# What is intelligence?



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

If we were to meet some ******* person that lived practically in the middle of nowhere and we asked him where China was and he didn't know, the general populous might describe him as unintelligent. However, the fact that he doesn't know where China does not stem from a lack of intelligence necessarily but more accurately a lack of education. So what is intelligence? How does one define an intelligent person as opposed to merely a well educated person?

I've always thought that intelligence was the ability of your brain to make connections between things. If one is more intelligent then their brain makes more connections more easily. If one is unintelligent their brains don't make connections very easily or they are few and far in between. That is how I have always understood it at least.

There is a viral video that is currently spreading about a husband who asks her wife the question "If you are going 80 MPH how long does it take to travel 80 miles?" and she just cannot figure it out and even when explained to her she is still skeptical about the given answer. Using my definition of unintelligent could we then say that she is an unintelligent person since she can't seem to make a connection between the phrase "miles per hour" and how long it would take to go 80 miles? Or could that still be described as a lack of education (e.g perhaps she is not aware of what the term "per" means).

Here is the aforementioned video btw 






Edit: I know that the video could be fake. But it works as an example for this topic whether it is fake or not.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

*in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/

Noun:	
1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

_Now please lock this thread before all hell breaks loose!!_


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Philip said:


> *in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/
> 
> Noun:
> 1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
> ...


Oh ya..well that was easy. We could still have a discussion about the deeper implications of the word and how we perceive the definition. That's originally more what I was after anyway.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

violadude said:


> Oh ya..well that was easy. We could still have a discussion about the deeper implications of the word and how we perceive the definition. That's originally more what I was after anyway.


Of course


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

It is really really unfortunate they used a women, and a blonde, in this video. Should have reversed the gender roles. It speaks volumes of at least one man who honestly thinks a woman cannot be the intellectual equal of a man, and that is just 'stupid.'

Right there, in the way the roles in the video are cast is a demonstration of a lack of one sort of intelligence which has nothing to do with science, maths or 'logic.'

Uneducated is just 'unaware' which is all ignorant really means: you are without information, not without native I.Q.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

At least she had the smarts to approximate non-relativistic velocities in her guesstimation.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

I don't know much about this topic, but I know that there are supposedly different kinds of intelligence. Creative intelligence, for example, would be the ability as you suggested to make connections between things - not only closely related ideas, but also distant ones. Then there is emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand what other humans are thinking and feeling - something we all manage to different extents. I don't know what it would be called, but I suppose a kind of logical intelligence would be separate, which is the ability to learn rules and apply them consistently to new problems.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Intelligence, thy name is Hilltroll.


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Philip said:


> *in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/
> 
> Noun:
> 1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.


I think the problem is not so much what intelligence is, but rather, how intelligence can be quantified.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

A delicate balance between reality and insanity.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

kv466 said:


> A delicate balance between reality and insanity.


In other words, a delicate balance between between reality and optimism.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Polednice said:


> I don't know much about this topic, but I know that there are supposedly different kinds of intelligence. Creative intelligence, for example, would be the ability as you suggested to make connections between things - not only closely related ideas, but also distant ones. Then there is emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand what other humans are thinking and feeling - something we all manage to different extents. I don't know what it would be called, but I suppose a kind of logical intelligence would be separate, which is the ability to learn rules and apply them consistently to new problems.


Yeah, I agree about different types of intelligence. Of course many books have been written on the subject, but I've only read a couple of them. One was by the late German psychiatrist Erich Fromm. He talked about creative intelligence verses manipulative intelligence. The former being the more evolved and beneficial for the betterment of the human condition.

There's also Carl Sagan's The Dragons Of Eden, Speculations on the evolution of human intelligence. It was a interesting read, but I'm not sure if it is held in high esteem by the so called experts, being a popular book for the masses.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Classified Intelligence

View attachment 3962


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Well if what I learned in public school is of any indication, intelligence is exactly how well you can memorize and recite other people's ideas with no regard for your own experiences or well-roundedness as a person.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Well if what I learned in public school is of any indication, intelligence is exactly how well you can memorize and recite other people's ideas with no regard for your own experiences or well-roundedness as a person.


hahaha that was my experience as well.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> Intelligence, thy name is Hilltroll.


I would define "intelligence" as "the ability to agree with me."


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^^^^^^^^
The wonders of capitalism! For profit test companies making a lot of money off of the public school budgets around the country. It's the same with the text book publishing monopolies.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Fsharpmajor said:


> I think the problem is not so much what intelligence is, but rather, how intelligence can be quantified.


Ah - you chose No. 1, sir. That definition and your above statement are perfectly suitable to your: 
temperament and beliefs
habits and limitations

It suits you; it suits you; they suit you.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

science said:


> I would define "intelligence" as "the ability to agree with me."


Is that a Dubya Bush quote?


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

PetrB said:


> Ah - you chose No. 1, sir. That definition and your above statement are perfectly suitable to your:
> temperament and beliefs
> habits and limitations
> 
> It suits you; it suits you; they suit you.


I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to imply about me here. Would you care to be a bit more specific?


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

starthrower said:


> Yeah, I agree about different types of intelligence. Of course many books have been written on the subject, but I've only read a couple of them. One was by the late German psychiatrist Erich Fromm. He talked about creative intelligence verses manipulative intelligence. The former being the more evolved and beneficial for the betterment of the human condition.
> 
> There's also Carl Sagan's The Dragons Of Eden, Speculations on the evolution of human intelligence. It was a interesting read, but I'm not sure if it is held in high esteem by the so called experts, being a popular book for the masses.


I haven't actually read The Dragons of Eden--I've been meaning to for long while. A book on the subject of human intelligence that I would highly recommend is Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Man. He tackles all the issues. I think you'd probably like it.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Philip said:


> *in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/
> 
> Noun:
> 1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
> ...


Right after I change your definition so all who think it is measured by their ability to learn and work numbers, language or music are really really clear it is something beyond and outside of all that.

*in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/

Noun:	
1. Canny. 2. Canniness

Synonyms: astute, shrewd, clear-eyed, clear-sighted, knowing, savvy, sharp, sharp-witted, smart


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

PetrB said:


> Right after I change your definition so all who think it is measured by their ability to learn and work numbers, language or music are really really clear it is something beyond and outside of all that.
> 
> *in·tel·li·gence* /inˈtelijəns/
> 
> ...


No--definitions need to explain the meaning of a word precisely. "Canny" and the other words you mention are simply synonyms for intelligence. A dictionary is not the same thing as a thesaurus.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

Fsharpmajor said:


> No--definitions need to explain the meaning of a word precisely. "Canny" and the other words you mention are simply synonyms for intelligence. A dictionary is not the same thing as a thesaurus.


PetrB has a very dry sense of humour that perhaps went undetected..


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