What is intelligence?

[skrazo]

This is obviously an "oldie".....two guys digging a ditch?

Two guys were digging a ditch in the hot sun one day while their boss was sitting under a shade tree with a slushy and a newspaper.

The one guy says to the other "How come he makes more money than us and we do all the work?" The guy shrugs and says "I don’t know, maybe you should go ask him"

So the guy climbs out of the hole and asks his boss the same question, and the boss replies "Its because of intelligence" The guy asks him to explain what he means and the boss sticks his hand in front of the tree, and asks the guy to punch it as hard as he can. The guy winds up and punches... and the boss moves his hand out of the way... and "Crack", his fist hits the tree.

Clutching his injured fist and silently cussing the guy goes and tells his friend that they are digging the ditch and he's up there because of "intelligence". His friend asks him what that means and the guy puts his hand in front of his face and says..."Here, hit my hand as hard as you can with that shovel...

 

[shouldazagged]

Intelligence is not attempting IWB carry of a .50 AE Desert Eagle.

It's not putting moving parts on a ballpeen hammer.

It's refraining from asking "You and what army?" of a gaggle of gangbangers.

Above all, it's not telling a woman that her jeans do make her butt look big.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Does it look like this?

 

[canesfan33068]

What is Intelligence? To paraphrase Associate Supreme Court Justice Steven Potter's famous quote about Pornography, "Intelligence is hard to define, but I know it when I see it."

 

[cussedemgun]

I remember the quote, but not who to credit

I've heard it said;

"Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable."

"Common sense is not putting it in the fruit salad."

 

[chaparrito]

A man and his wife had an extremely intelligent daughter. So smart she had the ability to foretell the future. One night the man overheard the little girl saying her prayers. She said for god to bless all of her family and then said "bye grandpa". The next day, grandpa died.
Some time later the man again overheard his child's prayers. She asked god again to bless the family and said "bye grandma". Sure enough, the next day the old lady passed.
Very curious the next night the man put his ear to his daughter's door and heard her prayers. She asked for blessings for all her pets and her mom and then said "bye dad".
The next day, the man returned from work and told his wife what a horrible day he'd had. His wife replied "you think you had a hard day, the mailman died on the front porch this morning."

 

[zzzippper]

I don't think you'll find the answer to that question here.

 

[labworm]

Sitting at a chess board and kicking your opponents butt.

vytoland where are you?

 

[finesse_r]

Intelligence is a very general term used most often to describe analytical intelligence. This would be the ability to remember information, to use that information, and to reason or deduct or to solve problems. This is what is measured by standard IQ Tests, such as the Stanford Binet or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Very similar capacities are measured by group intelligence test such as those administered by the military, or the SAT or GRE tests used for college entrance. These general intelligence tests measure mostly forms of intelligence that are useful in academic or scientific arenas. This would be mostly verbal skills and math.

If IQ is viewed as the capacity to learn or to function, it would be a fairly stable trait. However the tests that measure this trait can be influenced by education, and by specialized study of those types of questions employed in IQ tests. So these tests can be fairly good predictors of intelligence, but they can be affected to some degree by other factors. My IQ was very stable (as measured by various IQ tests) but it did peak right after I graduated from college as my math skills were much sharper at that point in my life. Now in old age I would expect my IQ to measure much lower on various tests since I have forgotten many of the old math formulas and some of the
English grammar that I once knew. Also I process information slower these days and all those IQ tests are timed.

What is not often measured are the other forms of intelligence of which there are many. One scientist identified 120 separate types of intelligence.

Some examples are musical intelligence, mechanical intelligence, electrical, and artistic intelligence. These are often described as skills but make no mistake they are actually forms of intelligence.

A separate aspect of life is emotional stability. Often emotional stability is as important or more important in how a person lives their life.

I always use the analogy that the brain (intelligence) is like the motor of a car, and the emotions are like the transmission of a car. The biggest motor in the world will not be much use if the transmission is shot, weak, or totally dysfunctional.

This is why some truly intelligent people can’t seem to function very well. Of course the worst case is a weak motor and dysfunctional emotions.

 

[M3Stuart]

There is an old saying that people only use 10% of their brains.

That is abject nonsense. People use 100% of their brain capacity all the time. I would argue that, much of the time, people are using 110% because they're projecting 'intelligence' onto situations with which they have no actual experience. As evidence of this fact I would point out that there is not one single human example of a person who is highly accomplished in more than one highly technical field. Say, someone who is BOTH an accomplished astrophysicist AND a good heart surgeon. - not one single example. If people only used 10% of their brains, this would be totally possible. But it's not.

This being the case, the people who score high on the IQ tests have, at a specific point in time, memorized more 'answers' to that test than other people who have not. This explains why IQ scores are an extremely poor measure of success in any SPECIFIC field - because the IQ tests are way too general while life hands us very specific situations and circumstances.

 

[Bat Guano]

Most of the world's ( and James Bond's ) villains are intelligent. What's in short supply is wisdom...

Hold my beer while I hit "send".

 

[finesse_r]

This being the case, the people who score high on the IQ tests have, at a specific point in time, memorized more 'answers' to that test than other people who have not. This explains why IQ scores are an extremely poor measure of success in any SPECIFIC field - because the IQ tests are way too general while life hands us very specific situations and circumstances.

While there is some truth that IQ scores can be enhanced by massive amounts of education and study, much of these tests is about reasoning and logic which cannot be memorized. Also to memorize sufficient information to enhance your score would require a lot of intelligence to begin with, since you never know what is going to be on the test and it is always changing.

Secondly, if properly used IQ tests are an excellent predictor of successes in universities and in jobs. You would not use a standard IQ test to test for mechanical ability, you would use a specialized mechanical aptitude test in conjunction with an standard IQ test. The mechanical aptitude test would measure you mechanical intelligence and the standard IQ test would measure your general logic and reasoning levels. Using this information in conjunction with work history, references, and school history allows for pretty accurate indications as to someone’s success for failure.

No university or employer that I am aware of used only the IQ tests, but rather uses them as one of many indicators of success. But they are one important tool and should not be dismissed so casually. Most Universities use a test like the SAT (basically a group intelligence test) in combination with high school grades to determine entrance or not. Many also use extra curricular activities, recommendations, and other factors. But a high score on the SAT is an important factor in college entrance and correlates well with eventual graduation from the university or college.

While there are certainly limits to using intelligence tests, they certainly are helpful when used properly.

 

[shouldazagged]

I suppose I could inject the question of intelligence versus wisdom, but that likely would lob a meadow muffin into the punch bowl.

 

[Smith357]

Intelligence is an accumulation of knowledge. Common Sense is knowing to use it when you are in the shower and hear the toilet flush.

 

[DeathGrip]

Artificial intelligence or Education.

+ -

Natural intelligence or Common sense.

Hopefully we have a good balance of each.

 

[Dennis The B]

It's not just the intelligence, either. It's the ability of the human mind to take knowledge and practically apply it.

I have taken IQ tests (136 in 1961 on S-B), SAT, entrance exams for Naval ROTC, and Navy Officer's aptitude tests. I scored very high in math and engineering potential. However, I always struggled with subjects as basic as algebra, geometry, trig, and calculus. Physics was nearly a non-starter, since basic physics is mostly math problems.

I found out later in life, that my "downfall" in math and engineering was my inability to get into the details of the math, and re-emerge at the other end with an answer. My computer programming skills were always iffy, since I could get easily get lost in my own code. I spent several sessions with a psychologist who finally told me I had Attention Deficit Disorder. This was at age 60. Nice find! We had a great few sessions, and he told me that I had adapted very nicely. Most people always do. That folks like me would learn to know where to find the answers, and not necessarily how to formulate one with all the detail work.

I recently looked at a some of my elementary, junior, and senior high school report cards. Yep! I was "flighty", "Mr. Ants-In-His-Pants", "Can't concentrate", "disruptive in class", etc. Today I would be classical ADD.

I finally discovered that I do best with strategic thinking, able to grasp large scale concepts, but sadly not suited to very detailed work.

Oh, yes. My first 28 years was devoted to nuts and bolts accounting.

 

[amazingflapjack]

More important in my view is the definition of "Wisdom": the the humble and correct use of "knowledge."

 

[Rintimtin]

Boy! did I walk into the wrong thread.

 

[Onomea]

A point I always like to make in these conversations on the nature of intelligence is that discipline, focus, and work ethic are higher indicators of future success than pure intelligence.

I have known a lot of extremely intelligent people -- people who were very quick to understand new concepts amd how to apply them -- who fell along the wayside due to a inability stay focused on longterm goals.

I like to say that simply being smart is overrated.

 

[arjay]

Trying to define it is tricky,sort of like trying to define success.

 

[snubbyfan]

You guys are making me think...
That makes my brain sad.

 

[BMCM]

I subscribe to the idea that true intelligence is the ability to recognize how much you don't know.

Cheers
Bill

 

[2hawk]

To quote the old Harley rider saying, "If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand the answer."

 

[Comrad]

Fortunately, all my children got their brains from my wife.....because I still have mine.

 

[M3Stuart]

While there is some truth that IQ scores can be enhanced by massive amounts of education and study, much of these tests is about reasoning and logic which cannot be memorized. Also to memorize sufficient information to enhance your score would require a lot of intelligence to begin with, since you never know what is going to be on the test and it is always changing.

Secondly, if properly used IQ tests are an excellent predictor of successes in universities and in jobs. You would not use a standard IQ test to test for mechanical ability, you would use a specialized mechanical aptitude test in conjunction with an standard IQ test. The mechanical aptitude test would measure you mechanical intelligence and the standard IQ test would measure your general logic and reasoning levels. Using this information in conjunction with work history, references, and school history allows for pretty accurate indications as to someone’s success for failure.

...
While there are certainly limits to using intelligence tests, they certainly are helpful when used properly.

I'll give you that IQ tests have some validity. They do test reasoning and logical ability.

With all due respect; I've scored quite high on, not only IQ tests, but a variety of other tests like the GMAT, Certification Exams, etc. Plus, I dated a girl in college who was a clinical psych major working on her masters and she practiced giving me batteries of every imaginable psych/IQ/Wechler/etc. test. I can easily make any psych eval say absolutely anything I want it to.

My point is, and I'm pretty certain that current studies would support my thesis; IQ tests and other psych tests are not a good indicator of either success in life or happiness. AND, they are certainly no better indicators than things like; "happily married", "...enjoys job/career", "good health", etc.

 

[wyccad915]

Ok....I'll bite. Who's willing to perform this trick on me, so I can learn the meaning of intelligence?

 

[shouldazagged]

This has been really interesting. Usually Lounge threads start with something serious and somehow go all silly. This one started with something silly and went all serious.

Novel approach. Keeps me on my toes.

 

[williamlayton]

Intelligence is KNOWING that nobody cares about what you think.
Blessings

 

[chief38]

Intelligence is having enough smarts to avoid most of the major pitfalls life throws your way. It is the ability to make better decisions than the average person. It is the ability to LEARN form your mistakes and to NOT repeat them ever again.

 

[BigBoy99]

I've learned that wisdom is a function of hair color. The whiter the hair, the more wisdom one has accumulated.