A former client I had went up to me and said "You're a really intelligent person aren't you?" What even is intelligence and can it be subjective? When I was 18, I got a 15 on my ACT, which made me feel very unintelligent. But I also got a 94/100 on a 5 page sociological issues paper against the death penalty I wrote during the first semester at the current college I go to now, which made me feel very smart and proud of myself.
Getting a 15 on the ACT made me feel unintelligent and put me into the academic category of being very unintelligent. Getting a 94/100 on a paper put me into the academic category of being intelligent with writing, research, and brain storming.
When I went to my tech school, I had to take a compass test that is equivalent to the ACT. I got a 43/100 on the math part but a 92/100 on the writing part. In grade school, I was put into all the classes where kids struggled academically; especially with math. I struggled in school for years in my early days.
I have made stupid choices in my 27 years of life so far that could of gotten me killed. I also made some SMART choices in my life time that has saved my life.
My IQ is average ranging at a 117 or something. But I'm incredible at writing, musically inclined, and very good with psychology. Do academic tests accurately measure how smart you are? Can intelligence be measured?
Although I was flattered that my client thought I was intelligent, it was hard for me to say "yeah I am, thank you," without explaining how I feel about the word intelligence. I would say I am a person who over thinks too much and my brain constantly runs on deep thinking, over analyzing, and philosophy.
I think that intelligence isn't black and white. There's a lot of grey area and the personal examples I used are to show that you can be smart in some ways and not smart in other ways.
3
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
12 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.
Intelligence
1a(1): the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : REASON
also : the skilled use of reason
(2): the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests)
In 1983 an American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener described 9 types of intelligence [1]:
Naturalist (nature smart)
Musical (sound smart)
Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart)
Existential (life smart)
Interpersonal (people smart)
Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)
Linguistic (word smart)
Intra-personal (self smart)
Spatial (picture smart)
Goto web link below to see graph:
This infographic shows that being good at math or languages are not the only two ways to be smart.
[blog.adioma.com]
Word
Level 8
May 2, 2020
2
There is such a thing as IQ and EQ. Both are important but there is not point in have a high IQ if your EQ is in your pants.
Jolanta
Level 9
May 2, 2020
2
We are all thick and stupid, just in different subjects. I have a degree in Bilogy specialising in evolution. However, I am totally stupid in any form of DIY, I can't even get two bits of wood to stick together (believe me I've tried).
So as I say we are all rubbish in some things whilst good in others.
davers
Level 7
May 2, 2020
3
I can relate to that. We had a friend in our group, really nice bloke and had 2 PhDs but if he ever went near a screwdriver we took it off him and told him to sit back down 
Intelligence comes in many forms. Booksmart, street-smart etc. I talked to a woman this evening who was a teacher with a master's degree, complete idiot. "Why do men have back surgeries? I never had one." To give you an example. My college roommate is an actuary. I believe he's passed five of the seven actuarial exams which puts him I think in the top 1% of that profession.
He is the international CEO of one of the top five accounting firms in the world and he believes everything Trump says. So much for intelligence.
Standardized tests can give you an overall view of some intelligence. The key is to go with your strengths and be able to recognize people who aren't so intelligent despite their standing or occupation.
lerlo
Level 8
May 2, 2020
0
@VeronikaAnnJ I was going to mention it but I didn't think it would help any. 
At least you made your professor happy. Apparently you argued both sides well. Should you want to discuss any future papers that you have to write please feel free to reach out
@VeronikaAnnJ just a suggestion. Hot guys tend to have an ego problem and guys with money may have nothing else. Apparently something made you stay with this guy for longer than you should have.
As soon as he told you that your interests were drivel that should have been the end of it. My guess is there were some other red flags. Run! Maybe stop and analyze what attracted you to this guy in the first place and think twice next time. I'll let you know when my dating book comes out. I'm in the process of writing it.
@VeronikaAnnJ as I said, look at what attracted you to him in the first place and why it took you nine months to figure it out. I'm sure the counselor will be of help to you, just keep in the back of your head that they will never tell you that it's time for you to stop cuz that's how they make money.
@VeronikaAnnJ hi, I'm sorry, I didn't get the message. Nevermind, I got them
@VeronikaAnnJ got it and replied, just a slight delay
Although test conditions can affect it, it's not subjective and it doesn't change much over a lifespan but when psychologists measure IQ it is normally to detect deficits after things like stroke or car accident and then they measure many different areas of brain function. General IQ breaks down to two areas, verbal IQ and performance IQ but there are other ways of conceptualising it. Other than for diagnosis of brain injury, the only thing it is really useful for is predicting academic performance, NOT life success. The highest IQ that can be measured is around 150. That doesn't mean there aren't higher, that's just the highest we can measure because of statistical limitations. If anyone says they are measured higher than 150 they are lying and if anyone goes out of their way to tell you their IQ they are probably a wanker.
Cyklone
Level 7
May 2, 2020
2
If somebody prefaced a statement by telling me that I was really intelligent, I'd know they were blowing smoke up my ass.
barjoe
Level 9
May 2, 2020
1
@VeronikaAnnJ I don't need compliments and I don't take them very well. A simple hello will do.
@VeronikaAnnJ You remember the joke about 3 men and 2 parachutes with a plane that's going to crash? The first says I'm the smartest man in the world so I have to live, takes a parachute and bails. The elderly man tells a teenager, that he's lived a long life and you should take the parachute. The teen tells him, don't worry we have 2. The smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack.
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.