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What is intelligence?

Nazir
edited November 2006 in General
Let me be the first to de-virginize this wall..

Intelligence has been defined as accomplishing a goal of your choosing.

I think this is an interesting concept. Because how else can you define intelligence? Book smarts? Street smarts? It means nothing if you're a bum on the streets.

Setting a goal for yourself, getting the knowledge, skill, expertise and attaining the self discipline and confidence to succeed is the true measure of intelligence.

I worked with an autistic kid once, and I heard a gentleman call him a "RETARD" once. I got angry because the autistic kid is actually pretty intelligent, because he sets goals for himself and accomplishes what he wants out of life. Sure, the goal he sets for himself just so happen to be his obsession with collages, trains, firetrucks, girls and cars... he still accomplishes the goal he set out for himself, so in the end, he's intelligent.




How do you define intelligence?

Discuss.

Comments

  • Smartso
    edited November 2006
    Well lets look at what the dictionary says intelligence is.

    1. The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.
    2. The faculty of thought and reason.

    So from that I would conclude that intelligence is finding the truth behind the situation and applying that to your reaction in mind or body. Basically, learning from your mistakes.

    Reminds me of that saying "the truth will set you free"
  • TiNgLu_SiNgH
    edited November 2006
    Being smart is measured in what you know, and intelligence measured by what someone does when they dont know something.
  • Mike Jones
    edited November 2006
    Alex Trebek is the definition of intelligent...

    He like knows the questions to like so many answers n stuff...
  • noobie
    edited November 2006
    he jus reads the answers and stuff from some cue cards i doubt he pays that much attention to what hes saying
  • nipples
    edited November 2006
    mm..i think his name was howard garner, and he came up with 7 types of intel. i think they were: navigational, kinethetic, math/logic, ling, music, interpersonal, intrApersonal.

    his deff'n tho i totally forgot hahahah just know he came up with 7.

    but standard iq tests? mmm..well, if you use what its original use was for and apply it to now, i guess intel is how 'you fail at being retarded'
  • nipples
    edited November 2006
    noobie said:
    he jus reads the answers and stuff from some cue cards i doubt he pays that much attention to what hes saying
    too bad i dont work for him. i'd switch up his cue cards. or switch the answers.

    "the classic battle involving a hawaii naval port thrusting USA into WWII."

    -> what is a papaya?
  • JennyBRONX
    edited November 2006
    nipples said:
    too bad i dont work for him. i'd switch up his cue cards. or switch the answers.

    "the classic battle involving a hawaii naval port thrusting USA into WWII."

    -> what is a papaya?
    lol thats too funny
  • PoliChic87
    edited November 2006
    I agree that many autistic poeple are quite intelligent.

    But by your definition Nazir, couldn't you call an ant intelligent?
  • Nazir
    edited November 2006
    PoliChic...sure an ant is intelligent, but its not enough for an ant to be intelligent...

    and ant is controlled by a queen. its the queen who broadcasts the plans for the ants to follow.

    once the queen is dead, the signal is gone.

    the key to HUMAN intelligent, is that we can CHOOSE an act, and follow through with it.

    we have freewill...

    or

    do we?
  • dslee
    edited November 2006
    I think intelligence is self-awareness. Just as Rene Descartes once quoted, "I think therefore I exist." Intelligence can only exist if someone or something is aware of itself and its surrounding. Only then can we say that something possesses intelligence.
  • johnny
    edited November 2006
    If your goal is to watch TV and abstain from any form of reading or thinking, I wouldn't think you're intelligent.

    @dslee...are you saying everyone that believes they exist is intelligent? I hope we find the answer to this question soon its been buggin me
  • johnny
    edited November 2006
    Smartso said:
    Reminds me of that saying "the truth will set you free"
    the truth can set one free but it's amazing what many scholars call "truth" as well, hence the differences in opinions on almost all topics.

    the only truth that I know, is that no one on this planet has ultimate knowledge of anything, and yes that includes myself.
    I've felt this since I was 15, except during those teenage times of thinking I was invinsible, due to the age and the hormones of being young with different responsibilities than an adult.
  • Smartso
    edited November 2006
    I think truth is understanding balance. The world is such a complex ecosystem, and being such, is governed by Isaac Newton's third law of physics; every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You're level of intelligence is taking this understand and applying it. It's amazing how this can be applied to every situation you encounter.

    All that being said, I don’t think that is the only answer to intelligence, it's just my answer.
  • melissaw28
    edited November 2006
    "I don't think that is the only answer...it's just my answer" <== that is a very wise statement and can be applied to most of life's problems
  • luxferre
    edited November 2006
    It's knowing when and where to do wut...

    ie. so ur not skateboarding too close to the highway during in the middle of the nite... :angel:

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