Intelligence vs IQ vs Education vs Common sense

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 10:36 am

Who is the smartest person you know? and what is smart?

My husband is a brilliant business man, mathematician, engineer, designer but he could not find something in his closet if his life depended on it.

"Honey, where is my brown sweater?

"It's in your closet"

"I don't see it ~ it's not here"

I go look and it is right there.... how can someone so intelligent not be able to locate a sweater in plain view?

Some of the wisest people I know, do not have degrees or any higher education. Common sense, and great insight outweighs a masters degree in my opinion.

Some of the most educated people I know are totally screwed up relationship wise, they cannot communicate and fail time and again with their partners, they have no social skills and just can't handle the give and take of a relationship.

Highly intelligent people are often obnoxious and find others beneath them.

How do you feel about this?

I think a well rounded person with some knowledge of the world, tolerence for others, common sense and compassion is much better off than a brilliant, highly educated person with no social skills.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 10:45 am

I agree Cass, a well rounded person is usually better in most situations.

My brother in law is a brilliant doctor, but he can't find his way to a soccer field period. We even had ON-STAR activated in his car. He will use it every now, and then. When he does he arrives on time. But for some reason, he continues to think he can get there on his own.. HE CAN'T, IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE..!! :-5

I have know many brilliant people who have not one ounce of COMMON SENSE..!!

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:05 am

My father was the smartest person I ever knew.

If I had to define what I think intelligence is, I would say that it is the ability to learn new information, to process it, and to use it for your own benefit. Doesn't matter where you learn it, what the subject is, or if it's mental, emotional, and/or physical. We all have a blend of these three major components. In essence, understanding our own unique blend is a sign of intelligence. (grin)

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 12:46 pm

Cass, I totally agree with you. My sister is one of the smartest people I know, and thankfully, she is not lacking in the basics of social skills. On ocassion she does come across as superior, but in certain instances her intelligence is superior. My ex brother-in-law, however, not so much. He is VERY book-smart, but that's all. No common sense, zero social graces, and nil in the street-smarts department. At family gatherings, while the rest of the family is hanging out, having fun, he found the furthest corner and stuck his nose in a book, and spoke to no one. He so very obviously thought he was superior to EVERYONE he came in contact with it was nauseating. So, yes, a good balance of brains and social skills AND humbleness is preferred. He never did master that, smart as he is. Hmmm....

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 1:20 pm

Yes, I agree about humble ~ when people tell you how smart they are (compared to you) it is insulting.

koan · Post by **koan** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:08 pm

The smartest people I have met are bipolar, clinically depressed or schitzophrenic.

The wisest people I know have simple jobs and simple lives.

The most educated people I know are slaves to their knowledge/careers.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:32 pm

koan wrote: The smartest people I have met are bipolar, clinically depressed or schitzophrenic.

The wisest people I know have simple jobs and simple lives.

The most educated people I know are slaves to their knowledge/careers.
Well koan, that about sums it up. Very good summation too!

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:01 pm

KOAN,

Brilliant wording, you have summed it up perfectly..!!

Originally Posted by koan

The smartest people I have met are bipolar, clinically depressed or schitzophrenic.

The wisest people I know have simple jobs and simple lives.

The most educated people I know are slaves to their knowledge/careers.

koan · Post by **koan** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:04 pm

*takes a bow*

Thank you, Thank you very much.

Post by **kensloft** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 6:26 am

koan wrote: *takes a bow*

Thank you, Thank you very much.

You should come out for a few more encore bows. Oo-oo-ee. That is leaving me breathless. Thanks for simplifying it all.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:00 am

A nice topic for discussion.

In India we have a saying - 'My hair have not turned white in sun', meaning that the wisdom I possess has not come from bookish knowledge and age but from experience & understanding of the world around me.

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:41 am

Suresh Gupta wrote: A nice topic for discussion.

In India we have a saying - 'My hair have not turned white in sun', meaning that the wisdom I possess has not come from bookish knowledge and age but from experience & understanding of the world around me.

:-3 You lost me there, Suresh. If the sun have NOT turned his hair white (representing wisdom, I presume) then he has not spent a lot of time in the sun doing stuff. If his time was spent out of the sun then it would make more sense that the wisdom came from reading books and such. Unless his experience and doing were accomplished on the internet.

Attached files

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:12 am

koan wrote: :-3 You lost me there, Suresh. If the sun have NOT turned his hair white (representing wisdom, I presume) then he has not spent a lot of time in the sun doing stuff. If his time was spent out of the sun then it would make more sense that the wisdom came from reading books and such. Unless his experience and doing were accomplished on the internet.

Let me try to clarify.

Hair becoming white signifies that one has become older. It will happen whether one is standing in the sun or not. This man is an outsider. He does not only sit inside and read books. What he says is that no one should misunderstand that his hair have turned white because he has worked in the sun. He has also experienced the world and has become older with the wisdom in his head and it has played the main role in turning his hair white.

minks · Post by **minks** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:12 pm

I think wise, and smart, intellegent etc come in all kinds of different packaging.

I have met people who are school smart and they blow my mind. But they have no smarts in day to day life.

I have met people who are socially smart, and can fit in to any kind of situation but can't do their taxes.

I have met people who are street smart but don't fit in anywhere else.

I have met people who are wilderness smart and they can barely understand the purpose of a handshake

So I don't know who would be the smartest person I know. It depends on category I guess.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:32 pm

Cass wrote: Who is the smartest person you know? and what is smart?

My husband is a brilliant business man, mathematician, engineer, designer but he could not find something in his closet if his life depended on it.

"Honey, where is my brown sweater?

"It's in your closet"

"I don't see it ~ it's not here"

I go look and it is right there.... how can someone so intelligent not be able to locate a sweater in plain view?

Some of the wisest people I know, do not have degrees or any higher education. Common sense, and great insight outweighs a masters degree in my opinion.

Some of the most educated people I know are totally screwed up relationship wise, they cannot communicate and fail time and again with their partners, they have no social skills and just can't handle the give and take of a relationship.

Highly intelligent people are often obnoxious and find others beneath them.

How do you feel about this?

I think a well rounded person with some knowledge of the world, tolerence for others, common sense and compassion is much better off than a brilliant, highly educated person with no social skills.
It's tough to generalize, but if high IQ & lots of formal education were the most important thing, then the world would be run by Phd's. Such is not the case. There is an old saying "Thems that can, does. Thems that can't, teach". Some extremely bright people are totally lacking in "people skills" and do quite well in careers that do not require much interaction with others. Most democratically elected heads of state are pretty average in the IQ department, but rate high in people skills. Isn't this what irks some of the intellectuals about Bush?

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 9:53 pm

Enough votes. Let me give my vote also. I will vote for a person who connects positively with the world, education or no-education, IQ or no-IQ, smart or not-smart.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:32 pm

When did voting become an issue here? :yh_eyebro