^^^ I agree with some of your points - particularly about weed alleviating boredom, being inspirational, and being annoying when it becomes a dependence.
As for the positive representations in TV, nowadays it is becoming SLIGHTLY more even sided in pop culture, though even the so-called positive role models are often still founded upon a kind of "loser" prototype.
Anyway, back to intelligence...
I enjoy using Tim Leary's model of consciousness, which separates the mind into eight different functions. Intelligence is understood as the receiving, integrating, and transmitting of information for the purpose of each of their functions.
Leary reckoned that the first four functions are related to physical survival and reproduction of the species: first is bio-survival intelligence, used to differentiate between harmful and nourishing phenomena; second is emotional intelligence, used to navigate in social hierarchies and group packs; third is semantic intelligence, used to manipulate conceptual symbols such as language and ideas; fourth is socio-sexual intelligence, which is used to successfully find a sex-role within society and somehow be part of the system of child-rearing for the next generation.
Now, I won't describe the last four circuits, needless to say that Leary speculated they were above and beyond the other four in terms of psychological and species evolution. Each stage is activated usually sequentially, and the fifth one, directly after socio-sexual, is somatic intelligence - used to achieve mind-body harmony. This is what he thought weed activated - an intelligence related to sensual body consciousness (like you said before, altering overall perception).
Now, when we are mainly involved on one level, we lose attachment and functionality in the others. For example, when we are high on level five, we lose focus on bio-survival concerns, emotional games, semantic rules, and socio-sexual roles. In the same way, when we are focused on the first level in fight or flight mode, we ignore the higher functions. Leary described level five, activated by weed, as being similar to Zen - detachment from Earthly concerns, a.k.a. a state that many would call lazy or stupid.
But level five somatic consciousness can be combined with other levels delightfully - like the third level for creative writing unhinged from semantic rules, or the fourth level for socio-sexual pleasures unhinged from sex-role pressures. And it is useful in itself for making the connection between mind and body more healthy, and FOR detaching from the other levels of functioning and perceiving them from a different perspective (in other words, seeing them at all!).
Also, people are better at either receiving, or integrating, or transmitting information on any given level. It takes practice. That's why people talk about "rookies" with weed smoking - at each level of consciousness, practice is needed in order to be able to transmit anything useful, for a while we simply need to learn how to receive and integrate our experiences.
Also, in some ways, emotional flatness is sought after by many people who wish to be enlightened and no longer bothered by life on Earth. Followers of Eckhart Tolle might say that they want to not mind anymore what happens.
WOW, long rant.
tl;dr, Weed activates somatic body intelligence, which can be seen as laziness or stupidity from the perspective of Earthly concerns such as bio-survival, emotional games, semantic strictness, or socio-sexual norms. It takes practice to be able to transmit anything that could be seen as "smart" from the Zen state of weed intoxication. Emotional flatness is not entirely bad - dissociation is not the same thing as enlightened detachment.
As for the positive representations in TV, nowadays it is becoming SLIGHTLY more even sided in pop culture, though even the so-called positive role models are often still founded upon a kind of "loser" prototype.
Anyway, back to intelligence...
I enjoy using Tim Leary's model of consciousness, which separates the mind into eight different functions. Intelligence is understood as the receiving, integrating, and transmitting of information for the purpose of each of their functions.
Leary reckoned that the first four functions are related to physical survival and reproduction of the species: first is bio-survival intelligence, used to differentiate between harmful and nourishing phenomena; second is emotional intelligence, used to navigate in social hierarchies and group packs; third is semantic intelligence, used to manipulate conceptual symbols such as language and ideas; fourth is socio-sexual intelligence, which is used to successfully find a sex-role within society and somehow be part of the system of child-rearing for the next generation.
Now, I won't describe the last four circuits, needless to say that Leary speculated they were above and beyond the other four in terms of psychological and species evolution. Each stage is activated usually sequentially, and the fifth one, directly after socio-sexual, is somatic intelligence - used to achieve mind-body harmony. This is what he thought weed activated - an intelligence related to sensual body consciousness (like you said before, altering overall perception).
Now, when we are mainly involved on one level, we lose attachment and functionality in the others. For example, when we are high on level five, we lose focus on bio-survival concerns, emotional games, semantic rules, and socio-sexual roles. In the same way, when we are focused on the first level in fight or flight mode, we ignore the higher functions. Leary described level five, activated by weed, as being similar to Zen - detachment from Earthly concerns, a.k.a. a state that many would call lazy or stupid.
But level five somatic consciousness can be combined with other levels delightfully - like the third level for creative writing unhinged from semantic rules, or the fourth level for socio-sexual pleasures unhinged from sex-role pressures. And it is useful in itself for making the connection between mind and body more healthy, and FOR detaching from the other levels of functioning and perceiving them from a different perspective (in other words, seeing them at all!).
Also, people are better at either receiving, or integrating, or transmitting information on any given level. It takes practice. That's why people talk about "rookies" with weed smoking - at each level of consciousness, practice is needed in order to be able to transmit anything useful, for a while we simply need to learn how to receive and integrate our experiences.
Also, in some ways, emotional flatness is sought after by many people who wish to be enlightened and no longer bothered by life on Earth. Followers of Eckhart Tolle might say that they want to not mind anymore what happens.
WOW, long rant.
tl;dr, Weed activates somatic body intelligence, which can be seen as laziness or stupidity from the perspective of Earthly concerns such as bio-survival, emotional games, semantic strictness, or socio-sexual norms. It takes practice to be able to transmit anything that could be seen as "smart" from the Zen state of weed intoxication. Emotional flatness is not entirely bad - dissociation is not the same thing as enlightened detachment.
