my own.
I have observed only two ways that people decide how intelligent another person is. First, if they cannot understand a word that is said to them, people seem to assume that whatever is said to them was brilliant. This comes from my direct observation. I will occasionally ask people nearby to read over my work. The less comprehensible it is, the more they praise it. Strangely, my standardized test scores seem to go up when my writing is less legible. (Or at least they used to. Lately I’ve taken pains to make sure it’s readable.)
The other option is how far you agree with what’s being said. If someone’s ideas mirror your own, you automatically favor that person more highly than any other. This is just human nature. Actually, there is a scientific reason as well. I’ll put down the main points, since I’m always going back to this theory.
See, there are these things in your brain called mirror neurons. They’re usually connected with facial expressions, and with motion. And they fire off when you perform an action, as expected. The unusual thing is, they also fire off the exact same way when you see that action being performed. So when you see someone, say, pick up an apple, the same part of your brain responds as if you had picked it up yourself. Ditto for facial expressions. These are the things that allow us to learn by watching and imitation and to have sympathy for other people.
(This is, by the way my pet theory. My sister lent me a book on the subject, and we’ve been applying it to everything ever since. It’s amazing how everything fits. Then again, as someone whose name escapes me said, “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”)
Most of you have never met my sister. Let me sum her up quickly. I am “Just like her, but with orange hair.” We look nothing alike, and act almost exactly the same. She’s twelve years older than I am, so I grew up following her footsteps as closely as I could. This lasted through about third grade. After that, I realized there was no point in blind imitation. But we grew up under the same circumstances, exposed to the same literature, and following similar patterns of thought.
These are all the things I look for in another person. More or less, I always look for myself (or my sister) in everyone I meet. I can usually find something, but it’s rarely enough for me to latch on to.
Mind, I don’t expect everyone to think like me. That would make for a dull world indeed. But I like to hear all mindsets explained, whether I can understand them or not. If a logical argument is presented, I can usually get along quite well with another person. If not, I tire quickly of parroted ideas. (Yes, I dare to say that. While my ideas may not have been my own originally, I have thought them through long and hard enough to be able to claim them.)
So my definition of intelligence: Someone whose ideology closely follows my own, or who has a separate ideology which I cannot understand, but they are willing to explain.
I'm not sure what constitutes intelligence yet, but I can tell you one thing for sure; I truly believe that Britney Spears is not unintelligent. Has she done some stupid stuff? Who hasn't? Is she the smartest person in the world? Hell no. I just don't think she's stupid, just misunderstood. Am I the only one here who just feels really bad for Britney, and sincerely thinks all she needs is a hug and a true friend? I hope not, but everybody keeps talking about how dumb Britney is and how much they hate her, which is mind boggling to me. If you don't know someone, how can you hate them? None of us knows Britney's life. Has no one ever heard of compassion?!!
Sorry, I went a little off subject. My original point is, I'm still thinking about what intelligent is, but I know what unintelligent is not; Britney Spears.
Bunje, as far as your loneliness, I believe it is based on an irrational belief. I cannot tell you what exact belief you have. To determine that, I'd need to know your thougths and feelings (which take a lot longer to map out than you'd think.) But an easy way to self-diagnose yourself is to start looking at those thoughts and what causes them.
Every thought is generated by an observation and a core belief. Sometimes, those core beliefs are irrational. Irrational core beliefs In this case, you say you found yourself feeling all alone in the intellectual world. This thought was probably based on a core belief of "people need to see things the way I do."
I don't want to sound like I'm insulting you. You're going to think that I am. You're going to feel anger towards me for wronging you, or something of the sort. I felt the same way when I was told that I have the core belief of "I need to be appreciated" and "I am important." I thought, "There's no way I need to be appreciated, I don't give a shit whether or not people take me for granted. Plus, I'm humble, how can I think I'm important?!" But then I realized that I was simply taking in the manifest of the beliefs. If you try and see the latents of your beliefs (whatever they are. don't accept the one I told you since I don't know you.), however, you will slowly accept that they are your own. After that, you can start your recovery. If you try to fix your depression before fixing your core beliefs, you'll just have endless relapses.
Take all that with a grain of salt, for I am but a young boy still wet behind the ears in this trivial pursuit of happiness.
"Excuse me
Too busy
Writing your tragedy
These mishaps
Your bubble wrap
When you've no idea what you're like"
The single most intelligent person I know is not a poet. He is not a children's book writer. He is not a psychoanalyst. (Those were Ginsberg, Suess, and Freud, respectively).
He is a man named Michael. His last name? I have absolutely no idea. He is a scientist, but that has nothing to do with the reasons for his vast intelligence. This man possesses more knowledge in his pinky toe than most mortals hope to obtain in a lifetime.
What's so special about Michael? He was a homeless man. I know, I know, "Typical homeless person story." No. Michael is different. He did homelessness the right way: the invisible way.
Invisible homelessness is a concept I had never even imagined before Michael. If you don't understand what I mean, invisible homelessness is the process of being homeless, but not allowing anyone to figure out this information. He likes to call it living in "a distributed household."
Now, you'll have to find his online book in your own time. His intelligence doesn't come from the simple fact that he lived homeless well. It comes from his articulation, and his amazing theory on life.
"Karma is real, but it is instant. Those who fight get hurt. If you fight when you don't have to, you are a fool. If you are violent, harm will come to you."
God I love this man. Don't compare him to King, because he's nothing like that. In his own words:
"King's method was confrontational and courageous, and he was willing to sacrifice blood for social good. My goal is to promote the good of the individual. I do not want you to sacrifice yourself to an ideal. I want you to eschew violence because violence will bite you in the ass."
He believes in illusional forfeit, where you concede defeat while getting exactly what you want. I like to think of it as getting caught stealing a man's watch, apologizing, and giving it back. He never once thinks to check for the missing benjamin in his wallet.
Another one of my favorite qualities about Michael is his undeniable ability to argue. I won't quote him here, since all his arguments tend to be quite extensive. You'll have to read a few for yourself.
Intelligence depends not on your ability to summarize, memorize, systemize, synthesize, or epitomize. (I think I made that last one up, but I don't care). All of that means nothing if you lack the ability to articulate. Articulation and communication are everything. Noone will ever know of your genius if you lack the ability to tell them.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
The world may never know.
"The wise man is only so because he realizes how little he truly knows."
I don't think I've ever described someone or something as intelligent or smart, with the exception of my dog, who is a truly brilliant little shih tzu.
As I meditated on the fact that I never really meditated on the meaning of intelligence, I wondered whether or not I value intelligence. If I value intelligence, why don't I think about it in people more often? Then I realized, it's not that I don't think about intelligence, it's that I just don't think about the character traits of other people very often. My little sister is smart, lazy, sneaky, an animal lover, possibly an alien, and sweet when she's in a good mood, hell on earth when her mood's bad. I've known my little Rachel for near 10 years, ever since she was born, but I never really gave much thought to her seperate traits. To me, she is just Rachel.
People are not just a jumble of personality traits. People are people, and each is unique. Who they are equals more than the sum of their parts.
So how does all this help me answer the question? Well, it doesn't, not really. I thought that putting my thoughts into words would help me reach a conclusion, but it hasn't really. Which is weird, because rambling usually helps me think (which is why I employ the technique in so many of my blogs. Yes, rambling is a techinique, much like brainstorming, only less boring).
Hmmm.........
I got it! Intelligence is a person's capacity for intelligent thought! How do you like that, Buje? I answered the question without really answering anything!
Seriously, though, an intelligent person is one who thinks. They think about the future, they think about life, they think about the decisions they make, and they live their life in accordance to their beliefs. I know that's not very cohesive or clear, but I'm not always cohesive and clear. Sorry, it's the best I got.
I am the most intelligent person I know. No, this is not conceited, because I am not saying that I'm the smartest person I've ever met. I'm just the smartest person I know, because out of the 6.4 billion people on this earth, there is only one person whose mind I truly know; me. I think intelligence is based on the inner workings of a person's mind, and guess what, I'm not psychic! I don't know what other people truly think, I don't know what truly goes on inside their head. I only know what goes on inside my head. And since (in terms of intelligence) I am the only person I know, I am therefore automatically the smartest person I know! (Though, by that same logic, I am also the least intelligent person I know, but that's a topic for another day...)
“The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience.”
-Unknown
I believe that there are many different types of intelligent people. There are the natural smarties who don’t ever need to study, and then there are those who try exceedingly hard to keep up with the natural smarties. The naturals are the people who are seemingly born with knowledge always appear to do nothing ever and remain completely dormant all during class yet always have the answers when called on somehow. These people don’t even use the formulas given by the teachers (they don’t take notes), but get answers by picking their own brain and with some type of natural common sense. They are often the people in the world who think outside of the box and see what others do, but dare to try a different rout just because. These people are intelligent by luck and by birth (how I envy them). The next group of intelligent people are those that observe everything around them and try everything they can to gain knowledge. These are the people who try hard, study, do all their homework, go over and above on projects, and probably have some symptoms of OCD. Then, there are those who are people smart. They can work their way through any crowd and can get anyone to eventually see things their way. They have to work a little harder to do this, or maybe they have natural charisma and charm, but they always are loved by everyone and secretly envied.
I think the most intelligent of all people are a combination of these three. They have the natural ability to want to do well and try their best to gain knowledge for themselves, while still being humble and nice to those around them. To be truly intelligent means that you can take life’s curveballs when they are thrown at you in everyday scenarios while turning them into something to your advantage, all the while without breaking a sweat. This could be getting an answer right on a test to get a better grade, figuring your way out of a tricky situation, or making someone agree with you on a topic based purely on the art of persuasion. The ability to get people to go along with you, instead of being led yourself, is what I believe to be intelligence. Intelligent people have that certain quality that makes everyone hate them but secretly wish they could do the things they do just half as well.
I feel that intelligence is derived from watching others and learning from their mistakes in order to avoid making ones yourself. But while watching, the intelligent person will not get caught up or loose himself. You have to be able to freely think and do so for yourself. Trying to impress anyone else but yourself is foolish. In the end, an intelligent person realizes very early in life that placing importance on bettering yourself for yourself is the only way to be happy and live a full life. If you never do anything to put your intelligence to work, it’s like you don’t have it at all. “The man who doesn’t read is no better than the man who can’t” (or something like that) pretty much explains why it’s important to make thoughts into actions. Having an ability but not doing anything with it does nothing for a person. If you are a natural smarty, that’s great, but it’s not enough to be considered totally intelligent. You have to use the world around you (not in a negative way) to keep working and making yourself better. The intelligent person never settles on their past knowledge for their future. That thirst for more keeps a person intelligent.
My grandmother (mom’s mom) would have to be the most intelligent person that I know. She is so full of wisdom and knowledge, but never tries to preach or make decisions for me. When I listen to her talk, I have no idea I am learning so much. She genuinely cares and takes into account her audience. This is important to being effective as an intellectual. I’m the kind of person who gets turned off when someone thinks they are better than me because of their preachy tone of voice or their shoving of ideas down my throat. With my grandmother, her teaching is not intentional (or at least she doesn’t make it seem like it is), but because she is so wise and full of experiences that interest me, I listen intently and store what I hear for later reference. I think living life and making mistakes (but good mistakes and not ones that you know were going to happen) is the key to gaining intelligence.
“All of that means nothing if you lack the ability to articulate. Articulation and communication are everything. Noone will ever know of your genius if you lack the ability to tell them.”
Jon S.-
I agree that articulation and communication are everything. We live in a society where nothing is personal or sacred. We are expected to share our inner thoughts, verbalize what we want, go after it, and finally reach our goals by doing so. It is a fact that if a kid just sits there and doesn’t say anything, we expect that he has nothing to say. He could be the most intelligent person in the world, but we still think he is too stupid to formulate words and participate with the rest of the class. If we don’t act out our beliefs and ideas, it’s like they never exist. It is our job to make these intangible things in our heads a reality and make our situations better by doing so. If we don’t we are not truly intellectual. It’s kind of a sad truth. We don’t have to convince ourselves we are smart.
First of all, I believe that there is a behemoth difference between smart and intelligent. Smart is cute, and intelligence is beautiful-- it's the higher level, the more desired, of the two. Intelligence is more elegant.
Intelligence, I believe, is natural. It is a gift and cannot be learned or taught. It is not always conventional, and I think that E.B. White's quote says it interestingly--
"Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one."
That quote makes me giggle. But it's true-- intelligence is the ability to see something different view, in a way that is not of the narrow, worn down path. Intelligence is the ability to synthesize these various views and coherently form one's own opinions and thoughts around them. Also the "crack" in the pot shows that there is no such thing as "perfect," or one kind of intelligence. No two cracks look alike. (That sounded so awkward... ha ha.)
Therefore, this means that the top-of-the-class AP students, the CEOs, the Senators, etc. may not be the most intelligent. There are intelligent people who are dirt poor, and were just dealt a crap hand in the poker of life. Some things are out of one's control. And this is the other profound difference between "intelligent" people and "smart" people-- smart people are hard-workers. They work, until the point of exhaustion, to better learn themselves. People that are on "top," so to speak, are smart. Depending on how smart they are, that is how hard they work.
The mixture of the two, intelligence and smart-ness, is a scary thing to behold indeed. These are the people who become leaders. They are so comfortable with their intelligence, they convince others as well. Depending on the person's personality, this could be a really good thing, or a terrible (terrible, terrible, terrible) thing.
That was an extremely long definition. Ha ha ha.
The most intelligent person that I know personally is my brother. He is intelligent, but not the kind that is smart as well. (That sounds so funny.) Trevor says some things and makes some points that just blow my mind. When he first says it, I think, "Wow. He's weird..." But when I let it sink in, it's usually deep and profound. I wish I had an example to where this wouldn't sound made up, ha ha.
However, like I said, Trevor is not smart. He does just enough to get by, like the 100% boy he is. He would much rather spend his time working on baseball, or playing video games, or hang out with friends to give anything about school or college. I don't blame him, I mean, I would rather live for what I love than trudge through things I dislike. This attitude costs him (his grades, to my mother's dismay, are average). If he applied himself, truly applied himself, he could easily excel through college with honors. But the hours of work it would take to achieve this is something that Trev would not want to sacrifice. He's so DUMB ha ha ha.
It's hard to judge if I am intelligent or not. I'm not smart in a sense of trying. I gave up trying hard at school when it mattered most-- in high school. Why? I have no idea. That's why I'm not smart ha ha. I'm not smart because I don't live to my potential and apply myself. Gah. Maybe I should start trying.
I'm going to take a completely different spin on this, because I judge intelligence not by how smart someone is, but by their daily decisions and actions, as well as their ability to take control of their own life and do what they love to do.
The difference between smart and intelligent is equatable to the difference between like and love. Saying you like something isn't that big of a deal, just as calling somebody smart isn't that big of a deal. However, in my opinion, when you say you LOVE something, you should mean it. When you call someone intelligent, you should also place that same meaning upon it. With this in mind, I thought long and hard about who would best fit the mold of "intelligent" to me, and I concluded that while I know and admire many many many "smart" people, there is only one intelligent person I can think of.
Back in fifth and sixth grade, I had an amazing accelerated reading teacher. I absolutely loved Mrs. Hudson to death. Although many of you didn't like her, never had her, or made fun of her because she was partially deaf, I adored her. Her class sticks out in my mind, as does she. I learned more in that classroom than anywhere else in the world. Something about that green science lab we got stuck in, with the Star Trek cardboard cutouts, the bulky overhead, the creaky book holder, her huge, unorganized desk, the big windows looking out to the courtyard, the high lab tables that you could write notes on, and those big old drawers that snapped open and closed, was the best learning environment ever. I will never forget her classroom, her lessons, and everything that I will take away from that class.
So anyway, back to the topic here. Intelligence. Why Mrs. Hudson? Not only did I think she was a wonderful teacher, but she was a very accomplished, yet pleasant person as well. For those of you who got to know her, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you asked me to describe her in one word, it would have to be genuine. She loved her job, her students, and her life. I love how well rounded she was- having a green house in her own back yard, encouraging her student's to eat lunch with the mentally challenged, leading an aerobic swimming class for the elderly, walking her golden retriever through town, starting a student government at Hess, teaching her students to the best of her ability- these are only some of the many hobbies this woman had. She was a force to be reckoned with, yet she lead and taught in a very calm manner. I never understood how such a small, unintimidating woman could be as influencial as she was.
Mrs. Hudson taught me so much, and at such an important time in my life. I owe a LOT to her. She was the one who encouraged my friendships with my mentally challenged peers, the one who gave me the gift of global awareness, the one who helped me dissect what I read, the one who sought out my leadership abilities and nourished them, the one who introduced me to all different cultures, and most importantly, the one who taught me how to enjoy learning. These are some of the best gifts I have ever received, and to think that I got it all from one person, well it's just mind boggling.
I wish there was some way to explain Mrs. Hudson to everyone that didn't have her. She was a short little woman, in her late 50's at the time, with short graying hair, and glasses. She talked with a lisp, due to her bad hearing, and wore hearing aids. As a teacher, she was the kind I always wanted, and still want. Someone who does hands on, yet applicable events. Oftentimes, she would screw her lesson plans, and do something fun and enjoyable with us. Everyday was different. One time we got into groups and had to come up with the best way to cushion a falling egg by using a piece of newspaper and some cardboard (something like that). Another time we broke off into groups and played a knighthood game. I don't quite know how to explain it, but it was really fun. We also acted out Shakespeare, with props and everything. She took us on a trip called "Marsville" where we worked with students from other schools to construct these huge plastic bubbles, and simulate what life would be like on Mars. We also had "World Earth Day" in the gym, which she sponsored. These people go around to schools and set up a HUGE floor map. Each kid is assigned a country, and the amount of kids per country is proportional to the country's actual population. Then you have to try and come up with solutions to that country's real problems. It's hard to explain, but I loved it. Well, I know I'm rambling...
So once again, back to my point. Mrs. Hudson is everything I hope to be one day. She's a person who does what she loves to do all of the time, and lives life for herself, but also others, at the same time. She was wise, passionate, and inspiring. I believe she is the most intelligent person I have ever met, because not only was she book smart, but "life smart" as well. She truly understood her place on this planet, which is something I think we all strive for.
Ha ha ha Serj. <3.
Well I feel like an idiot because I thought today was Wednesday night and the blog was due. But since I dragged myself out of war craft to get here I might as well write.
Bunje! What is this nonsense? And I say nonsense in the most endearing way. I'm just confused as to why you would write this question. The aspect of the blog that caught my eye was the description of your loneliness. First of all how could you feel intellectually isolated when you are surrounded by the brilliant minds of your 12th period Lang?! On a more serious note, I would never have expected you to be judgmental on the intelligence of others. I don't mean to criticize but I think that by considering yourself intellectually stranded you have spoken fathoms about your inability to see the intelligence of others, which I’ll add is a trait mark of intelligence. A truly intelligent person would be able to recognize the different masks that intelligence will shroud itself behind and appreciate the many forms it may present itself in. Now considering who you are Bunje and your position as a teacher I’ve concluded that the blog is a lie! You are someone who obviously appreciates intelligence in many forms as we see in class everyday when you tolerate and even delight in the collectively ridiculous personas of the Lang classes. This blog was most likely written with the intent of analyzing our responses to see how they compare with your own definition of intelligence and from that point form a collaborative decision on who you will note as "intelligent". So for all intents and purposes, even if my assumption has sent itself on a one way trip to Way Wrong, Your Answer, I will answer this blog. That last sentence sounded very haughty after I reread it, anyway....
Intelligence...well you are absolutely correct that this word is thrown around and mangled till the point where its original meaning is not discernible. Much like the way the word cheese has been raped by society. You know, "cold as cheese" "hot as cheese" "cheesin'!" since when did cheese become a verb? Let alone a word that includes one meaning and then the antonym of that word. But yes intelligence. Apparently intelligence today is getting straight A's, or getting a high SAT score, going to ivy league schools, graduating from ivy league school, even a high school diploma is looked upon with a degree of respect for the "intelligence" it took to achieve it. Sorry if you picked one of the above as your answer you are the weakest link. Intelligence cannot be written down on paper or put into numerical form. You cannot be told how intelligent you are or test to see how much intelligence you have. It is an unquantifiable object. What intelligence is, is knowing. Actually that is my first crude answer I came up with when reading this blog. I haven't found an exact answer yet so I’ll just keep writing until I reach one.
The reason I arrived at knowing as an answer is because it feels right. Now that may sound like an unreasonable answer but it's actually the most appropriate answer for the topic. When you are intelligent you know. Not you know as in you know that you have intelligence but you just know, you understand. Well there it is the more refined answer I was looking for. Now intelligence is a combination of knowing and understanding. the two go hand in hand as you can't know without understanding but you can't understand more without knowing something first. While that was vague and confusing I still have yet to elaborate on what exactly knowing and understanding are.
Knowing is such an encompassing fact I will start defining it by saying what it is not. It isn't the memorization of facts; it is also not learning how things occur. Those are trivial issues on the greater scale of intelligence as you do not have to know quantifiable things like mathematics and biology to have intelligence. When you know, you know that you know, and you know what it is. That’s really the most accurate definition I can give because I don't think this concept can be taught to someone who doesn't know it. In more lengthy terms though knowing is just seeing the world around you, everything it encompasses and being able to analyze it and see the truth of it. The definition cannot progress any farther without understanding. So the greater part of knowing is understanding, as you critique and scrutinize what is around you, you will just know how it works, why it works, for what reasons does it work. This is everything from physical movement, to the psychology of people or to the composition of objects. It's an unexplainable phenomenon, but when it occurs you know it.
Some of us go about through almost the entire day knowing and understanding what is going on, they are in control. You can see people and understand how the feel and know why they feel and what makes them feel. It's almost dangerous to an extent because when you have this control you can manipulate and deceive; control the precise actions of yourself to reach outcomes in others predetermined by you. But these traits are not shared by all people with intelligence. Certain levels of this intelligence can exist in some but not in others. Myself as an example, I have the type of understanding where I see processes and functions and completely understand them. The same to an extent with people and philosophical ideas. But I lack an understanding of spatial objects. I can understand the physics of my body and other objects but I have a hard time understanding imagined objects such as creating a maximum volume from given dimensions. But I see these traits that I lack in other people. These are the people that know. And even though, Bunje, they might not know what you know, there is a possibility they know much more on a level we have yet to comprehend. Now for the most intelligent person I have ever met.
Two words; Jon Scheaffer. Two more words; is intelligent. Jon scheaffer for lack of a more precise definition is intelligence. If A revised edition of Webster’s was put out this year Jon's picture would be right next to the word intelligence. All my life I’ve known that Jon was the most intelligent person and will probably always be the most intelligent person I have ever known. Jon has a complete comprehension of knowing and understanding, and I mean complete. Anything and everything that he can be shown, seen, heard, smelt, touched, tasted, thought is instantly analyzed. Every field of intelligence I have ever considered seems to be under his single authoritative control. He has always been to me a master of logic, reason and understanding. We used to play zoombinis. A game where you would overcome tough mental challenges with complex strategies. Now I was a zoom-bini-beast. After a few minutes testing and analyzing the level I could do it back and forth. But Jon, freaking Jon took it to a whole new level. He wouldn't even have played the level but would just look at the screen, look at what was available and derive from that a plan on what he would do before even knowing the objective, he was always right by the way. Now I don't think that Jon finds himself to be overly intelligent but I believe that to be a trait of complete understanding. When you see the world for what it is and know the people in it know the functions of it and why it is you will have a completed puzzle displaying the world. From it everybody no matter how intelligent will seem to have a place and a reason and therefore seem to be equally intelligent. I don't know how to express this in any clearer way, but basically Jon scheaffer is the most intelligent person I have ever met because he knows and he understands. Boy does that sound ominous.....
So the definition of intelligence, from all of my convoluted thoughts and analyzed ideas riddled with fallacies I have derived this definition. Intelligence is the ability to know what is around you and understand why it is. This definition has just struck me as some form of complex religious ideal of existing. But I guess that fits the scenario very well as we see religious figures as wise and all knowing. So there we have it, intelligence is knowing and the smartest person I’ve ever met is a 16 year old boy. While just reading it like that sound ridiculous and not thought out I think it is a great testimony to my ideals and a refreshing break from the overbearing scholastic answers society will give you.
In response to Eva:
Your blog had more truth to it then I think I’ll find in many of the blogs to come. The idea that intelligence is a falsehood of ideas in which what is valued as intelligence is the shared belief in a certain fact or ideal. After reading yours I went back through mine and realized that this concept is completely applicable to my situation. My infatuation with Jon’s intelligence could very well be because of a subliminal similarity I find in his and my own. I also like what you've said about intelligence being appreciation for something one can't understand. That certainly seems to be the case when I see you go medieval on kids in the hallway and they are dumbfounded by what you've said even if it's nonsensical blather. the one part of your post that drove my interest the furthest was the idea that if we all decide intelligence based on agreements of opinions, what is the ultimate opinion that all of us are agreeing towards? Surely there has to be an ultimate set of beliefs that everyone would relate to and agree with. But this concept is becoming too religious for my taste; I think I’ll back out until class tomorrow.
Intelligence is the ability to react in various situations, while having an open mind to the environment. There are many people who are smart, but their common sense is lacking. Therefore, they lack intelligence. People who strive to become intelligent only by acquiring knowledge of certain subjects have a rough time relating to others who are more common. It's important in life to stay humble and not allow yourself to push your beliefs or your knowledge on others just because you may know more than the next person or you may THINK you know more. Even in school, many students confuse this. They may know the answers because they study their hiney off, but do they know the answers in life's obstacles? Have they ever came across a hardship to overcome? Has their parents sheltered them to the extent where they won't be able to function in society because the parents, teachers, and other faculty stress the importance of grades, gpa, and rank? No one receives a grade in life.
Growing up I always thought my step dad was the most intelligent. Every curious question I had, he would answer in the most eloquent way. I felt I could never go to my mom for any math problem, geography problem, or a science problem growing up. As I matured, I found out my mother is the one who is very intelligent. She's conquered various life experiences without allowing anything to overcome her. She doesn't have a college education, yet she has managed to gain experience in various areas from restaurant businesses to lawyer offices to give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of and wanted. She supported my sister by working in a restaurant then met my Dad and worked under his landscaping business as a secretary and when he passed away.. So did her career. She was forced to overcome being a widow and get back into the real world where she had to find a job to support me. She’s been through a lot in her life as a child and as an adult. Your life experiences ultimately make you intelligent.
I found a couple quotes that I agree with.
“Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.”
Bertolt Brecht quotes
-- It’s very important to be able to think on your feet and be ready for the unexpected.
"I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”
Socrates quotes
--Socrates is just an amazing philosopher and going back to being humble, its very important to stay humble because no one likes a “know it all”.
"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
Ernest Hemingway quotes
--Since most stereotypical “intelligent” people have a hard time relating to others, they can’t have that harmonious relationship with others. Happiness is sacrificed for intelligence.
“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.”
Abigail Adams quotes
--Abigail Adams is a powerful woman of her time as everyone knows, but this is like in class how we discussed to fully understand a topic it’s important to understand and learn all view points and be more open minded to only believing our own belief.
“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 quotes
--It is about what you do with the information and the actions you take, not about having the information stored and never accessing it.
Matty C-
"I'm just confused as to why you would write this question. The aspect of the blog that caught my eye was the description of your loneliness."
"Two words; Jon Scheaffer. Two more words; is intelligent. Jon scheaffer for lack of a more precise definition is intelligence. If A revised edition of Webster’s was put out this year Jon's picture would be right next to the word intelligence. All my life I’ve known that Jon was the most intelligent person and will probably always be the most intelligent person I have ever known. Jon has a complete comprehension of knowing and understanding, and I mean complete. Anything and everything that he can be shown, seen, heard, smelt, touched, tasted, thought is instantly analyzed."
The loneliness description really caught my eye too and I got excited about the blog. Then I said we were define intelligence, and i was like "Oh man". It's funny because even before I read your blog, I was thinking about Jon being one of the most intelligent. I love reading his blogs and listening to him in school because he does have an understanding and perceives situations in ways I could never. I always thought I was extremely analytical, but I'm analytical on a negative side and he seems to bring things to life when he analyzes and just offers a whole new perspective on the topic.
My definition of intelligence is very biased. I think in order to conclude what determines one's "intelligence", we must first figure out what intelligence is not. Intelligence is by no means the same as being smart. So, for you're question of who the "smartest" person I know is, I refuse to answer that, but I will tell you who the most intelligent person I've ever known is. Well, I'll tell you later.
One's intellect is not a comparison of how well that person scored on the SAT's, or the grades he/she received in school, or even one's college diploma. It is not how complex a person can make a subject and it is certainly not determined by the length or elaborateness of the vocabulary one speaks with. It is not only how philosophical one can think or how elaborate his or her thoughts appear to others because these attributes do not help those with such lesser comprehension.
Instead, intelligence is the complete opposite of the fact-filled, idealistic, thought-provoking individual. It is simplicity at it's finest. To me, intelligence is not based on one's ability to comprehend profound issues and spit out insightful concepts, but on how well a person can break that idea down to create a better understanding for others. The ability to grasp a concept is indeed a notable talent. But even more so, the skill of generalizing in a very straightforward manner is a task that not many people in this world are capable of succeeding in.
Basically, those who can truly enhance the knowledge of others by helping them gain a better understanding of an idea are intelligent. This knowledge I'm talking about isn't learning how to, I don't know, find the derivative of a function and determine the critical numbers, then take the second derivative and figure out the point of inflection, where the graph is concave up and down, and then sketch a graph and figure out the maximum volume of a cone with a square base. Just saying. Of course, teaching this technique is probably quite difficult, but it does not prove one’s intelligence because it’s useless. People who teach are not automatically classified as "intelligent people", but the teachers who provide meaningful lessons to their students definitely have the potential to be.
There are two types of knowledge an intelligent person can provide others. The first is that of what a person does not know, but wants to, and it must contain some sort of valuable purpose. Sure, people don’t know how to solve optimization problems in which they must find two positive numbers whose sum is 72 and whose product is a minimum. But those who attempt to simplify that to create a better understanding of how to solve those mathematical problems aren’t intelligent. They just memorized a bunch of methods and merely pass along that educated information. This first type of knowledge is something along the lines of what was once immense confusion, and then, because of the intellectual, it becomes something of great value and appreciation to others. Inside the simplified explanation can be found a very clear and reflective notion of something greater in meaning. It doesn’t involve much effort for the non-intellect to deduce a very generalized and purposeful meaning to something important to them. For example: literature. It takes a great amount of skill to break down the meaning of others’ writings, especially when they include very thought-provoking ideals as well. Most literature contains very deep undertones and, in essence, possesses the ability to give others a better understanding of life, death, and their purpose in the world. This is what makes an intelligent person. Not the ability to take a profound subject and relate it to life, but the skill of mastering the understanding of said subject and then clarifying his or her insight in a way that helps others formulate that connection as well.
The second type of knowledge that an intelligent person provides is that of general life lessons and values. This type does involve the intellectual to have very philosophical ideals, but it cannot simply be just that. The intellectual must be able to break down their thoughts in a less complex manner, so that everyone can understand them. The more obscure one’s ideas are makes them that much less intelligent if he or she can’t simplify them. The intellectual must have an extremely well organized and rational view of his or her surroundings. Even more so, the more irrational the thoughts are the better. A clear unreasonable way of thinking does not prove one’s intellect in itself, but the support of his or her views in a much generalized approach generates the appreciation of others toward such ideas. This appreciation therefore allows other individuals to master the art of consciousness, which initiates more understanding of the world around them, thereby lessening the complete “intellectual” loneliness many people feel.
Now, I said my definition is very biased because this is the kind of people I think we need in the world. I have met very (very, very, very, very) few people who fit this description. In fact, I’ve met a total of… oh, that’s right, zero. I have yet to find any one who can explain to me what I want to know. People have tried, some have come close, but overall, they’ve all failed to meet my expectations. That is why I can’t say who the most intelligent person I know is. Intelligence isn’t a word I throw around often. I call many people smart, but in a way, that can also be taken as an insult for the lack of one’s intelligence. Since I feel obliged to answer the actual question, I’m going to completely contradict my very own definition of intelligence, and give you the reason why I’m the most intelligent person I know. Simply put, I’m the only person I know. I know of my capabilities, the extent to which I think things through, and how I learn from my own and others’ mistakes. In relation to my actual definition, I really do try to simplify things. I don’t go out of my way to make things sound completely philosophical. But I do tend to make things obscure, but that’s unintentional. I have not mastered the art of intelligence, but I’m the closest and only person I can give such a title to. And no, I’m not being conceited at all when I say this. I really wouldn’t deem myself intelligent in many areas, but considering I’m the only person I know, I’m the only person eligible to be chosen. I don’t know the capacity to which others actually think, or their intentions. I frequently try to figure out others’ emotions, thoughts, or objectives, but that does not give me an accurate account of who they are and how they really view things. People can say whatever the want and they can act however they want. But their words don’t mean anything if one doesn’t know their true thoughts. And yes, action speaks louder than words. This statement is often used to describe how people can determine the character of others through the way they act. But one does not know the legitimacy behind others’ actions; therefore any assumptions of a person’s character aren’t justifiable.
Sarah Crane:
“I am the most intelligent person I know. No, this is not conceited, because I am not saying that I'm the smartest person I've ever met. I'm just the smartest person I know, because out of the 6.4 billion people on this earth, there is only one person whose mind I truly know; me. I think intelligence is based on the inner workings of a person's mind, and guess what, I'm not psychic! I don't know what other people truly think, I don't know what truly goes on inside their head. I only know what goes on inside my head. And since (in terms of intelligence) I am the only person I know, I am therefore automatically the smartest person I know! (Though, by that same logic, I am also the least intelligent person I know, but that's a topic for another day...)”
I read this, and I was like, “Damn. That’s exactly what I was trying to say.” Although me being the most intelligent person I know conflicts with my actual definition because I don’t fully fit into the characterization, if I must state a person, it would have to be myself. This is for no other reason than (and I think you put it perfectly) “…out of the 6.4 billion people on this earth, there is only one person whose mind I truly know; me. I think intelligence is based on the inner workings of a person's mind, and guess what, I'm not psychic! I don't know what other people truly think, I don't know what truly goes on inside their head.”
This blog this week has been the topic of my thoughts for the past few days. I have been sifting through ideas of what “intelligence” really is and who the most intelligent person I know is. Well first off, I began reading quotes many of which were by Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin and so on. They were created a foundation for my thoughts to branch off from and soon the creative ideas seemed to flow more freely.
"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."
- Confucius
Chinese Philosopher, 551-479 BC
This quote seemed to sum up precisely my thoughts about intelligence. Intelligence is not something to be acquired easily; it takes a great deal of time and self-learning. Smart people are born with the gift of being intellectually gifted and are labeled as the “smart kids” during their beginning years in school. These are the boys and girls who can get a deep understanding from their education. These children can dissect any math problem and get a thorough comprehension of what is going on. They are the ones who can think of profound answers to a question they are asked in English class and make others around them stunned by the sheer brilliance of it. That is just the beginning though. To be intelligent a person needs to broaden their horizons and reach out. Intelligence and wisdom are the highest possible levels of genius in my eyes. For both it is necessary to understand many things in the categories of worldly and social experience as well as understanding the majority of what they have learned from their years in education. It is not necessarily “knowing” all of it, because that is beyond the capacity for any mind, but having experienced it and having an understanding and knowledge of all of it. Confucius says a person needs to learn from reflection, imitation, and experience. Reflection is learning from past mistakes and trying to correct them for the future. Imitation is seeing others mistakes and making sure you don’t make the same ones. Experience is seeing all a person can see and taking it all in. Experience allows someone to base their thoughts off of what they have seen and make their own assumptions from it. I know that I learn best after I experience something, for example when I was riding horses. My mom bought me every book in the world about how to ride and how to grasp the basics when I first started. She forced me to look them over and get an understanding of the art. As I grew older she made me read books about whatever riding level I was to try to find ways to improve. The books never really helped because I couldn’t actually try out what they were saying, but when I was on the horse it was like everything clicked. It just came natural and fell into place. It seemed like the hardest thing when I was reading it in the book, but once I was actually experiencing it, it just came to me. I learned from what was going on between me and my horse.
After a great deal of time mulling over this thought of the most “intelligent” person I know, I have come to the conclusion that I would have to say my grandmother. She has been through a lot in her life and has made bad decisions like anyone else, but she changed her life around. She learned from the mistakes she made in the past and made for a better future. I don’t think she would want me to go into details about her bad mistakes because she has never really told me herself. My mom told me. My grandmom has used her self reflection and experience to better herself, as well as not imitate her old bad habits. My mom has told me how my grandmother is such a strong and admirable woman. I aspire to be like her when I am older. She is such a loving and compassionate person. She goes out of her way for her family, while also she stands up for herself when people in the hospital she works for take advantage of her. She has a lifetime of experiences that she uses to advise me when I am having problems. She always seems to have the answer to things which is why I go to her when no one else seems to be able to give me the answer I am searching for. My mom seems to lecture me whenever I ask her for help, but my grandmom has a subtle way of giving me advice without making it sound too preachy. She is pretty much a technology whiz. She even texts and always has to come fix my computer. I think sometimes she is more knowledgeable than me and my sister. I am lucky to have such an intelligent wonderful woman as my grandmother.
In response to Hilary-
“First of all, I believe that there is a behemoth difference between smart and intelligent. Smart is cute, and intelligence is beautiful-- it's the higher level, the more desired, of the two. Intelligence is more elegant.
Intelligence, I believe, is natural. It is a gift and cannot be learned or taught.” I completely agree with you. You have a beautiful way of articulating your words and this was what I was trying to say throughout my blog, but once again you said it perfectly in these few sentences.
"So my definition of intelligence: Someone whose ideology closely follows my own, or who has a separate ideology which I cannot understand, but they are willing to explain."
Eva, I think that this is a very profound conclusion that you have drawn. I found myself agreeing to your blog, and it made me think a lot about my own definition of intelligence. It's interesting to note that most of us are labeling intelligent people, and while they are all different, they all have one common theme- we look up to them. For example, Jon chose Michael, I chose Mrs. Hudson, Hilary chose Trevor, you chose your sister, Morgan and Tarah chose their grandmothers. We all admire whoever we chose, and strive to live the way that they have. It's amazing that you already knew this. Your definition of intelligence hit the nail on the head. Brilliant, as always :)
Ok I have to go to vermont now, and practically noone's written a comment.......
Matt:
Thanks. "It's all in the logic!" - Jon's way of explaining Zoombinis
Devon:
I don't look up to Michael. I don't look up to anyone. I admire them, but I hope to become my OWN person. I would never aspire to become someone else, which is what "looking up" to someone would imply. Sorry for the harsh tone but.....I'm going through these really fast.
Mike:
I hate marinated chicken.
Matthew:
Your question is redundant, for you already knew the answer. Plus, Bunje puts intelligent in quotes all throughout the blog, to make it obvious that she wants intelligence.
Eva:
You said ditto. I like pokemon.
Ta ta! Time for an 8 hour car ride =)
Alright, so to start with, allow me to admit that I have not allowed this to marinate. Given that I've been swinging in and out of consciousness since Sunday night due to my constantly 102+ degree fever, (pneumonia, by the way), and that today is the first time in over a week that I've been online, I just read this blog about an hour ago. But, as we've been told so often pertaining to those stupid scan-tron things, I'm going to "go with my gut" and give this a shot while I'm still awake and hope it doesn't sound as weird/awful as I probably look right now.
So my first, instantaneous thought, after reading the blog was 'EVA! Eva is brilliant, she's got to be the most intelligent person I know.' But I read through all the blogs posted up until now, (now being 3:19 pm) and I've reformed a little. To be intelligent, I think, is simply to understand. To not only know things, but to completely grasp them. I know a lot of people, smart people, who can recite every math formula they've ever learned, and even use them. (First note: eww, math.) (Second note: my use of the word smart was purposeful. As everyone else as pointed out, smart is very different from intelligent. Just read Hil's blog.) (Third note: oh, speaking of Hilary, what happened in drama? Did you guys go without me? Crap that's way off topic. Back to the point!) Right! People can use math formulas! BUT! Have you ever asked a math teacher WHY that formula does what it does? I don't remember if any of you were in my math class last year, but if you were, you know I have. Allow me to elaborate-
If you ask an English teacher why certain things help the persuasiveness of an essay, most can explain it to you, referencing things that we all have a general understanding (and therefore intelligence!) of, such as human emotion and reliable sources. But a math teacher, more often than not, cannot tell you WHY parabola's are the way they are OR how they will help you perform ANY worthwhile function, EVER. (Especially Mrs. Baird. She'd go and entire 45 minute period deliberately looking at any raised hand in the classroom, as long as it wasn't mine, because I asked questions that were apparently too hard for her.)
Hence, as an extreme generalization, English teachers are more intelligent than Math teachers.
Another factor to look at in the given examples! They included explaining things, which supports another point some of my peers have made: communication is KEY. You must be able to express and explain your intelligence for others to find you intelligent.
So you may be wondering, at this point, who my "most intelligent person" is, and to tell you the truth, I don't know. Does someone who tries desperately to understand things count as intelligent, even if they fail? If so, aren't we ALL intelligent? Haven't we all, at one point or another, wondered WHY? So then the question becomes, is everyone intelligent? Is perhaps, the real question, is intelligence quantifiable? When looking for the "most" intelligent person you know, how can you measure such a thing? Such an intangible, immeasurable thing? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: If intelligence, an unquantifiable, immeasurable, unit of understanding, is truly a factor in how we judge and perceive people, then how accurate are our perceptions? For if intelligence is understanding... And you don't understand the most essential things, yourself, or people...Because you're basing such understanding on falsities and immeasurable measurements... Then do any of us understand? Are ANY of us intelligent?
Sorry. I felt an epiphany coming, but I think it has evaded me. My head hurts, and I need to go sleep some more. I'll read back over this later and try to be more clear and conclusive.
Sarah Friggin Crane
I love your blog
I had a really bad headache yesterday (I read the blog yesterday) and your blog brought a smile across my face
I loved your last paragraph because you say a really good point that just so happens to be humorous ..
I am the most intelligent person I know. No, this is not conceited, because I am not saying that I'm the smartest person I've ever met. I'm just the smartest person I know, because out of the 6.4 billion people on this earth, there is only one person whose mind I truly know; me. I think intelligence is based on the inner workings of a person's mind, and guess what, I'm not psychic! I don't know what other people truly think, I don't know what truly goes on inside their head. I only know what goes on inside my head. And since (in terms of intelligence) I am the only person I know, I am therefore automatically the smartest person I know! (Though, by that same logic, I am also the least intelligent person I know, but that's a topic for another day...)
well done!
Leonor *-*
To me I would have to say that the most intelligent person I’ve ever known is the very woman who gave birth to me. My mom, to me, is the definition of intelligence. Despite what many people may think intelligence is not measured by grades, standardized tests, or college degrees. Intelligence takes more than all of those things; just because you have a fancy college degree does not prove intelligence. A perfect example would be our soon to be retired president. George Bush went to Yale University as an undergraduate and then to Harvard Business School after that. Yet by no means of the word would I consider him to be intelligent, he shouldn’t be our president, he is more worthy of being our mascot.
Now back to my mother. Ever since I was but a little child my mother has always helped me become wiser and smarter. She would ask me questions that caused me to search deep within myself and think of things in perspectives I would have never before thought of. Despite the fact that she never graduated from college, she has proven to me that it takes more than degrees to be intelligent. As much as she regrets not finishing school she accepts it. This is also a reason that has driven me to become as intelligent as her. As well as driving me to go through college and possibly law school. My mother, as long as I can remember as always been reading a book, only on rare occasions does she watch television. I cannot remember a time when she wasn’t in the middle of a book. Recently she has embarked on a journey after finding a list of 1001 books to read before you die, and she intends to do just that. Currently she has around 850 left to go, some of which she read prior to finding the list. Whether or not she enjoys the book she has vowed to read them all, which brings me to my next point. Intelligence has a lot to do with how well read a person. To more they read the more they submit themselves to an endless sea of knowledge.
Intelligence is not a trait that can be learned, it is not acquired, and in my opinion intelligence is somewhat of a genetic trait. It is not ingrained in everybody’s brain. With that being said I would like to say there is a huge difference between being intelligent and being studious. Those who are intelligent tend to pick up ideas and concepts without having to drill it into their skulls. People that are studious study, study, study. They study a concept for as long as it takes and then some. I’m not saying that a person cannot be both studious and intelligent however one does not always come with the other.
“The intellect is not a serious thing and never has been. It is an instrument on which one plays, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde
Intellect is not that important to me. Personality is. But if you are in high school and do not know how to spell the word orange I advise you to get the heck away from me because I will chop your head off with the sixteenth century guillotine in my back yard. Kidding! I would slap you for being a dumb a** though.
In my eyes the level of someone’s intelligence cannot be measured. People are smart in their own unique way. Someone who can bring something as ordinary as a paper clip into a new light with the help of charcoal and some paper is equally as intelligent as someone who scores a five on the AP Lang Exam.
Ewwwwww I’m sounding like a Barney episode on PBS kids. Nahh but I really do feel this way. I hate it when people call others stupid just because they “waste their time” in something that is seen in their eyes as useless. What is important to someone in Crew may not be important to someone in the Debate team but that doesn’t mean the Debate team should feel superior to Crew.
Anyways, if I absolutely positively had to judge someone on how intelligent they were, I would arrive at my conclusion by observing the way they use their gift. Everyone has a gift even though they may not know it yet – hint hint: I do not know my hidden talent, that’s why it’s hidden. If people let their gift rot in the corner somewhere in La La Land then they are boobs. If they strive everyday to let their creativity shine even in the darkest of days then they are the next Leonardo da Vinci.I’m not trying to say he was the smartest person in the world. Got that? He just was really talented at art.
If you have not already figured it out, I am not going to tell you who the smartest person I have ever known is. Frankly it is because as I have hinted before – or at least tried to do — all the people I know or have known, have their own talents and they all do excellently in their field. And I am not going not say that I am the smartest person I know because that would be a lie. I can’t be. It’s as simple as that.
And if this doesn’t answer your question the way you hoped well I am not sorry because I am sure that at this very moment in my life this is what I believe.
Sincerely Yours,
Leonor
“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.”
Maya Angelou
“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt”
Bertrand Russell
“How is it that little children are so intelligent and men so stupid? It must be education that does it.”
Alexandre Dumas Père
So, what is intelligence and what makes a person “intelligent”? I have occasionally thought about this but so found myself being distracted and forgetting about my hunt for the true identity of intelligence. Well, now that I have had time to marinate in my thoughts and the thoughts of others, I think I have finally come to a conclusion on the true form of intelligence.
For so long it has been driven into my head that in order to succeed I had to get good grades. When I entered high school a whole new set of things was placed before me: SATs, GPA, HSPA, and class rank are just a few. I began to wonder why were these things important, what exactly did they measure? Intelligence? No, absolutely not. As far as I am concerned there is no test that measure intelligence, with that said, intelligence seems to become somewhat of an abstract idea. But there are definite qualities of intelligence. It is more than being smart, which I perceive as just knowing facts; it is having an elevated sense of perception. I can’t help but agree with Père that children are so intelligent. They have no prejudices, no preconceptions, and they just see everything as it is. They don’t conform to popular beliefs or act like so one else; they are their own person and they don’t let anything stop them. However, education does seem to stop that and greatly reduces the chance to be intelligent.
Of course, that’s not to say that there are not intelligent adults because there most certainly are, in fact, there are more intelligent adults than kids, which brings me to my next quality of intelligence. That is being able to use whatever knowledge you possess in an efficient and constructive manner. Hobos can be intelligent, anyone can be, it is really how you use everything you know.
But, one of the most important qualities is that intelligence never allows you to stop thinking, both figuratively and literally. Intelligent people are always busy in their minds calculating new ways of doing things or pondering some of life’s deepest mysteries. They realize how infinitesimally small they are but still try to change things for the better. They also don’t let anyone else think for them. They listen to others and may incorporate a few of the ideas into their ideology, but overall, their thoughts original, fresh.
The one true mark of intelligence is realizing how little they actually know. People are constantly bragging about this or that but intelligence smoothers that in a person. It makes them see not only what the can do but what they can’t. This fills them with doubt and makes them question if they actually know what they think they know. It is a kind of curse. Intelligent people have some of the greatest ideas but rarely share them because the know/feel that they aren’t better than anyone else. They see the truth in “All men (people) are created equal.”
So, I would say that this would be my definition of intelligence:
A state of unrelentless, original thought that allows a person to look beyond preconceptions, see the true value of each, individual living thing, makes a person more adept at articulating their thoughts, to the point of persuasion that could be described as somewhat devious, and makes them second guess their own ideas (So, I just added that last part, I only just thought of it)(That’s a long definition. It figures, everything I’ve written is long-winded)
Before I begin the next part, I would just like to say to Jon S that my question was not redundant. Why, you may ask? Because when I asked Bunje and explained to her why I had asked, she said that there were all most identical in definition and could be used synonymously. So, it obviously was redundant nor was it a bad question. It would seem t me that Bunje’s view is that smartness and intelligence are almost the same thing, while I feel they are almost at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. However, since I am obviously not Bunje, I can’t truly tell you what she thinks only what I synthesized from our conversation.
On to the next question: “Who's the smartest (intelligent) person you've ever known?” This is a very difficult question for me to answer actually. There are many people whom I think are light-years ahead of everyone else, but I don’t know that anyone completely meets the requirements of my definition of intelligence. I guess that comes off as a little arrogant but that’s how I feel. With that said, there are definitely people whom I think are close to it and might possibly reach it within their lifetime. One of these people is my Aunt Angel. She is always thinking of new ways to do things and constantly running things through her mind. Albeit she wasn’t the best student, she is extremely smart and on her way to intelligence. She is never letting conventionally thinking get in her way, especially when it comes to food. She is an amazing cook and does things no one has ever even imagine. She has come up with the idea of creating a cookbook. You may be asking yourself what is so original and amazing about a cookbook, well here it is. She wants to create a cookbook completely free of measurements; it would be only ingredients and approximate cooking times. I was taken aback by the idea at first but after she explained it so well, I began to consider the possibility of this completely radical way of cooking; she called it “based on taste” meaning each person would use the same ingredients but add or subtract an amount of one or the other in or to fit his or her likes/dislikes. “Wow” I had to admit it was an ingenious and completely original idea. So we talked about it and how others would perceive it and she felt it would go over great, I was I little doubtful but I didn’t want to spoil the fun. My aunt fills almost all of the categories: She is very gifted in the art of persuasion, she sees the value of each person and wants to bring out their uniqueness, like with food she want it their likes and dislikes, she also looks past preconceptions and thinks her own way and lets others do the same. The only one she lacks is the self-doubt. She is, in the nicest way possible, very arrogant and cocky, hmm wonder where I get it from, meaning she doesn’t ever doubt anything, it is always the best. A truly intelligent person would realize the possibility that some one could be better than them and she just doesn’t see that yet.
So, to me intelligence can be learned to a point, but most of it comes from within and is truly a journey of self-discovery.
I don't believe that I have really met any truly intelligent people in
my life. In fact, I don't really believe that I can aptly define what
intelligence is since I haven't really interacted with it before. I've
met geniuses, inventors, theorists, teachers, and some people that are
very wise, but could I really call them intelligent? I would like to
consider myself smart, possibly bright, but intelligent? I doubt it.
We hold higher standards to those we consider intelligent, but do I fit
that mold? Again, I doubt it. For me, intelligence has nothing to do
with your IQ or your test scores, your street smarts or your common
sense, it doesn't even have to do with how other's think of you. For
me, intelligence has to deal with how you perceive yourself, under just
causes, and how you view your own mind and thoughts. You're
intelligent if you believe that you are intelligent, smart if you
believe you are smart, a genius if you believe that you are a genius.
But is a good enough definition? I don't really think that I can think
of a better one, I am no genius when it comes to definitions. But I
don't believe that I am intelligent and if I don't know what
intelligence is, how can I possibly tell if I have met anyone who is
intelligent? Intelligence is not something that I dwell upon; when i
meet people, I don't think of them in terms of intellect, but rather in
whether I believe them to be worth the time it takes to get to know
them. I look at people in the perspective in what I can gain and what
I can give, in how we can influence each other.
But maybe what I am saying is just nonsense anyway. Maybe I'm in no
position to try and tell people what I view as intelligence. Maybe an
intelligent person out there can tell me so that I will know what to
look for. All I can say is that I am not intelligent, how can I be? I
disappoint people all of the time, I can never live up to their
expectations, I can never do and think and feel and act how they what
me to.
Bunge, I know what you mean when you say that you feel depressed and
alone; I feel that way all the time, even though I too and surrounded
by people every single waking day of my life. And I, I don't know what
I should do, I really don't. I'm so sick of this, sick of everything
that I am forced to do, things that I don't want to do, that I know I
don't have to do to make my life meaningful. So why does everyone else
think that I have to? Why does everyone else believe that I need to
get good grades and go to a good college and get a good job and obey
all of the fucking rules in this damned thing they call a society to
have a life that is actually worth something?!?! Why! I really want to
fucking know but no one will tell me! Why do I have to fit some
pre-notion of what i am and am supposed to be? Why do I have to cut my
life in pieces to fit that God damned mold? I don't want to, I don't
fucking want to. Not anymore. I'm just so tired, so tired of it all,
pandering to the wishes and desires of people who aren't and never will
be me. They don't know, can't understand my mind, no matter how hard
they might try to with all of their science and scheming and whispers.
They compare me to everything else in this world and in doing so
believe that they can comprehend what I am. I am not their text book
study. I am not their science project. I am not the little innocent
child that they believe that I am. I never was and couldn't be the
child that they wanted. And I don't want to be either.
So I may not be intelligent, fuck that and fuck them! I don't care.
I am not their perfect child.
And I'm damn proud of it.
I’ve contemplated this blog all week, Bunje. Ugh. But anyways, don’t feel lonely! Everyone has different views on the world and its people. I get that sinking feeling every now and then, too. Maybe we all do. But we aren’t acquainted with everyone else’s thoughts so the knowledge of that will never be known unfortunately. I sometimes find myself getting frustrated when no one seems to understand my perspective. That’s why I get that sense of being miles away from everyone when I’m surrounded by loved ones, too. Hmm…
Anyways, intelligence… Like Hilary said, being intelligent and smart are completely different things. Her comparison of smart being cute and intelligence being beautiful really hit the nail on the head. Nicely done Hil. :) But I believe there isn’t just one form of intelligence. For most people, intelligence isn’t just handed to them. They have to work their butts off for it. But occasionally there are those few students that never take a note in class or never appear to be listening yet still somehow manage to amaze us all with their mental ability. Those lucky few, I feel, are born with that ability of intelligence. You can learn to become smart, but intelligence is just a gift. Being smart, I feel, applies to schoolwork and such. Intelligence, however, applies to all aspects of human nature in my opinion. It’s basically having a complete understanding of all your surroundings.
I honestly don’t know who the smartest person I’ve ever met before is. From reading Sarah’s blog, I really feel like I don’t know anyone well enough to establish who is most intelligent I know. It’s all a matter of our own opinion. Her blog got me all in a tizzy and I find she is right. The only person we truly understand inside and out is ourselves. Very thought provoking blog, Sarah! We know the extent to which we can analyze information. We only know our own potentials, not others. I only know what goes in on my mind, but I believe that I am the most intelligent person I know and yet I don’t at the same time. I have nowhere near reached my own definition of intelligence, but I feel that no one else has either. Many people I know are smart, but I don’t know their mind’s inner-workings as well as my own. I’m not being conceited at all. I know that a lot of people are smarter than me, but intelligence is just a whole other story. If I had a better understanding of someone’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, I could establish whether they fit my definition of intelligence. But I don’t. And never will. So, it all comes back to my previous statement that we aren’t acquainted with everyone else’s thoughts so the knowledge of their intelligence will never be known to us unfortunately. They can inform us of their opinions, but alas, we only have our own mind to roam.
Matty W -- i really like that quote you have by Maya Angelou. (: i was looking at it earlier, but i decided not to put it in my blog.
United Arab Emirates 2007
The United States of Europe
Great Ideas in Psychology
The Force of Reason
Columbia University’s Journal of Politics & Society
The Rage and the Pride
When in the Course of Human Events
Introducing the Orthodox Church
The Apocalypse of Ahmadine Jad
Basic Arab Workbook
The Crisis of Islam
The Anatomy of the Nuremburg Trials
Runaway America
War and Peace
Catch-22
Croatia
Sleeping With the Evil
The Best of Women’s Travel Writing
Foreign Affairs Volumes 85-87
Having the ability to throw down a calculus text book the night before an exam and begin reading a book on foreign affairs or other literature that interests you simply out of your passion to learn more is what defines an intelligent person. Those who are intelligent don’t revolve their world around school books containing information that they will more than likely not need to know when they enter the real world. They do not waste their time memorizing who discovered the functioning of an electron transport chain, what events occurred during the first Russian Revolution, where the Boxer Rebellion took place, who was the first to cross the English Channel, or how many light-years it would take to travel the circumference of Saturn. Instead, they possess a deep and rather uncommon passion to learn more about the issues in today’s world which they themselves want to find a solution to. They do not restrict their learning to just school, and instead they take what they learn from their education and learn even more about it. Why? Because they are one of the few people in this world who actually want to learn; who want to expand their mind beyond what they have been taught. What you see listed above are only a few of the books that sit upon both of my sister’s bookcases in her room. Upon these bookshelves one can see expressions of literature ranging from magazines to newspaper articles to books to language practice workbooks. On the back of her door, one will find John F. Kennedy’s address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association in 1961, a magazine article stating, “Genocide Emergency – Darfur, Sudan: Who will survive today?” and another stating “Germany’s Surprising Economy”, and a website listing the “Principles of Nuremburg”. Currently, my sister is attending Georgetown University and eventually wishes to work with German banking systems in hopes to learn more about worldwide currency issues and financial problems (at least, that’s what my understanding is). She planned and worked toward her future since the very day she entered this – what seems to me – complicated world. To me, she’s much more than just a sister; she is my best friend, the most reliable person I know, a strong person, indubitably confident, and the smartest person I have ever and will ever encounter for as long as my being is in existence.
Am I intelligent? Absolutely not. I choose to hide myself behind text books, listen to others instead of sharing my own thoughts, and I would much rather go watch a romantic movie than read some of the books I have received on wedding planning. I don’t expand my mind beyond what I have been taught, and often lack the essential confidence needed to formulate one’s own unique opinions and views. If you ask me a question on the different methods of transportation that were invented after the War of 1812, or how to solve a triangle using law of cosine, I can answer you without a problem. Yet, if you were to ask me what historical people have influenced my life, or how pre-calculus equations can be applied to everyday life, I might be able to formulate a quick response, but essentially, I wouldn’t have a clue.
People who are not intelligent make it through life just fine and may even be fortunate enough to become millionaires. They are people who find themselves living in a very nice apartment in Denver in which they work at a café at nights on the top of a mountain to greet skiers and snowboarders. After work, they take a book and a cup of hot chocolate with them to read on a bench on top of this mountain at two o’clock in the morning with a smile on their face. They are the people who live in Portland and work for Donny’s Boat Taxi Company early in the morning. Afterwards, they go shopping with a few of their close friends to have a girl’s-night-out or go to a football game with some of their childhood friends. They are the people in Salem, Massachusetts who work for a company which reenacts scenes from the Salem Witch Trials. Then, they go home blissfully in the rain to watch Titanic or Moulin Rouge in their brick-walled apartments hearing raindrops above their head. These may not be the people who get their names in text books or find a cure to cancer, but they are still happy. Intelligence is certainly an admirable trait and will allow one to accomplish practically anything in life with the same happiness a person lacking the trait would experience. Yet, people survive without it. I want nothing more in this world other than happiness, and I will be proud of myself regardless of whether or not my name appears in future text books. Furthermore, I am going to continue to strive for straight A’s for the time being, but afterwards, I will follow any path my life chooses to take and hopefully I will experience many different paths.
As for my sister, there is not a doubt in my mind that her name will appear in text books, and she might even write a few books of her own. One way or another, she will have a treasured and appreciated effect upon the world. She will become not only my role model, but the role model of thousands of other intelligent girls out there just waiting for their voices to be heard, ideas shared, and character remembered. I can even recall one specific moment when my sister attempted to explain to me the impact of our growing population upon food supply, availability of land, and government spending. Of course, I wasn’t necessarily paying attention to exactly what she was telling as she started drawing graphs on my white board and showing me interviews with various government officials on the internet because I wasn’t that interested in the subject. As she spoke, all that I could think of was the sense of passion in her voice and the fact that she had just randomly decided to explain this issue to me. She would often do this whenever she found an interesting article in the news or something in those boring Foreign Affairs magazines which she regarded as bibles. Once, she made me sit down and watch an entire two-and-a-half-hour film explaining the controversies many people have with the occurrence of 9/11. The thing that I found most interesting was the fact that she was trying to pass on this information to others. She took in information she had learned on her own time and wanted to educate others. To this day, she still sends me things from college that she found to be fascinating about the world we live in today.
Once, when we were little, I heard my sister crying in her bed and I remember asking her what was wrong. Her response was, “You were born.” Well, Jessica, I want you to know that I wish I had never been born without you. I would not be the same person I am today without her, and she means not only the world, but an entire universe to me. Her intelligence exceeds that of any person I have ever known. In a few hours, I will hear her coming through the back door with her room-mate and my mom to be home for Thanksgiving. I wish I had the confidence to let her know how I feel about her, and to let her known just how much I have learned from her. Nevertheless, I will simply wipe off the tears that are currently running down my face, rub my eyes, and make it seem like I wasn’t just writing a blog about her explaining all that she is to me. Intelligence is not something that I am going to tell myself I have to aspire to in life. If it comes to me, I could not be happier, and if it doesn’t, I still could not be any happier than I am right now. For Jessica, I hope her intelligence takes her anywhere in life that she wants to go, and I promise to be standing right there in the audience cheering for her. Jessica, I love you, and you are the smartest person I know.
In response to myrabd:
Myra, the part that got my attention about your blog was your conclusion. As I scrolled down the screen, I suddenly stopped when I saw your conclusion and decided to read the whole thing, and…I LOVE IT! There were a few quotes that I picked out that I would like to comment on. One, “I don't think of them in terms of intellect, but rather in whether I believe them to be worth the time it takes to get to know them.” I’m not sure if this statement was meant to be humorous or not, due to the fact that the sentence following it was pretty serious. Yet, it really reminded me of the kind of person you are – in a good way – because I really can’t see you immediately judging a person by their intellect the moment you are introduced to them, which is very admirable since most people tend to judge people according to those standards. Two, “I disappoint people all of the time, I can never live up to their expectations, I can never do and think and feel and act how they what me to.” Myra, I really appreciated how open this statement was, and it is ashamed to think that a lot of people have this problem. We unfortunately do not live in a society in which anyone is accepted; we a judged in various ways and are expected to all be alike. Three, “Why does everyone else believe that I need to get good grades and go to a good college and get a good job and obey all of the fucking rules in this damned thing they call a society to have a life that is actually worth something?!?!” I could not have said it better myself. I ask myself all the time why life has to be this way, and it never seems to make any sense. As I stated in my blog, most people make out just fine in life without the perfect grades or attending the perfect college. It’s like as if someone came up with this lie and told everyone that this is how life works: you have to get the good grades to find happiness. Four, “They compare me to everything else in this world and in doing so believe that they can comprehend what I am.” This was a really strong point made in your blog that goes to show the rejection many people face in today’s world. If you don’t have the perfect body, if you don’t have the right personality, if you don’t have the right grades, or if you don’t have the right smile, you are deemed no good. Comparisons cannot continue to judge people because it eliminates the whole point of accepting others and can sometimes cause people to change themselves. Nevertheless, Myra it is good to know that you are perfectly happy with who you are and will not change just because societal standards want you to be different.
Man, Ms. Bunje! First the debate, and now this question? Even after looking it over five times and thinking it over, I come up with nothing. I can truthfully say I’ve started my comment about five times and erased it all every single time. I don’t think about “intelligence” at all, and that is probably why I rarely use the word (I like saying “smart” since it’s close to “smarties” which are delicious).
I really hate this subject because it’s just too subjective. I mean, not that the other blogs haven’t been, but I hate the idea of saying that one thing is “intelligence” and have people hate me for saying that because they don’t have that trait. Look, I’m just going to say beforehand, the definition below is not based on me, but the person I consider to be the most intelligent person I have ever met. After much delay with thinking and rethinking it over, I have finally settled on one definition.
To be intelligent is to be open-minded (which is a great trait to have in the first place) and to place value on everyday life instead of what you learn in books. It is to understand the important things in life.
I know, basically I’m saying I’m not intelligent at all, seeing as I put more value on grades instead of life. Grades just kind of control life most of the time. I’ll admit though, I do like living life, but ahem, anyways…
The most intelligent person I’ve ever known is Matt (from Gami. I don’t mean Warrener or Capone, though I’m not saying they’re not intelligent or anything. It’s just this guy is what I think to be the most intelligent person I’ve ever known!). This guy was amazing. Everything just seemed different with him. I mean…okay, he isn’t an AP student or a straight “A” student or a superb athlete, but he just always seemed to know everything and valued the small things in life; the important things in life. Though, because he was so open-minded, we ended up arguing a lot.
You see, I always had my opinions about certain subjects. Matt, however, would argue against my opinion to show me how the other person is the way they are and why they choose that side. An example of this would be the issue I had with “Sweet Success” in middle school. I didn’t believe that it was right for people who worked mega hard and got straight “A’s” to be lumped in with people in easy classes who got straight “B’s.” This is basically how it went down.
I stood, unmoving as they called my name. I didn’t care about the reward. I just wanted to leave.
“Alice Hu, congratulations for achieving the High Honor Roll!” I went up and shook hands with the principal, got down and sat in my seat. They continued naming off the students.
I watched the students go up and smile delightfully at their reward: a day off from school work. The bar was set high now. I grimaced when I thought about the bar I was barely reaching right now.
After the ceremony, I saw Matthew staring at me with a wide grin on his face. I gave him a soft smile and congratulated him for the reward that so many others had received. We went outside and started talking about what the ceremony was like and such.
“What did you think about it?” he asked while texting his mom.
“I found it…interesting,” I said reluctantly because I didn’t really want to say it was stupid. I found the whole ordeal to be utterly boring.
“I really liked it,” he said firmly, making me look at him. He smiled a little at my confused gaze and continued. “I really like seeing people smile, don’t you? Everyone enjoyed it. I really liked it. It means that we are all looking towards the future and trying hard, even if we didn’t get the ‘A’s’ that we had wanted.”
I could only gawk at his kind words.
So, obviously, I thought that everyone was happy because they had a day off from schoolwork while he looked at it differently, saying that people are working hard and, even though they aren’t like me, they deserve this and they enjoy it. He valued small things in life such as the “hello” he exchanges with all his friends everyday and the punches we used to exchange as our way of playfully disagreeing with each other. He told me more of these things that he liked that I took for granted. He liked his warm cozy bed that he’s slept in since he switched from the crib to the bed. He liked his roof that protected his family and himself from rain, and snow. He liked his “lucky necklace” that he had gotten from his dad when he was young and he wore ALL THE TIME. He liked how every day was different from yesterday and the day before that. He wasn’t “smart” nor did he want to be. He felt like, while grades are important for college, it’s not worth dying for. (Don’t get me wrong everyone! Even though he wasn’t an AP student, he still tried! He still knew that school was important and stuff, but he was a thinker and he loved spending his free time just thinking and playing.)
He really was different and I think that, because of how open-minded he was and how he cherished familiar items that people throw away daily, he was very intelligent because he was able to understand the value of the life and the people around him. That is what makes someone intelligent.
I’m sorry, Bunj! My thoughts are really muddled…and I didn’t have a lot of time to let it marinate since I’m babysitting an annoying 4th grader! Gah! Darn child!!! But anyways, please don’t think that I love Matt or something. I’ve gotten past that and this is purely based on my opinion on how he is intelligent.
To Ashley S:
Your blog was the most wonderful blog ever! I love how, towards the end, you wrote that even though your sister had said such a mean thing, you could not live without her. Your blog is very inspirational and I really liked the way you pieced everything together.
Because "intelligence" is such a subjective subject, I think I'm allowed to say that I think you're right in your opinion. I think that those people who do what they want, who throw away jobs that may have earned them much more to go to jobs they love (EX. Bunj) are truly intelligent too. They live life the way they want and maybe after all this is done, we'll be the same way, out there in the world, living the way we want! That's a nice thought for tonight.
Anyways, nicely done, Ash!
Albert Einstein told us that "He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice," and I couldn't agree more. I don't see intelligence as a measure of knowledge, but rather the end product of a life-long journey.
I find that people who are simply able to regurgitate facts and dates and other seemingly important information are utterly useless in life. Sure, I commend these people on their memorization skills, but having the mental prowess to analyze , process, and synthesize information is in an entirely different ballpark than just sitting down and reading a textbook. I also find that I can classify people into one of the aforementioned categories. There are the thinkers, and the memorizers.
I'd say that I fall in the "thinker" category, and, honestly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Personally, "thinking" is much more important than "knowing", in that the process of attaining knowledge is more valuable than simply having knowledge thrown in your face. We will never know everything, of course, and the life truths that we seek to find will most certainly elude us always, but I think that someone who focuses on the process of gathering knowledge is infinitely smarter than someone who gets their information from another source. In other words, being presented with two fragments of information and being able to synthesize them into a greater truth is much more valuable then being given the end truth at the start. The thought process behind any mental revelation is just as, if not more, important than the end knowledge itself. This "thought process" concept is the main theory by which I measure intelligence, and therefore I find it hard to answer the second part of the question.
In most cases, people are more likely to relay their end result- the philosophy or idea which they have created. As an outsider to the minds of others, it is impossible for me to judge how much thought actually went into their final statement. Did they ponder over this idea for many hours, toiling over it and morphing it into a tangible thought, sprung from an abyss of abstract images in phrases? Or were they presented a similar philosophy from an unknown source beforehand? Authenticity of thought is an extreme indicator of intelligence for me. It's been pointed out to me that I have a tendency to glower while people talk about individuality. The way I see it, however, is that if we all cry out the same chant for individuality, for uniqueness, for a life unplagued by boundaries, is it really indiviualism any more? Or have we created a new set of restrictions hidden under our seemingly liberating cause? When I try to explain this to people, they just don't get it. This may be a poor and stereotypical example, but I immediately lose all respect for the mental capabilities of anyone who falls into this trend. Now, I know this may seem hypocritical, because a lot of my blogs have had the underlying theme of fighting for that concept of uniquenes, but I can assure you, my ideas about what characterizes an individual are much different than anyone elses.
So, after that tiresome rant, I must say that I've never met anyone who's struck me as "the most intelligent person I've ever met." The closest I've ever gotten to this person is Mr. Costal, because, although I disagreed with most everything he said, I appreciated his ability to present me with new ideas that I had never even bothered to consider. Ah, yes. The last key to intelligence, in my eyes. The ability to open the eyes of others is the final characteristic of an intelligent person, for, without the motivation and capacity to spread knowledge, your intelligence has been wasted.
El Fin. >:D
EVA: I loved your little science section about mirror nuerons. That's pretty nifty, if I do say. I never knew about them. But now that I do, I'll be sure to harass people with this knowledge. >:D
ALICE: That little scenario you had in there was pretty cool. I liked how the flashback played into the point you were trying to make. Good job on that!
PS- Bunj, when do you want me to do the other blog?!
Intelligence is having knowledge and knowing what to do with it. Anyone can be smart, knowledge is always accessible. There are books and people filled with everything we will ever need to know. To be truly intelligent you have the knowledge and choose to use it in the right way. All the knowledge in the world can be copied and learned, but to apply knowledge is to honestly be intelligent. Anyone can fake being smart with some big words and a little bit of confidence. Yet, being intelligent reflects in the actions a person makes. Actions speak louder than words thus, intelligence is harder to fake.
The most intelligent person I have ever met has to be my mother. She’s lived so much life. She has so many great stories and you know the saying mother knows best, well she usually does. We may have different perspectives on the world but that’s something that makes her even more intelligent. She makes really great choices, and knows how to learn from her mistakes. She is always thinking and putting things together. She synthesizes information so easily, and that is intelligence. In class we’ve been talking about synthesis and how you can think on your feet basically. My mom thinks on her feet constantly. Being a stay at home mom has never been easy, especially with all the work it entails. Her stories ranging from boyfriends to best friends are completely engaging. She’s lived a lot of life and her smart actions make her intelligent. She never tries to hide the mistakes that she has made in the past from me, and that really makes her intelligent to me. She applies the knowledge that she has learned to my life which is a difficult thing because I don’t do all the things she used to do. I don’t do tennis nor field hockey like she used to and I’m not in any way popular like she was. She made some chooses that were hard to make and honestly where she is now proves that the choices she made were really intelligent. My dad is really smart and knows a lot about a lot of things, but I don’t think it makes him more intelligent. He’s made the smart choices, yet my mom made the intelligent ones.
Common sense is not so common. ~Voltaire
This is basically my mother in a nutshell. She has common sense, and she often says a variation of this quote. I feel very similar to that, because I’m not always the most common sense smart person. I am so much more of a book smart person.
Intelligence depends not on your ability to summarize, memorize, systemize, synthesize, or epitomize. (I think I made that last one up, but I don't care). All of that means nothing if you lack the ability to articulate.
I have to disagree with you in some points of your argument here. I think synthesizing shouldn’t be a part of that. I think synthesizing is putting things together and using the knowledge that you have and that you acquire throughout and applying it. It’s a compellation of knowledge to me that is intelligent. Any one can summarize , memorize, or even epitomize. Not everyone can synthesize. I think what I’ve learned from Bunje so far this year that synthesizing isn’t what you paired it with. Because all of those things are easy, and all of those things are things school makes you do. Synthesizing is something you choose to do, and it isn’t memorizing facts it’s applying them. Synthesizing is so much more than just a silly essay on a test. Synthesizing is an acquired skill, something that takes effort and intelligence.
Quite honestly, I don’t have much of a taste for this blog….I just think the definition of intelligence and who the most intelligent person that we know is a topic that my cousin might be assigned in her third grade language arts class. I have had quite a while to mull this over on the six hour long trip my family decided to take to go get my grandfather for the holidays and I just cannot seem to think of an answer that sounds “intelligent” or intellectual. I just keep coming back to little Mitch’s third grade definition, “a smarty pants!” Assuming little eight-year-old Mitch is correct, an intelligent person is not only book-smart, but speaks in a fluent manner; he has a mastery of the English language and knows what there is to know about EVERYTHING. And do you know why this is? Why he gets 100s on all of his tests? Well, it’s because he devotes his life to knowledge, his idea of a good time after coming home from a long day at school is sitting at ANOTHER desk and searching the web or books for any facts that his mind has not yet gobbled up. He is a human encyclopedia/dictionary all in one package. Do not be affronted if you are “him”, I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I would love to be this “him” that I speak of, but I’m just not motivated. That is the key, intelligence takes self-discipline. Intelligence takes patience and the will to improve upon yourself mentally every day; to grow into a sage, the widest of the wise. See, and you thought a smarty pants was a bad thing!
The most intelligent person that I know happens to be my ex-boyfriend. Now, he is not the stereotype smarty pants with the pocket protector and the sinus problems, but he knows his stuff. He’s a nerd, he corrects me if I forget the apostrophe in “it’s” or if is misspell some long, complex adjective that makes me sound so smart and that I would swear he hasn’t heard of yet. He nearly effortlessly gets all As- although he just started actually passing with over a C average senior year- and he researches ANY question that he cannot answer for himself. The effects of drugs: illegal or legal, human anatomy, the top five literary works in December of 1962, I don’t know- you name it and he’ll tell you. He sounds like he has no life but I assure you that’s not true. Being intelligent is time consuming, yes, but it’s also just a side job, a small little project if you will.
U know this entry may seem lame, but I actually put a lot of thought into this week’s response and frankly, I think I did I pretty decent job at expressing myself.
In response to someone’s blog, the person above me, Lindsey, I would have to say that you make a good point; however, that doesn’t mean I agree. “Intelligence is having knowledge and knowing what to do with it. Anyone can be smart, knowledge is always accessible.” Yes, but to be truly smart, wouldn’t that require a certain level of intellect? A doctor, for instance, attends school and attains a degree. This degree is an assertion that he has passed his training proving his intellect; but then you have a “hobo”. He shelters wounded and homeless dogs in his dilapidated home until they are well. He knows how to help, but doesn’t have a degree to prove it. So what you’re saying is that he is not intelligent? Just a brute that looked at a couple books here and there? Intelligence takes practice, yes, but not merit necessarily… And I know I used merit as an example, but I also used my ex who was never in the top and proved to have the capacity later on in life.
We should not only use the brains we have, but all that we can borrow. ~Woodrow Wilson
This quote is one that I think defines the difference between being smart and being intelligent. An intelligent person knows everything they can, but they learn very little from the people around them unless there is a lesson planed and announced. They fail to learn from the interactions that they have with people every day and as such, miss a large percentage of their education in life. A smart person knows everything that they can, but they are also a “people person” who understands why things happen as they do in the world of people. They can interpret a person’s mood by spoken and unspoken cues that are sent off at all times when a person is not sleeping.
What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult. ~Sigmund Freud
This also furthers my point about intelligence, as young children have to be able to interpret what the people around them are doing, thinking, and feeling. As you mature, what others do, think, or feel starts to weigh less on your own actions, and this creates a lack of understanding and communication between people, which are two essential pieces of intelligence, or being smart.
The smartest person I’ve ever met… Wow, that is hard. I don’t know who the smartest person I have ever met is. I have met many, many people who know facts, and still don’t know what other people doing, or why. I have met a few people who can synthesize people and their actions, but I cannot name one person who can do both very well. I would have to say that if I had to choose one person it would be Samantha M. a person who used to live in my neighborhood, but she moved to Manahawkin, she graduated from Southern in 2006. She works very well with people, and she is able to make points that she wants with clarity and precision, on almost any topic. But at the same time, she was also inconsiderate towards other people, another strike against her.
If I had to choose another person, it would be my father (reluctantly). He works with people all of the time as president of his company it is his job to secure future sales with other countries and to make sure that the office is running smoothly, with no breakdowns or slowdowns. He also has to work with the facts of cost, and production rates, and other things.
Intelligence is not something that has a text-book answer in my life, but rather something that, “I cannot define, but I know it when I see it.” This just about sums up my thoughts on the subject.
--Ali B :)
Sarah-
You make a good point about Britney, though I generally hold onto the idea that anyone who puts themselves in the spotlight that much is unintelligent.
Eva-
I have to say that I like your definition of intelligence, though I disagree with it. :)
Bunje-
I cannot help but recognize the loneliness, though I think that I am more lonely because of lack of friends, rather than a lack of shard ideals.
All-
Have a phenomenal Thanksgiving, may you eat a lot of turkey, or stuffing, or what ever your favorite holiday food is. I also hope that you avoid any major familial explosions, as they tend to gravitate to the holidays.
--Ali B :P
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
- Albert Einstein
Intelligence. Hmmmm… Bunje this is one the hardest blog questions ever. For some time I thought that intelligence would be measured through GEPAs, SATs, HSPAs, ACTs, etc. But really none of those things can measure intelligence.
Einstein said it all. Intelligence is the ability to imagine. Not to like zone out or think about being best friends with Spongebob but the ability to think about the future, possibilities, etc. An intelligent person tries to think beyond the possible. He tries to exceed all possible limitations and so something different.
But intelligence can’t be defined in one word. That’s just impossible. To go past everyone else requires confidence, thought, ambition, and motive. All of these things just contribute to the definition of intelligence.
In my opinion I think that Einstein is the smartest person I don’t know. Not because of E=mc2 but because of his ability to think beyond the possible. And he was pretty dumb in school. He failed math I mean who fails math. It’s like the easiest thing ever. But besides that fact he thought of ways to improve the world. Many quotes by Einstein inspire like:
“Intellectuals solve problems. Geniuses prevent them.”
I mean really how amazing is that? The things he said is what made him so intelligent. He thought about the future. He thought about things that people thought could never be possible.
In intelligence can never be measured it can only be discovered. No can how intelligent someone actually is but they can only say that they are.
I personally know that thinking beyond the possible is almost impossible. Thinking about how to improve something is also hard to do with everything else that goes on in life. But just thinking about it can make a huge difference. But actually doing something to help the world or even yourself, but something great is amazing.
“Well done is better than well said.” ~~Benjamin Franklin
This quote by Benny boy also says a lot. It’s better if you do something rather than just saying that you will. He is also extremely intelligent. It said that he tired to light that light bulb almost 2,000 times. But he was ambitious and he told anyone that doubted him that be only found 2,000 ways not provide electricity. (Luckily he figured it out because I’m not so good with fire, and I’m still afraid of the dark. Thanks to Jigsaw )
But intelligence is something that people have been trying to figure out for a while and everyone has their own opinion on what it is. But truly most of them have to with imagination or just thinking. I think that as long as you try to help or do the impossible you are intelligent.
Matt W:
I lobe your quote. It completely goes with my definition of intelligence. I wish i used it.
A person can be intelligent, but not smart.
I just had an in depth conversation with my brother and my dad, and I have come up with this conclusion. Intelligence in your god given knowledge, your IQ, like others have said, some have a natural intelligence, knowing everything about everything, others have the hard work ethic that allow their intelligence to increase. Being smart is how you make life decisions, how you apply your knowledge, may it be educating others, your writing what you know down on a piece of paper. Some people could be amazingly intelligent, they know all about math and science, but they aren’t smart. They do nothing with their knowledge; they don’t share it with others. Einstein was both intelligent and smart. He invented many different gadgets, and communicated his ideas with others, spreading his wisdom.
There are definitely people in this world that you come across, and their intelligence both shocks you and makes you so angry. Those are the people that you would never know are so smart; they don’t give a care in the world about anything. As my brother said to me just a few minutes ago, by looking at someone you wouldn’t know that they were intelligent. You have to wait until you open your mouth to hear what they say. But I don’t think that if you look at someone, you can tell if they are smart either. The life decisions that they make, the little things they do in life, are kept to themselves. They don’t need the recognition of others. Mr. Matlack said to us today that over this break we should take ourselves out of the circle of life that we seem to think revolves around us, and put someone else in the middle. That to me was a “smart” comment. He shared his wisdom with us, to essentially make us better people. ( I love Matlack.)
I contemplated who the most intelligent person that I know is. Many people flowed through my mind. (Mom, Mrs. Brown, Matlack, Dad) But after thinking about it, the most intelligent person that I know is my uncle David. I chose him because to me, he encompasses a person that is both intelligent and smart. I will give you a little picture of who my uncle is. He lives in Pennsylvania with my aunt and two cousins, a man on the large side (if you know what I mean), and I die hard eagles fan. Also one of the funniest people I know. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College with a major in Math, and got a masters in Public Policy. He now works for a drug company, traveling all around the world, communicating with others about drug stuff. (It’s really confusing.) But the fact that he is naturally intelligent in math (you give him a calculus problem, and he could easily do it in one minute), he makes smart life decisions. He has so debt, and in society now-a-days, that is very rare. He won’t buy anything until he has all the money in cash to pay for it. That is including a car, my mom always tells me “David goes to the car dealership and can easily write a 30,000 check.” It is also the way he raises my cousins that makes him truly smart. My cousins are the most genuine and honest kids ever. They never ask for anything unreasonable, and they care for ever person. Kids with these kinds of manners are a rarity today. And just to prove that my uncles intelligence is rubbing off, I remember riding in the car with my cousin when we were about 6, I am only a few months older than her, and she was rambling off times tables, something I could never have done. My uncle by far, is the most intelligent and smartest person that I have yet to meet in my lifetime.
Wow. This blog required some thinking.
Ashley-
To be honest, this was the first time that I have read your blog in its entirety. I truly believe that I am missing out! It brought tears to my eyes, seeing how much you love your sister. And when you gave the example how your sister made you watch that video with you, I totally agree with you that it is a sign of intelligence or being smart, sharing your wisdom with others. You are an amazing writer!
Sarah C
I could agree more with your opening quote. I think the first sign of intelligence is realizing just little we actully know. We are only human and can't know everything, even if we try our hardest. So to realize that we won't know everything and what we do know is so tiny is a truly the mark of intellect.
Eva
First of all, great job on the debate today, you killed me fair and square. Secondly, you always offer a unique and intriging opinion. This week is no different. I agree that i would feel someone is more intelligent if they have a completely unique idealogy that the can explain. It follows two of my requirements of intelligence, unique thought and the ability to articulate.
Hil
I could agree more with you an the incredible difference between smart and intelligent. While they may seem synonymous wit heach other, they are definitely not.
Jen
You are completely right when you say intelligence isnt based off of grades or SATs or GPAs, none of those measure your ability to even think really, they measure your ability to memorize, conform, and regurgitate. They are a bunch of hooey. However, they seem to have the greatest impact on our future. So why is that?
Harleen
Thanks a lot your quote is pretty awesome as well. I like it quite a bit. it holds a deep that we are all afraid to real: it is this illogical, unexplainable things that make intelligence and those who can rationalize them are truly the intelligent ones
Intelligence, to me, can’t be measured by the grades you get in school, your SAT scores, or any of these ridiculous things we have created to measure our competence in life. It is having the ability to retain information, whether simple or complex, and being able to use it in a way that benefits yourself and/or others.
How intelligent a person may be does not depend on their elaborate vocabulary or how fast they can spit out an answer to some super-duper philosophical question. Intelligence is so much more than that. It can’t be learned in a class at school or picked up from someone in a day. You are either born with intelligence, or the strong will and curiosity to become intelligent.
In my eyes, intelligence is the step right before wisdom and just after smart. Although they all seem to measure our capability in some shape or form, they are significantly dissimilar. During our childhood years, we get separated into different classes which are supposedly marking our level of competence. Here is where some begin to shine and acquire nicknames such as the “smart kids.” From there, some remain the “smart kids” while others naturally mature into another form of smart: the intelligent. To be here is something incredible. I have not seen too many so far in my life. But those who even reach this level may even, later, become the wise or those with much wisdom. However, that is another story of its own…
“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” –Socrates.
This quote portrays the simplest form of intelligence there is: how to interact with people. Knowing what to say and do at the right time can represent your intelligence in a way that most people overlook. The quality of being modest or humble, as Socrates reveals, is a really acclaimed trait to have. Simply acting classy and well put-together can illustrate that you are intelligent. It is necessary to be able to handle social experiences as well as those in the classroom.
But, as far the smartest person I know, it’s hard to say. I consider most of my friends to be extremely smart as well as many of the adults I deal with every day. Some even fall into both categories: the intelligent and the smart. But those who have surpassed being smart and have excelled in life may hopefully become genuinely intelligent (or extremely close at the least).
One of these people would be my grandfather. He grew up reasonably poor but was able to overcome his struggles many ways. He realized what he needed to do and did it. Going to college would be the answer today, but it really wasn’t as important to normal people back then. Anyway, he got a job working hard in the sun and was later said to have cancer. Only a few spots of skin taken out here and there, then he was back to work. Not much after, he had a major heart attack and was in need of double bypass surgery. He came out of surgery looking as if untouched and began recovering rather fast with dieting and exercising. Why does this make him intelligent? Because now after all he’s been through, he has life experiences that have taught him things he would’ve never known. Some of the things he tells my brother and I. He truly cares for those close to him and uses what he learned to better himself and those whom he loves.
Maegan-
"So, after that tiresome rant, I must say that I've never met anyone who's struck me as "the most intelligent person I've ever met." The closest I've ever gotten to this person is Mr. Costal, because, although I disagreed with most everything he said, I appreciated his ability to present me with new ideas that I had never even bothered to consider."
I love you and your writing. But I agree with what you said here. You don't have to agree with the person to realize that they are intelligent. Mr. Costal is definitely intelligent and worth listening to. Too bad there are only a few significant people out there with traits such as these.
Molly- I just wanted to say that I was also considering Mrs. Brown to be one of the most intelligent people I know. I miss her, so much.
Finally the chance to justify myself on my belief of self-proclaimed genius! Intelligence isn't measured in the amount of questions you get right on a test, your class rank, or your GPA. All those things just show your ability to apply yourself or spend rigorous hours studying. Intelligence is a person's innate ability to absorb knowledge, process and understand that knowledge, and then formulate a reasoning or instance for using that information. For instance, the public sees anyone who spends a trillion hours a day studying to provide their good grades, or things of the sort, as a person of intelligence. But in reality, that is just a person's ability force memorization. A person's intelligence develops with them as they grow, constantly sucking information from the marrow of life, but a person's ability to memorize through force usually runs out. This has actually been something I've wanted to say for a long time. All the people who are the ones who go home and study till their brains rot, and then end up with the fantastic grades aren't the ones who have the true intelligence. Being able to look at some material, absorb its message, facts, and implications, and then store that within the filing cabinets of the cerebellum for future application, are the true intellectuals of society. It's like the differences between reading a lot of books and being well-read. A person can read all the books in the world and forget over ninety percent of them the day after they finish them, but a person who has read a good amount of literature and non-fiction and can understand and apply all of their meanings and embedded information is well-read.
Also I would like to note the ability to use rhetoric to effectively communicate your ideas verbally is a means to expressing intelligence, but it isn't the exact measure of intelligence. The most intelligent of people are most commonly misunderstood by society, despite their ability to use rhetoric. But then again some of the most intellectual people have great ideas, but have trouble conveying their intelligence to the world. For instance, the most intelligent person I have ever encountered would have to be Mr. McConughey, but it seems his speaking skills aren't as effective as many others. Swirling inside his head are a plethora of brilliant ideas and funny little quirks that he has picked up through his life, but when he goes to explain them to people others have trouble seeing his brilliance. In the absence of his brilliance the public sees him as someone who stumbles over his words and experiences frequent pauses in his speech. If a person ever takes the time to look past the manner in which they are conveyed they can see that the man knows a lot more than just chemistry. It's almost as if he knows the chemistry behind all life, figuratively and literately. In my experience and long conversations with him I've learned to look past his caviler attitude towards diction and look at the larger message of his words. For example, on our test he would allow an extra credit drawing or saying ( a good way to earn back a missed question :) ) and he would write a response to certain pictures, and on one of Devon's test he wrote a long winded, but highly intellectual response on a turtle joke. His clarification through writing was utterly amazing, which is a mark of true intelligence. Actually, come to think of it writing is the only true way to measure a person's intellect. Great writing cannot truly be taught; it can only be assisted and altered. I digress though. Once asked about this response to the question Mr. McConughey just smiled and said "You see that, that there was, uhhhh. You know!" This was only one specific time, although statements and writings like this occurred frequently throughout the year. Most people, and I'll admit it myself, at first look at him and just say "wow he is stupid." After spending a considerable amount of time with him though it dawned on me, unlike when you are really in the presence of stupid people. In the presence of stupid people, they are always appearing stupid and it never comes to you that they are trying to express intelligent ideas, because they aren't trying to express any intelligent ideas! IT is a much different scenario when around Mr. McConughey.
"You need to have a passionate interest in why things are happening. That cast of mind, kept over long periods, gradually improves your ability to focus on reality. If you don’t have the cast of mind, you’re destined for failure even if you have a high I.Q."
- Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger had my version of intelligence in mind when he utter this phrase. Intelligence doesn't come from long hours of study and application, which is typically the means for measuring IQ, except in a very fast manner. Intelligence is the ability to foster knowledge in your brain and then want to know the why about the knowledge. Without this ability to foster and question why, along with a synthesis to the real world, a person is just smart. They are smart, because they worked for what they know, spending arduous time trying to ingrain information into their brain. With intellect comes this passion; this burning desire to figure things out in the world and learn. Almost word for word, this is what Munger was trying to convey.
Okay, so I’ve let this question marinate in my head for several hours now, and its coming to the point where if I wait any longer to write I’ll fall asleep, and that never happens, haha! When I distinguish between the concepts behind ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’, two different stereotypes come to mind. The idea of being smart goes hand in hand with being having books-smarts. These people don’t put much thought into what they’re learning, but rather stay up all night memorizing, reiterating, and repeating all of the information that has been given to them. Smart people might know the time, date, and location of the Black Patch wars, but intelligent people differ greatly. To me intelligent people, or intelligence itself isn’t something that can be measured through certain events, topics, subjects, tests, or classes. Intelligence is the measure in which you go to the furthest extent to truly ‘know’ or have knowledge in a specific area of your choice. I believe that this is why a homeless person named Michael might be able to have the intelligence by means of experiences and social interactions, where as a mathematician can illustrate his intelligence simply by showing his ability to know 34563 times 23423 off the top of his head, (or how Thoreau and Emerson developed ideas unheard of.) I don’t really believe that there are different forms of intelligence, but rather believe that we all have to an extent some amount of intelligence in us, but what comes of it is what we channel this intelligence into. Maybe we need to pursue our own ideas of intelligence whether it is socially, mathematically, or philosophically in order for intelligence to be visible. The closest quote that I can find relevant to my own idea is that of Galileo, “You cannot teach anybody anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves.” Anyone can put a story in front of a person and tell them to memorize each event that happened, but what someone cannot do is make that same person see the meaning, depth, and voice behind that piece of work. You see, all of us can memorize and repeat what is placed before us, but what separates the intelligent from the smart is their ability to grasp an idea and basically move forward with that same idea and create, divulge upon, and convey concepts that go beyond pure memorization. And like said before, I believe that we all have a capacity for learning things, but as Galileo would see it, there is definitely something that is triggered in each of the intelligent minds of our day, that has motivated them to pursue the knowledge that they have. The smartest person that I’ve met so far in my 16 years of living has been a close family friend, Justin Maganelli. Many of you might remember him when he came in last year to present the conspiracy theories of New World Order and Illuminati. This subject being one of the many things that I don’t understand about Justin is part of what makes him so intelligent. Its not that he knows things that other people, such as myself, do not know; it’s the fact that he will grasp onto these ideas that people are unfamiliar or alien to, and will back up each of his ideas with names, dates, events, and reasoning. And that’s what puts Justin over the top as far as intelligence goes; he has a certain amount of ideas, and then he has all the reasoning and information in the world to back it up. He’s one of those people that you might ask a simple question and you find yourself a half hour later debating over the meaning of life. Justin, a true iconoclast, may believe or, quite frankly, know things that I might never agree to believe in. But what makes his word and opinions substantial to me is the fact that I know he has gone his furthest in pursuing these concepts to the point where if it was anything less then toiled and examined upon, he wouldn’t associate with the ideas at all. In a nutshell, I believe a big part of intelligence is made up of how far we stretch it.
“Personally, "thinking" is much more important than "knowing", in that the process of attaining knowledge is more valuable than simply having knowledge thrown in your face. We will never know everything, of course, and the life truths that we seek to find will most certainly elude us always, but I think that someone who focuses on the process of gathering knowledge is infinitely smarter than someone who gets their information from another source. In other words, being presented with two fragments of information and being able to synthesize them into a greater truth is much more valuable then being given the end truth at the start.”
Meg Reece
-
I came upon a quote that reminded me of what you have stated here, “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.” Samuel Johnson said that line, and I very much agree with the both of you. There definitely is a huge difference between receiving information and ‘attaining’ information. The person having knowledge simply thrown in their face, definitely fits into the category of ‘People Who Regurgitate Fact’, and above this doesn’t really show any measure of true intelligence at its core. Not only was it a very insightful idea to distinguish between people who simply memorize and people who go out and grasp their knowledge, but also it’s a very interesting way to measure someone’s intellect capacity. Just as people would say, ‘half of the fun is just getting there’ when referring to trips or processes, in the same sense getting there or ‘synthesizing’ information creates most of the obstacle that this intelligent person will have to overcome. In this idea, by doing this process, it’s rightly deserved that we call them intelligent
In response to Jen
"One's intellect is not a comparison of how well that person scored on the SAT's, or the grades he/she received in school, or even one's college diploma. It is not how complex a person can make a subject and it is certainly not determined by the length or elaborateness of the vocabulary one speaks with. It is not only how philosophical one can think or how elaborate his or her thoughts appear to others because these attributes do not help those with such lesser comprehension."
You never fail to have the same views as me on many issues. I feel the same way as you do on the definition of intelligence until after this statement you made. Your next point is pretty much the opposite of what I believe is a example of intelligence. You can't be taught to comprehend information, or develop insightful opinions. These things just happen to be awaken in the folds of a person brain. In my eyes these are exactly what intelligence can be measured in through the use of verbal rhetoric.
My dearest bffl Maegan
I was saying the same thing about thinkers and then people that are factual like a week ago to you, remember? That's a really good point though, because I feel I fall more in the memorization category, but I can synthesis under little pressure. As in if I sit and think I come up with genius thoughts, but most of the time I trail behind the words of the teachers and just absorb and memorize without thinking at all. It's very hard for me to think and listen, which usually gives me the appearance of being a slow -thinker, but in reality I'm just a step behind because I'm performing both.
Vos ero patiens.
- You are Patient
Vos ero silens.
- You are Silent
Vos mos apto.
- You must adapt
(Someone tell me if my Latin is off.)
Normally I would end those three tenets with the words 'Tu ero raptor.' (You are Thief) I created those tenets for a story I wanted to write a while back, as a guide to being a Thief. (Not in the traditional sense, but I digress.) But, as I set out on my third try at this question, I realized something. Anyone who follows those tenets is truly intelligent. Brilliance, what many consider intelligence, that is natural intellect, is nothing. Being able to revise, without arrogance or regard for apparent hypocrisy, is everything. I'll break down what I mean by each tenet, and their origin, in a moment. But I'll say this first. You can be the most booksmart person ever. You can have a knowledge of human nature surpassing Freud. You can be more street smart than Julian “Bean” Delphiki and his ragtag gang. It doesn't matter if you are either arrogant or rigid. Being unchangeable is a death sentence in the intellectual world.
Probably like many of you, I don't think of intelligence as greater than brilliance or genius. I think it's impossible to be brilliant or genius without some shred of intelligence. Being 'smart' is inherently inferior, but only because it is less applicable without the other two. But now, onto exactly what makes someone intelligent.
Vos ero patiens: Whoever first said patience is a virtue hit the nail on the head. Without patience, you have no ability to learn a new skill or fact, and you can't listen to another person for the time to get to know an opposing viewpoint. Without patience, learning is impossible, so it's crucial to the objective revision that is intelligence.
Vos ero silens: Silence, oh golden silence. Without silence, patience means nothing as well. Without silence, and the introspection that comes with it, there is no reason to learn anything. A loud, but brilliant person is a filing cabinet. You can put whatever you want into the drawers, as many files as you like, but at the end of the day, it's still a filing cabinet. A silent person on the other hand, is a great novel, or persuasive paper. One piece of evidence, one change of words, if they're the right ones, can change everything involved. Without silence, there is no point to patience, that critical ingredient to intelligence.
Vos mos apto: This one requires the least explanation, as it's the sum of my entire theory. With patience and silence, you will learn things so that you *must* adapt. You have no choice in the matter. Once certain things are learned, it is impossible to go back to your old ways. I didn't phrase it as 'you will adapt.' That implies choice. With patience and silence, it isn't possible to remain unscathed, and the only way to escape intact is adaptation, letting that new information shape you, in one way or another.
As Darwin figured, adaptation is the key to survival. Species that cannot adapt die. So do ideas. An intelligent person understands this. An intelligent person knows that, and does not chain himself to an ideal. An intelligent person believes something only as long as it makes sense, considering the information he's given. No longer. He is patient, silent, and he adapts as he learns new information. He is a survivor.
I think intelligence can be learned, but not without difficulty. I've been trying to integrate those into my mind for two years now, with some success, but not nearly as much as I'd like. It's not born into all of us, but we all can learn it.
The most intelligent person I know is my friend Kyle. He's a problem solver, where if you're having a problem and he can help, he will. As such, by nature he is intelligent. He's patient enough to listen to your problems, silent enough to actually listen, not just let you speak, and he adapts enough that any time a game changer comes along he'll basically say “Oh.” Then fall silent for a moment until he figures out where it fits, at which point he comes in from a different angle to accommodate what's learned. He may not be wordsmart, which explains why he is, unfortunately, not in these debates, but he has natural intelligence I admire immensely.
Intelligence is what sets the human race apart from any other species on earth. Intelligence allows us to out think, rather than over power, prey. It also allows truly intelligent people to digest information that may be so dense that it will pass most people by without being given a second chance. I believe that intelligence is limited by the person’s mental capacity a child has at birth. Entering into kindergarten is like starting out with a brand new computer that is loaded with only the basic software that lets the computer run. Elementary school adds various applications to the computer’s repertoire like calculator, paint and word pad. These applications are limited, but provide a strong foundation for the intelligence to come in the future. Middle school installs another layer of programs; a firm grasp on the operation of these programs can make a person smart. The final set of software added to the computer during middle school now start to shape whose computer it is, these are the first steps towards intelligence. In high school the programs installed start to become more advanced. They allow for digestion of information provided. They also show ingenuity and problem solving skills. These programs are difficult to find, because they require many years of research and development in order to function properly. Only the elite of computers can be equipped with this. That is what makes intelligence truly special.
“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.”
-Woodrow Wilson
I would define intelligence as the ability to digest information provided by novels or other people and form it into an answer to a question that reflects the beliefs of that particular person. The most intelligent person I know is my sister Ciara. She knows how to speak five different languages, and breezes through college classes. She can also process large quantities of information within a short amount of time, in order to accurately answer a question. She can also be entrenched in a question for a long period of time. The intelligence drives her to the answer. She sometimes stumbles through the day and when posed with a meaningless question, she would give a short meaningless answer. Everyone knows when she is in this train of thought; no one bothers her. Ciara is not afraid to ask for help. This is not only a show of intelligence, but a show of character. She is not too big to ask for help when she absolutely needs it. “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” Ben Franklin. She knows that she cannot possibly know everything but like Buddha said “A jug fills drop by drop.”
Wow. That is the longest post I've ever done. BUT! On to my commenting.
A) Eva. Wow. First you have astoundingly elegant writing, now you're using SCIENCE?!?!? I don't think I can disagree with you anymore.
B) Devon. Holy canoli! I can't believe I didn't think of Mrs. Hudson for this! I was smiling the whole time I read that. She was a great teacher. A little quirky, but one of the most intelligent people I know, definitely.
C) Schaeffer. Dang. Good closer. It's so true though. You can have the greatest ideas in the world, but if you can't tell anyone, its worth squat. Good point
D) Alice. That's a good way to look at intelligence, and I think your anecdote explained it better than a thousand other words could've. All in all, excellent.
Matty C:
Jon S is very intelligent. I know that he has the ability inside to have the most amazing grades and the best scores but he shows no stress about any of it.
Intelligence is different to each person, based on their perceptions of life and personal beliefs. Intelligence is not based on memorization or the recitation of facts, but rather the formulation of fresh and unique ideas. “Intelligent” people are not always necessarily the people who receive High Honor Roll, or are in the top ten in the class. To achieve top ten status, I think you need to be more knowledgeable than intelligent. It takes a great deal of hard work as well as an exceptional level of smarts, but not always unconventional thinking. I am not saying these people aren’t intelligent, because a majority of the time, they are extremely intellectual and articulate. But a person you would never think of, someone who blends in with the pack, attains mediocre grades, someone who is perceived as “weird” could actually be one of the most intelligent individuals in the crowd. They don’t really stand out, or carry themselves with an aura of superiority. They may often be the quiet one, who take notice of everything around them, constantly striving to learn about other people, while being ignored by scurrying beings whose thoughts are consumed with the newest iPod or the next party. They are constantly observing, formulating new opinions. People who are truly intelligent are those who know that they know nothing, yet yearn to know everything, which is an impossible goal. People who are intelligent are worried not about learning something from a textbook. They are obsessed with learning about people, about what they think and dream and hope. Intelligent people are those who value the needs and wants of others over their own needs and wants. They understand what is truly important in life, which is not having the newest toys, or the most friends, or the best grades, but having meaningful relationships with people. Because in the long run, no one really cares about or remembers the clothes you wore or the car you drove. What people is remember is the impact you have had on their lives, whether it is positive or negative. Intelligent people strive to leave a positive impact on each and every person they come into contact with, because you never know when they might need you, or you might need them.
Having extensively defined my version of intelligence, I still have absolutely no idea who I consider to be the most intelligent person I know. There are many people who I believe fit my definition, but no clear-cut favorite separated from the group. I think I came to my interpretation of what “intelligence” means to me through many people, including my parents, my brothers, my friends, my classmates, my teachers. Everyone has a certain level of intelligence, but it is difficult to find people whose views and outlook are so different from what we’ve become accustomed to. This level of intelligence is very rare, and those who possess it have the ability to do great things, regardless of the grades on their report cards.
Alice – I think your friend Matt exemplifies what I am trying to say. He doesn’t really set himself apart with academics or sports, but his thinking is so original and unique that you can’t help but think that these differences from the general populace make him so special, so intelligent.
I’m going to break the rules and use the internet and find an answer. Intelligence is “a solitaire card game which uses two decks of playing cards mixed together.” Wait…what do you mean that isn’t what we’re looking for?
Jokes aside, perhaps we should look at intelligence from a view built not simply by opinion. Let’s look at another case where the word is used, “Military intelligence.” Intelligence in this case is probably understood as “information,” which is most likely useful. Though not entirely different from what you would expect from a dictionary, this makes me think intelligence is the ability to use information one has effectively. The information, however, may not be forever used, and can easily be discarded. The person may also be a lazy bum, and not use their intelligence at all. Another way to look at it is through the idea of “intelligent species.” We humans are considered “intelligent, as are to an extent, orcas (an animal I will always mention when talking about intelligence) dolphins*, and chimps. We are not described as a smart, nor knowledgeable, nor wise species. To use the mind to solve problems, instead of brute force, that is intelligence. It is no less. It is no more.
It is like a tree. Intelligence is the trunk, knowledge the branches. Smart is comparable to the small growths coming from the tree, massacring the other terms. With this thought, it can be said that I am a small tree with overgrown branches. Intelligence and knowledge need each other. The leaves on knowledge’s branches provide sustenance while intelligence’s grows without the risk of dying. I personally know a lot, yet have absolutely no use for it.
It is at this point that I realize that my definition made it exponentially harder to decide whom I view as the most intelligent person. Were the restriction not someone we truly know, instead of know about, I would have simply said “Stephen Hawking.” No amount of Photoshop can make it so I do know him, however, so it is a moot point.
A friend from middle school, one whom I speak with, and play monopoly online with regularly, Dan (not the one that’s the same person as me, or anybody else at Oakcrest) would be the most intelligent person I know. He was able to use information well. He learned things with little effort. And, he was actually a person that questioned something when it seemed illogical. He can build a computer (not that it’s actually hard) and knows just about everything about them. He also plays videogames. It’s irrelevant, but I just felt like mentioning it. That said, he’s lazy. He is able to use his mind to a point greater than most people, but he chooses not to, to the point where he doesn’t even care for high level classes. It simply fits my view. Intelligence is not “drive,” not “skill,” not “experience,” nor is it “original view.” It is simply the ability to understand and use information.
To conform, I’ll take a quote from my archive of knowledge quotes.
"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life."
Sandra Carey
Perhaps you have realized it by now. I believe knowledge and intelligence are related, though not the same being. I have yet to glorify either. I simply find both, especially intelligence, useless after reaching a certain point. Geniuses do not always do things for the world, and are many are accused of being failures socially. Extreme intelligence, at least by my definition is not required to do great things. A man, who is essentially a required reference in my blogs, Martin Luther King Jr., though intelligent, was not a genius. He was wise. He used it, and became as, if not more notable than those considered “geniuses.” I don’t care about being intelligent. I simply want to learn from my mistakes. I want to grow like a flexible person. Not a stiff tree.
Were it “Who is the wisest person?” I would have chosen Mr. Costal. He has the strange ability to make you question everything you know.
*Yes. I’m aware killer whales are actually a species of dolphin. A good example of the pointless knowledge I said I have.
Devon: Thank you for bringing Mrs. Hudson in. She was really the first teacher to give us a composition class, or make us really go into the meaning of writing. She deserves a good retirement, but I wish she hadn't left, all the same. I don't think they ever could replace her properly.
Dan: If you're using the present tense, I think the verb "to be" would be "es" for 2nd person singular, "estis" for plural.
Loneliness would have to be an effect of working in a public high school. You are surrounded by students who, however clever, have not matured, and by adults who never got around to leaving high school. Elementary school would have to be worse.
Another reason to admire Mrs. Hudson. She dealt with us for a full two years.
Dan says:
The most intelligent person I know is my friend Kyle.
Now that I think about it, though not to the point where he would go off and rally people for some civil right (then again, destroying K-Mart may very well be one) , he does have the qualities that I think are important. Intelligent and knowledgeable(my definition) to a point, yet has something about him beyond those two. It's strange. I can't really place my finger on what it is.
Also...am I the only one that hasn't put intelligence on a tier several times higher than "Does well in school"?
Although many definitions can be posed that determine the extent of intelligence and who qualifies as ‘intelligent’, truly “intelligence is the eye of the beholder.” I’m pretty sure that no one measures intellect by a GPA or a number on a test. People who illustrate real intelligence are able to synthesize and analyze information after absorbing all the facts and issues.
Last week I was watching one of my favorite shows, 60 Minutes. On this episode they had a piece on a young boy who was blind at birth and had to have many cists removed from his brain. This left him permanently damaged without the reactions in his brain to allow him to do simple things like tie his shoes, and determine the shape of an object. However, at a young age, Rex became attached to a piano and is now an incredible musician. After listening to a music piece one time, Rex can perfectly replay the piece on the piano without even seeing the keys. Currently, after lessons, he is creating his own masterpieces and even beginning singing lessons. Many of these cases have existed throughout the world, which leads to the question and controversy over intelligence and genius. Obviously, Rex is a musical genius, which proves that you can excel at certain things while failing at others. Even Einstein couldn’t do simple common daily activities. This is why determining who is and who isn’t ‘smart’ comes down to the feelings of the decider.
The most intelligent person I know would be Mr. Costal. I was thinking about saying no one, but there has to be someone who is more intelligent than the rest of the people I know. Although some people may disagree, I learned more than I could have asked for or imagined in Costal’s class last year. I wasn’t planning on ranting about the greatness of one person, but I’m about to reveal how amazing of an educator Mr. C was.
Before every class, we would receive some kind or harangue about life and although he wouldn’t lecture us on how to live it, he would inform us about the difficulties and long journeys in life and help us understand that walking on the path of your journey, riding the roller coaster, and looking in the mirror every day are the things that will change your life in the end. Listening to Mr. C passionately and often very loudly reveal to us the secrets of life, made me think...like think every minute of the day about stupid things in life from being a competitor in sports, to love, war, the joke called government, and the people who surround me everyday. My mind really became stressed and tired every day, because I began to THINK, THINK, THINK! I would cry, scream, and laugh at the everyday things in life and analyze every situation, something I’ve never done before. Someone who has this great an impact on people and makes them think about life in different ways is not only intelligent but also brilliant.
There were many other things besides teaching us about life that made Mr. Costal ‘intelligent.’ First, we would have many controversial debates and arguments in class, just like Bunje’s class, which would fuel many heated arguments. Still, no matter what smart point a student made, usually Jon S, Matt C. or Mike N, in my class, Costal would always fire back with some unbelievable statement that not only stumped the opponent, but made almost everyone in the class jump on the Costal bandwagon. It was crazy!
When I was younger, I would have said that the most intelligent person was whoever got the highest grade on the Algebra test, however, the things I have learned in high school and what I have derived from the arguments of Costal have allowed me to think differently about the definition of intelligence. If I could define it in the simplest terms, I would say that intelligence is the art of evaluating and comprehending not only subjects but the systems in life. Which is why Mr. Costal is the epitome of an intelligent man.
It takes a lot to go down in the history books as intelligent. Look at some of the accepted geniuses of man kind, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin. They all accomplished incredible things with their intellect, and the world thanks them. But would they really have been so great if they didn’t accomplish what they did? Would Leonardo Da Vinci still be considered a genius if he didn’t invent a flying machine? Would Einstein still be known as one of the greatest minds of this world if he didn’t invent the atom bomb? Would Benjamin Franklin have been as well known if he didn’t discover electricity? The simple answer is no. If these men hadn’t come up with these inventions in their lifetime, no one would truly have known how intelligent they actually were.
Now obviously you don’t have to invent some revolutionary thing to be classified as an intellect, but you do have to DO something. Intelligence is confound, and can be expressed in an innumerable number of ways. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is though of as intelligent, but he didn’t get that respect from just thinking about his feelings. He’s intelligent because of his ability to express his feelings in a manner that would convince a nation to support him. The only way to be truly intelligent is to prove it, whether through the manner in which you speak, or your uncanny ability to do calculus problems blazingly fast. You have to do something that tips you over the edge of the academic norm. There are billions of ways to do it, some more orthodox that others, but without evidence to support your thoughts, speculative intelligence means nothing.
When it comes to intelligence, the proof is in the pudding. If you go through life only believing you’re smart, and doing nothing to support it, you’re going hungry, because you present nothing more than an empty bowl. In general, intelligence is having academically astounding thoughts, and acting upon them. Thoughts and actions go hand in hand, and an intelligent person must excel with both.
In my short life, I think I’ve actually met quite a few people that fit my criteria for intelligence. But the most prominent figure would have to be my dad. He’s always been the smartest man I’ve known, and I’ve looked up to him for as long as I can remember. He’s always convinced me to thing as he does. He’s logical in his thought, and impossible to reason against, which really sucks when I’m trying to convince him to do something for me, but impressive nonetheless. His best show of intelligence is when he argues about politics. His ability to argue is remarkable, and his extensive knowledge in history and current events combine to form one super argument that becomes undeniable. He formulates cohesive ideas instantaneously, and presents them in an orderly fashion.
He has incredible ideas, and presents them well, which is why I think my dad is the most intelligent man I know.
This blog has been haunting me since the very second that I read it. I just finished therapy and after 2 ½ hours I am exhausted mentally and physically. I had asked a few therapists what their take on intelligence was and their answers where never what I wanted to hear. Not only did I want to hear their opinions but the conversation seemed to take my mind off of the pain for a second or two.
Anyhow……
I would never consider intelligence to be based solely on books smart. There are many aspects involved when defining intelligence. A “smart” person can be broken down into book smarts, street smarts, or the lucky ones who are both. A person may be considered intelligent in numerous ways. My definition of intelligence would be a person’s ability to see the world unlike any other. It is to be able to see the real beauty in this world, in each other, and the beauty of the imagination. This quote by Sigmund Freud caught my attention, “what a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.” As we slowly become adults it appears to be that “radiant intelligence” or imagination becomes less apart of our daily lives. Imagination is one of the more important parts of intelligence which can be slowly stripped away from us.
I can not think of anyone that I personally know that fits to my form of intelligence because I have never truly discussed this thought with others. If I could think of anyone who would see the beauty in the world, each other, and of the imagination it would be a certain person who is ill on their death bed with no regrets. This person is coming to peace with their life and well this is how I could imagine myself lying on my death bed. I could imagine someone out there reflecting on their life and all of the greatness that has occurred with all of the memories that this beautiful world and people in it has brought them. He or she would be without judgment, harsh words, or any negative outlook on life. This person would understand the most difficult part of intelligence which would be the beauty of life’s journey. While reflecting this person would not for one second take for granted the beauty that God has offered them. Or maybe I just expect too much from the word intelligence. While everyone’s definition of intelligence may be different they are also all rare. It takes an intelligent person to understand this world deeper than I can even write.
Linds…………
“The most intelligent person I have ever met has to be my mother. She’s lived so much life. She has so many great stories and you know the saying mother knows best, well she usually does.”
Your mom is an amazing, caring, kind person, and well the list is never ending. She always welcomes everyone into her home with open arms. As much as I wanted to put my mom as the most intelligent person I know, I just couldn’t because no one fits my unique definition. Your mom always does know best and you two have the perfect relationship. I envy how you can talk to your mom about anything and she is your best friend, yet you know whose boss around that Craig house.
P.S- Of course I had to respond to that, it’s Mrs. Craig!
"As my brother said to me just a few minutes ago, by looking at someone you wouldn’t know that they were intelligent. You have to wait until you open your mouth to hear what they say. But I don’t think that if you look at someone, you can tell if they are smart either. The life decisions that they make, the little things they do in life, are kept to themselves. "
MOLLY!
Well you and your brother are both very 'intelligent'. What he said is very true. Intelligence like stupidity can come in many forms, which is why understanding who and what you're talking about is a main concept that intelligent people encompass. These peopel can listen to anyone talk and find strong and weak points in their argument, analyze it, and then respond.
HI-LARY:
"Smart is cute, and intelligence is beautiful-- "
First, you WOULD say something like that (diva). But this can also be an interesting statement. Someone who is smart can hold there own in school and has a basic concept on the wisdom needed to aquire through your journey, but intelligent people are 'beautiful' and are able to radiantly synthesize concepts and make reasoning out of life.
JEN AND MOLLY AND ALL OTHER MULLICANS:
I forgot about Ms. Brown, and yes she was an incredible teacher. I remember at first beiing extremely intimidated and frigtened by her teaching methods, but she know HOW TO TEACH, and thanks to think team (<3) we learned so many random but 'come-in-handy' facts about everything in the world. First music video ever on MTV?? How many people know that? (Video Killed the Radio Star) Not Love Shack!!
To Jordan
"Also I would like to note the ability to use rhetoric to effectively communicate your ideas verbally is a means to expressing intelligence, but it isn't the exact measure of intelligence. The most intelligent of people are most commonly misunderstood by society, despite their ability to use rhetoric. But then again some of the most intellectual people have great ideas, but have trouble conveying their intelligence to the world."
I honestly think the expression of ideas is equally, if not more important than the idea itself. Intelligence is a combination of these two aspects, and the smartest and brightest are the ones who excel in both of thought. I've never met a genius that can't communicate, because, well, it's an oxymoron.
Oh and Jordan:
Mr. MC! (I still can't spell his name) He is deffinetly a brilliant man and although at first he was kind of weird, he proved to be one of the wittiest teachers I had.
Mike N.-
"If you go through life only believing you’re smart, and doing nothing to support it, you’re going hungry, because you present nothing more than an empty bowl. In general, intelligence is having academically astounding thoughts, and acting upon them."
First of all, nice little metaphor. Second of all, I like the fact that you pointed out that intelligence is something that should be acted upon. Intelligence should be shared and articulated, like Jon S said, or it is useless.
Third of all, I'm still mad at you :P Just kidding.
And Morgan... thank you! <33
And Fiona... Of course we didn't do the drama thing without you! You're the heart and soul of our little pantomime group, girl. :)
And Carly...
LMAO! Think team <3333
Intelligence vs being smart. It's hard to really form different defintions for each since in regular context, they both mean the same. I call someone smart and/or intelligent, usually people react with a smile, probably thinking that I just commented on the ability of their brain to function. And in both cases, they would be right. Both words are pretty much used interchangeably, so the meaining will often be the same. If I had to actually separate the two words by giving each its own creative meaning, it would go something like this.
INTELLIGENCE - being able to think outside the norm. People who like to go that extra step out of the box and find new ideas and solutions.
SMART - being able to do magnificent acts by focusing the mind on one specific, tangeble, obstruction.
To put it in a nutshell, Intelligent people are all the great leaders, all of the great inventors and scientists, and any other person, who has contributed something worthwile and acceptable by our society. On the other hand, smart people are pretty much the test takers and the school geniuses. They don't have to know everything all the time, they can get by, by learning what they need to know, bit by bit, as they slowly pass tests. In real life, other then most school students, I think a lot of politicians would fall into that area. I doubt many of them did anything to be worthy of being intelligent. But they probably passed enough tests and exams to be considered smart.
For people I know.....lets see. The smartest person I know, is probably George W. Bush. Everyone hates him, and nobody likes anything he does, yet he has been our president for 8 years. He hasn't done anything maginficent enough to be considered intellectual. In fact, by his actions, most people would consider him to have no intelligence what-so-ever. But, the man was smart. He knew which cards to play for every election. He knew that Dick Cheney, though untrustworthy with a gun, knows what he is doing and would be a great asset to him. And of course he knows when to run to daddy and ask for some money, or help, or crack/coccaine (I still need to go see "W." in theatres, it just sounded like such an "interesting" movie ). Using his wits, he managed to stay behind the presidential desk long enough to cause a war, an economic crisis, and poverty. What a great guy X(
The most intelligent person I know would have to be.....well....I guess I don't know him/her. But it would be the person who started the idea of religion and wrote the very first relgious book. Whether its the Bible, the Torah, or the Quran, or someother random rip-off, they each have incredibly power over the human though. I understand people liking to read, and through that adapting the ideas of the author, but I mean c'mon. These books have done nothing but start conrtoversy, hate crimes, and have been fooling people into the idea of a wonderful and magnificent God once our lives are over. My kuddos to whoever actually wrote a book about there being no heaven. While I still don't know if I believe in heaven or hell, I know I believe in not liking being taken under control by a stupid book. It has no proof, not evidence. Its just a book, with pages and pages of words telling of fake miracles and impossible to believe events. While I don't particularly relate to a definate religion, or have great devotion to just one, I have to give credit to the man/woman/spiritually fake being who created the very first book and began fooling and confusing people all over the world, all the way up to present day times.
To Leonor:
How Rude!!! I happen to know a lot of people who spell the word orange "oriange." Theres nothing wrong with that, honestly.
To Alice:
Im not too fond of this question either, but I like what you said about grades. You really shouldn't let them control your life. I know they are important, but who is going to want to hire someone who tries their hardest just to get a specific letter grade on a piece of paper. I wouldn't if I was the person hiring.
To Ivan:
I don't know Ivan, I don't think Mister Costal had that much effect on me, but Mr Sera. Phew....that dude made me completely rethink my idea of government. And by rethink, I mean I actually have a view point instead of saying "who cares about government?" I actually found myself reading into candidates and trying to follow debates. What did Chris P. Bacon do to me?????
I understand precisely the general idea behind intelligence that Bunje speaks of. The word has never been necessarily understood by many people who use it. When you walk up to the everyday man on the street, he probably has little grasp on what the connotation of the word really is. Most likely when he explains intelligence to you, he will reference a great figure of “intellect” or some high-scoring student who was good enough at test-taking to be accepted to Princeton or Harvard. These people are just people who got lucky, guessed right, or were good enough at modern-human assessment techniques that they have the appearance of being smart. I do not imply these people actually lack intellect or that they are some conniving bunch whom pride on their test scores to seem superior to others. What I truly imply is that these supposed indicators are really down-grading tools that prove nothing. First-rate proof comes from people whom fall into the said category. Many of them brag they have stupendous grades and scores, but many of them would also admit they aren't intelligent. Intelligence is an individuals capability to gather knowledge and then apply it to the world, whether that be in the form of science, music, literature, invention, strategy, or many other specialized subjects. How someone may take a test or explain everything they know on one subject doesn't suggest they are an intellectual. How someone may apply knowledge on subjects or become innovative in an area of specialties measures their intelligence. Look at some past references; Jim Morrison at his best in college was decent in classes and ability to learn curricular subjects. However, his I.Q. Was way beyond average, estimated to be around 149(genius) and became one of the most influential lyrical writers ever(though he wasn't smart enough to stay away from heroin). Good, old BEN FRANKLIN(M. Reese :]) was beyond any man of the time, and he couldn't even make it through college. Some people are more intelligent in different aspects; Einstein whom couldn't had to drop out for such more grades in English and History, along with science, has become the single most iconic scientist of all time. Intelligent based on human guidelines? No. Intelligence is your ability to adjust to the world and how you may become innovative and knowledge bound in it.
To finally get to my point after four-hundred three words, the most intelligent person I know would be my mother. Many people may use there mothers, saying how they have done so much for them and “they are just so smart because they are awesome and made me.”Some may even have the privilege of saying “Well, my mother went to [so and so highly renown school that quite frankly, I probably don't care about].” There is a couple holes in saying this is why I choose my mother. For one, she really did just sucked at school. She wasn't the worst student in the school, by any means; that was probably my dad. However, she was definitely not the smartest. She couldn't even pass Geometry after two tries at it. Sure she got a decent education, but from where? ACCC and CCP(Community College of Philadelphia)? By no means am I busting on these educational establishments, but they aren't on the same level as Cornell University. Now granted, she is my mother and quite frankly awesome because she made me, but that is not why she is an intellectual.
My mother is an intellectual because she can apply what she has.
She may not have the widest educational bounds, but she has some; she has abilities specializing in certain areas such as socializing; she knows how to apply the knowledge that she has very well; when she wants something, she can harness that knowledge very well to get it. Just because she doesn't have the term “Dr.” in front of her name, or doesn't have some high-end office with a PhD. Hanging on the wall doesn't mean she isn't intelligent. She has these abilities that can make her just even seem really “book smart” to those around her. She takes life and can tear it piece by piece to understand it to the fullest. She does not seek knowledge as far as books, nor does she need to; as long as to knows what she does and learn what she must, she will remain the most intellectual person I know.
“He who knows best knows how little he knows.”
Thomas Jefferson
(AKA: My favorite person ever.)
Damn it. I can’t think of what to write.
I guess I shall start with the fact that intelligence is a tricky word to define. I do not think I know how to define intelligence, though I do use it to define people sometimes. I think intelligence can be defined in two ways. One kind exists only in ones’ head and very rarely come out. The other is the based on the choices one has made throughout their lifetime.
The type that exists in your mind is labeled “your thoughts.” I think that a lot have people have thoughts inside of them that cannot be spoken out loud. Controversial thoughts. Intricate thoughts. Simple thoughts. These thoughts sometimes cannot be put into words, and when they are, sometimes do not come out the way you mean them to. The things you say sometimes brand you to be a certain person in the minds of people who you talk to. However, your true personality and thoughts may not show, or may be ignored, by the things you actually say. Who’s to know what is really going on inside your head? You could be the most intelligent person, with a whole different outlook on life, but you never say anything out loud. I don’t know, it makes sense to me.
The other type of intelligence is the one that shows through your choices that you have made throughout a lifetime. I was going to say, based on your daily doings, but, that would not have been true. What you do throughout life shows the true person you are. It is collective of all the decisions you have made, and the reasons behind doing them. It is then “averaged” together to find your average intelligence. Your daily doings however, are quite different. You cannot base intelligence on the actions of a person at the present. Their actions could be watched or put on display at wrong times where they are making rash decisions, or bad choices. You cannot blame them, or say they are unintelligent just because of one decision they make. There could be millions of reasons why they did what they did. A more collective view of all the actions seems to better a better grader for intelligence.
As for the smartest person I have ever known, I don’t really think I’ve met someone who is truly, in all its glory, intelligent in my eyes. Not yet at least.
The quote up above was said by Mr. T.J. himself. If anything, he was one of the most intelligent men in history. He had the extradinary ability to put his thoughts into beautifully executed pieces of writing, to show…well…his thoughts. His intelligence was more like the first that I described. His thoughts were the epitome of intelligence, while his actions ranked second. This is only because some of his decisions when it came to women were not quite intelligent to me. He was a thinker, while he also thought like a misogynist. He was an inventor, while he also harassed his neighbor’s wife. He was intelligent, while he also had an affair with Ms. Sally Hemmings, his wife’s half-sister, his slave. He is intelligent, that is obvious in his public life. Though his private decisions are not as wonderful, he had thoughts that many have not thought of before, and been able to write about. He is truly an intelligent man who has answers and reasons to everything.
Ahh... A special thanks goes out to Dan for reminding me that this blog is due. I was so caught up in my new lack of braces and preparing a feast for tomorrow that I forgot completely. Shame, it seems right up my alley, too. I have two hours to work, I suppose that's enough time.
So, intelligence. That's not an easy thing to define. I suppose the easiest and most accurate way to define intelligence is “The closeness to liberalism on the political spectrum.” There. Because democrats are teh smarts and republicans are teh dumbs.
But I jest.
If I were really pressed to give a simple definition of intelligence, which I suppose I am, I would have to define it as “The cumulative ability to absorb, combine, and use knowledge available, as well as having knowledge to use.” It's a bit cliched, but I don't suppose the point of this is to be original, necessarily. Bloom's taxonomy represents different levels of thinking, and the way I see it, one needs to be able to utilize every level of thinking in order to be classified as truly intelligent.
I actually found the definition to be the easy part of this blog. This next part is the toughie. Thinking about it, I just don't know if I can really say who the smartest person I personally know is. Unfortunately, intelligence and audacity don't go hand in hand. Imagine the world we would live in if it did. But, unfortunately, the smartest person we know could in fact be one of the people who doesn't speak much at all. I wouldn't be incredibly surprised if the smartest person I know isn't an adult at all, but rather Ivan Ding or Ashley Scheider...
Wait. Wait just one second. I'm not going to fail this if I don't put Ms. Bunje as the most intelligent person I know, am I? I hope not. Just to be safe, I'm changing the question to “Most intelligent person I know besides Ms. Bunje”.
Well, since there's no real way to be sure about the quieter people without being extremely close to them, I suppose I'm going to have to settle for one of the more audacious intellectuals in my life. The problem is that when you use my definition of intelligence, it becomes difficult to compare people unless one is obviously a genius or one is obviously an idiot. Some people are going to be better than others when it comes to certain brain functions. Desperately resisting the urge to eenie meenie miney moe my way out of this one, I choose...
My own father. Yeah, I know. Most boring choice ever, none of you want to hear it, you don't know the guy, etc. But what can I do? It my mind, he trumps most other people. When he watches Jeopardy, he gets 95% of the questions right, he can build things, and he manages to stay up to date technologically. Perhaps I just know him better than other people. I'm sorry, I'll study all of your dads next time to make a truly educated statement. For now, this is who I think is intelligent and why.
To Ivan: I loved your metaphor of intelligence being like a tree. I really should start using metaphors again. Maybe if I started my blogs at a decent time. Agh.
To me, being able to receive "good grades" in school doesn't say a person is smart or intelligent. It just says they're not lazy. Anybody can get good grades in school. Being intelligent means having the ability to look more deeply and differently at the world than most people, having the ability to think on your own and have interesting ideas and be able to back them up. Intelligent people are able to look at life differently than others. This is why it is always interesting to talk with an intelligent person.
who is the most intelligent person I know? I know a few; my dad, my priest, and my uncle. They all seem to have the same thing in common: when asked about anything, absolutely anything, they can start an interesting conversation and use examples and come up with an answer that amazes me. Anything I ever ask either one of them, I get a solid liable answer. And an explanation to go with it. Also because all three speak several languages.
I had to look up a quote and when I came across this it reminded me of what we've been doing in class, and of this book that Im reading called Anna Karenina:
"I happen to feel that the degree of a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting attitudes she can bring to bear on the same topic." -Lisa Alther
If a person is able to argue a few points on one matter, it is an impressive quality to have, and surely it shows a sign of intelligence.
And I must apologize for my simple shallow blog response this week, but I was in the middle of watching this German movie and out of nowhere I remembered I had a blog due today, so I came over and wrote it, but I'm half asleep so I realize it's not a good response. And for that, I intend to make my response for next week's blog extremely well-written as well as thought out.....and now I'll be getting back to my movie
:)
I mentioned that the most intelligent person I *knew* was Kyle, and this is true. However I cannot let a blog on intellect pass without mentioning my idol. This may be completely off topic, compared to my blog, but I think the most brilliant/smartest/most intelligent man who ever lived has to be Orson Welles. Yes, the same Orson Welles who ran the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast and created what many consider the greatest movie of all time, Citizen Kane. I idolize him because of the War of the Worlds broadcast. Doing a fictional invasion in a news format style was a stroke of genius, and he knew exactly how to write a thrilling story, judging by the way it agitated people back in the day. He knew what scared people, and used it. All in all, a brilliant man.
Sara VP:
"In my eyes, intelligence is the step right before wisdom and just after smart."
I love the way you put that, and now that I think about it, I would say the same
I don’t think intelligence can be measured by test scores, your grades, or the amount of AP classes you take. This is why I cannot take standardized testing. For one, I know that the SAT or the ACT does not consider you at a person. Instead, you are a number. Just a number in a pool of other numbers. They can’t possibly know the type of person you are or any of your views on the world. This is why intelligence to me is people’s ability to analyze a topic, no matter what it is, and being able to develop their own thoughts on the matter. Now, the greatest intelligence to me is not anything you can find in textbooks and has nothing to do with facts or dates. It is the ability to think “outside of the box.” It is using that knowledge in the books and applying it to yourself so that you have a better understanding of the life around you. Once that knowledge is achieved, then you should share it. Share it with you family, your friends, the world… And this type of intelligence is the kind I thrive for everyday. Because give me a book and I will study the facts. Give me vocabulary words and I will memorize them. But give me a situation and tell me to analyze and make inferences, well…that’s a little more difficult.
A quote that pretty much sums up my belief of the definition of intelligence is:
“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.”
This quote brings up another point about intelligence. Judgment highly influences intelligence. After all, if you have a great amount of knowledge and your not putting that knowledge to use (judgment), then in the end, you’re not as intelligent as you think. A great mind can certainly be put to waste. An “intelligent person” must let their mind reach its full potential. And you can only do this, by stepping out into the real world. Use that knowledge to develop a career for yourself. Use that knowledge to change the views of the ignorant. Use that knowledge to make a difference. Just use it. Imagine our world if the majority of our historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Ghandi, Plato, Martin Luther King Jr., and even Bill Gates, decided to sit back and not let their knowledge reach their full potential. Imagine if they just sat at home and decided not to develop “E=mc (squared),” electricity, the infamous I Have a Dream speech, or Microsoft. The use of knowledge is certainly the foundation for intelligence.
The smartest person that is in my life right now is my brother, Chance. I have always looked so highly upon him. And whenever I need help with homework, he is the first person I ask. And he never minds driving from his house in EHT all the way to my house to do so. He has the greatest amount of knowledge whether its Calculus or analyzing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. So he is intelligent when dealing with numbers as well as creative thinking. However, his greatest intelligence is shown when we talk about miscellaneous topics like politics or philosophy or just life in general. The other day we had a talk about my generation, the generation of entitlement. We both agreed that this generation is the generation that they think they deserve everything. But he made the point that most of us don’t even realize that we think this way. How many times have you used the excuse that you’re an AP student and/or a student athlete to justify a wrongdoing? We think we deserve many things when we have not even yet contributed to society yet. So why should society give back to us? Sorry, for that sidetrack. But the point is that my brother is by far the most intelligent person I know. And he does not let this knowledge get to his head either. He is the most humble person I know, always joking and smiling and sharing whatever he knows with the people around him.
Mike N- “Thoughts and actions go hand in hand, and an intelligent person must excel with both.”
I could not agree with you anymore and I loved the way you stated that. A truly successful person cannot just rely on their knowledge to get them through life. Imagine meeting a person that was just a book of facts. Then imagine a person with no true knowledge of history or math or any other subject. They just based their intelligence on thoughts and theories they derived in their head. Neither one would be as successful if they did not have both qualities.
Devon:
"Something about that green science lab we got stuck in, with the Star Trek cardboard cutouts, the bulky overhead, the creaky book holder, her huge, unorganized desk, the big windows looking out to the courtyard, the high lab tables that you could write notes on, and those big old drawers that snapped open and closed, was the best learning environment ever. I will never forget her classroom, her lessons, and everything that I will take away from that class."
Mrs. Hudson was amazing. Her classes were totally brilliant, exciting, and fun. Especially that project we did at the end of the year with dropping the eggs! =) And we cannot forget the world nations project! That was so fun! I remember that was the class i threw up in, in the trashcan near the door near her phone, right before going to the nurse, then getting my appendix out. Oh man, her classes which so memorable and fun. There are things from there that i will never forget. She's a good choice. (hahah, remember when she rapped?! =D)
Haha, thanks Hils. I like how the only comment to my nonsensical blog came from a tangent I briefly diverged onto. It amuses me greatly. XD
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