Intelligence - is it over-rated?

by gumby 21 Replies latest jw friends

  • unclebruce
    unclebruce

    Everything is overated Gumby

    except, peace, love and happiness

    simpleminded unc

    um and chocolate

  • Gill
    Gill

    Common sense beats academic intelligence hands down every time!

    Empathy and common sense = perfect human (almost). Add not bad looking as well and you've got all you can wish for.

  • anewme
    anewme

    That whole discussion about grammar on the other thread was not a discussion about intelligence. It was just that--- a discussion about grammar and the intolerance of some to the grammar of others.

    Language is ever changing----like it or not.

    As in music, there are pure forms and there are purists, but oh to hear a refreshing new beat and sound from the unorthodox combining of forms is such a pleasure to our weary ears is it not?
    The other day I heard some very new music out of Australia. It was a combination of many styles. Was it an abomination? No! It was deeeeeelightful!!!!

    Remember the musical My Fair Lady? Professor Higgins was tormented by the many dialects he heard on the streets of London. He lamented the English language being spoken so badly. He was an arrogant prude. He was insisting on a language aristocracy built around his idea of proper inflection and usage. He claimed and believed that improper use of language kept people in a mental prison and condemned them to a subhuman existence and low social class.

    Eliza showed she could master the mechanics of language. And she was presented to the Queen as a real lady. The story ends with her being dismissed as rubbish, the end of a bet. For all his disguise, Prof. Higgins was a jerk. Fancy vocabulary and an old English accent do not make a gentleman.

    I think our new poster is a tough cookie and will survive the joke played upon her and all of us by our beloved poster.

  • acadian
    acadian

    Hey Gumby !

    For me intelligence doesn't tell me anything about a person, it's how they apply it... common sense/wisdom that's what I look for.

    I know plenty of intelligent people that have no common sense or the wisdom to apply the intelligence they have.

    Fortunitly for me I'm not intelligent, but I do have a little commom sense, still working on the wisdom part.

    Acadian

  • anewme
    anewme

    I think intelligence without a doubt is a fascinating subject. Isnt it a wonder that people of high intelligence can have such diverse fields of knowledge?

    A physician may know all about a certain disease, but may not know how to time his car engine.

    A forensic detective can solve a murder mystery but marvels at his wifes delicious lasagna.

    A water engineer seeks the advice of his accountant.

    Ancient architecture is breathtaking to behold, and to think it was designed and built by people without doctorates and degrees (and who spoke no English at all!)

    Instead of a worshipping a heirarchy or ruling class of intellectuals, I am more prone to appreciate the more modest "Yodas" of the world who quietly speak and teach to those who wisely discern their value.

    But I must say on more than one occasion I have found myself mesmerized by the beautiful chirpping of a very bright man. *sigh* (He was why I got dfd)

  • Narkissos
    Narkissos

    Btw we could also wonder if kindness, empathy, and other social qualities are not over-rated.

    It takes every kind to make a world. Balance in the middle and unbalance in the fringe. Painful, helpful difference.

  • bem
    bem

    A few of my thoughts and these come from trying to 'figure' people out. People that are intelligent, and don't think they are all that, meaning they are smart but don't think they know it all are usually easy to spend time and discussion with. a person that thinks he knows it all is a pain in the butt to be around, whether they are intelligent or not. A person that always needs to be right is a waste of time 'cause no matter you say it's going to be ignored.

    I'd rather converse and will learn more from someone that is intelligent, but doesn't have anything to prove. And common sense is important. My idea of a dumb person is someone with no common sense. I've known plenty of people that make me wonder how they survive.

    I think a kind, empathetic person can be refreshing. maybe it's who I spend time with that makes me say that. Or perhaps it's becasue I see myself as kind and empathetic and some people see that as weakness in me.. Balance probably is the key ingredient.

    My opinion FWIW. ~ Dorothy

  • Mary
    Mary

    In some respects, intelligence is over rated.

    Kids in Grade 4 or 5 might be able to program a computer, but they can't add 10 + 10 without a calculator;

    A woman might rise to be a CEO in a company, but has no idea how to bake an apple pie;

    Someone might earn a 7-figure salary and give their children everything materially, but has never taught them about sacrifice, saving, self-denial the value of dollar.

    You might donate 10% of your earnings to charity, but forget to go visit your own parents in a nursing home.

    You might tell your children everything there is to know about being financially successful, but neglect telling them about God.

    The world needs intelligent people. But we also need compassion, love and trust. Nature is about balance.

    1 Corinthians 13: 1-3: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love never fails.
  • Finally-Free
    Finally-Free

    Is there an effective way to measure intelligence? Sometimes I wonder...

    I have engineers, politicians, doctors, accountants, lawyers, and others call me for computer help for some of the most obvious things. Some don't know the difference between their user name and their password. Others call because they can't scan a document into their computer by holding it up to their monitor. Still others delete files and later ask me to restore them from backup. They don't remember the file name, it's location, or even the program they used when they last opened the file.

    Are these computer newbies? NO! Some of them have been using computers for 20 years!

    While they're probably intelligent in some ways, I believe they choose to remain stupid in others.

    W

  • gumby
    gumby

    These two comments were said by finally free and Gill

    Is there an effective way to measure intelligence? Sometimes I wonder...

    Common sense beats academic intelligence hands down every time!

    I think common sense is a "type" of intelligence.

    Intelligence is viewed by most as being what society has defined intelligence as being. Book smart is only one teenie weenie part of what intelligence is but sadly is deemed the most important one that is sought after only to return to the seeker a feeling of self accomplishment, but rarely elevates the person in the eyes of others above one who is "bookdumb" but yet has other forms of intelligence that outweigh being booksmart.

    Gumby

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