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Definition of Intelligence

Catch-22

Catch-22

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 16, 2001
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How do you define intelligence?
This topic was suggested by some good discussion in this thread from the SLR forum.
According to Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: in·tel·li·gence
Pronunciation: in-'te-l&-j&n(t)s
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin intelligentia, from intelligent-, intelligens intelligent
Date: 14th century
1 a (1) : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : REASON; also : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests) b Christian Science : the basic eternal quality of divine Mind c : mental acuteness : SHREWDNESS
OPINIONS?
[ 25 February 2002: Message edited by: Catch-22 ]
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Me, personally, I've always defined intelligence as the ability to learn.
On the other hand, I define being "smart" as to how much knowledge you know.
Intelligence = ability to learn knowledge.
Smartness = how much knowledge you've learned.
 
I think intelligence is closer to being the ability to apply knowledge to situations.
Truly intelligent people learn from everything, all the time. Everything relates to everything else, if only by virtue of a relation-though-nonrelation...everything you already know applies to Now if the moment is perceived correctly, and intelligence is learning the art of such perception, if that makes sense.
 
Originally posted by spinkle:
I think intelligence is closer to being the ability to apply knowledge to situations.
Truly intelligent people learn from everything, all the time. Everything relates to everything else, if only by virtue of a relation-though-nonrelation...everything you already know applies to Now if the moment is perceived correctly, and intelligence is learning the art of such perception, if that makes sense.
exactly, I think of intelligence as the art of using your knowledge and judgement to solve problems
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Intelligence is subjective. You will never be able to figure out how intelligent you are to others. Some mispel every single word known to man but can ace a calculus test w/ no calculator. Others are dicks and think they know everything and still can play the piano like no other.
Intelligence is a word that doesnt really exist, sort of like infinite or forever.
Evan
 
i liek spidermans idea.
all those dorks u hated in high school were smart, but possesed no intellegence whatsoever. Kinda like computer programs just doin what they were told. Us intelligent folk knew just as much as they did, but diddnt care to be a tool and express it. hehehehe.
 
spiderman...understood.
however: i went to school with this girl, victoria - she studied hard, read and absorbed a lot of information and always did well on exams, but she had absolutely no logic whatsoever. no street smarts. i haven't seen her for nine years but i finf it difficult to believe that she can apply all that she's learnt to her life, to her future as well as had she been blessed with logic. what catergory does she fit into?
 
- intelligence definitely has to do with the processiing of sensory inputs and decisions and conclusions, but is not limited to it. robots and machines can do this.
- it also has to do with the creative aspect, and the juxtaposing of ideas that are beyond the typical spectrum of analysis. lateral intelligence, for example.
- it is the ability to create and/or follow a sequence from initiation to completion, and to clear any obstacles in the way. Such as the rat in the proverbial maze finally finding the cheese.
but this next one is the one i give the most weight to:
- intelligence is the underlying natrual tendency of a system towards self-organization, complexity, and efficiency. For example, life and nature have a feedback system of natural selection and genetic variation that provide for a wide range of life forms to emerge. One happened to turn out sentient. That sentient one shaped metals and sand into artifical brans. These brains became linked up to create a planetary network. Evolution has created many specialized creatures to fill and exploit their niches.
we might find that there is a universal self-organizing tendency that has spawned us on earth with some purpose. As computers didn't know they were being created to be strung together into some superbrain, maybe we as a species are unaware of how a meta organizing principle may make use of us. is there a god principle that has created us and this planet? if so, what's going to happen next?
 
Intelligence is someone else who shares your opinions.
Anybody can imagine, speculate, create, or amaze. The fact that they don't/can't/won't to you proves nothing.
Intelligence is the ability to adapt and survive to sing about it. Were the neanderthals intelligent? If they were, then they'd be our ancestors, no?
we might find that there is a universal self-organizing tendency that...
What do you think we'll do if we find it? I hope it stays hidden from us.
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Acuity, I know a buncha people like you described.
And since its REALLY HARD to define Intelligence (otherwise there wouldn't be a thread about it would there?) I'll have to use my own personal definition to tell yah what I think of a person like Acuity described.
My definitions are as follows (remember they're neither right, nor wrong are they? :) ):
-Intelligence is how quickly, easily, and strongly you learn new things. Be it retaining algorithms, playing the guitar, or driving a car. Its how well you catch on.
-being SMART, is a whole other story. If you're smart (the way I see it) it just means that you know alot of things. It doesn't mean you learned them at an amazing rate.
So back to the person Acuity described (like I said, I know a couple too). A person like this who studies ALL the time, and therefore knows many things and aces tests and all that, is a smart person. But are they necessarily intelligent? I think not (in her case). Becuase a person like her cannot adapt to certain conditions (like you said, street smarts) quickly, and adapting to things IS a sign of intelligence and logic is it not? If I learn to play a guitar quickly, then I've ADAPTED to how body uses the muscle memory, etc. etc...shit like that. So if a person like her is really smart, then they probably study all the time, and you even said she does. But if you get an intelligent person, I bet they can know just as much, while beginning to study MUCH later than the person we're talkin about.
but hey...iss all good :)
 
I would really encourage you to check into slr...not only could we use your opinions, but we have this current discussion going on--with very different ideas.
I think this is so cool, the differing ideas :)
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, Spiderman, but aren't you trying to say that Understanding indicates intelligence, and not just memory. If you are, I agree with you.
And I think, in order to understand something, one must apply logic to it.
 
I always thought that the intelligent man is the one that can admit he doesn't know. The man that only knows that he doesn’t know... open minded I guess…
 
I always thought that the intelligent man is the one that can admit he doesn't know. The man that only knows that he doesn’t know... open minded I guess
i don't think that makes someone intelligent, unless that individual wants to know, and has the motivation and ambition to know. Otherwise autistic children that said "i don't know" repeatedly while banging there heads against a wall would be hailed as our greatest genioues (sp?)---i don't know how to spell that--I'm gonna go look it up now...
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well, i wont say i think i know what it is, but that i tend to judge how smart someone is by how capable they are of THINKING FOR THEMSELVES...that's just how i look at it though...
[ 02 March 2002: Message edited by: RaspberrySwirl ]
 
In my expereince, I subscribe to only one sure fire accurate indicator of intelligence, at least that I have seen (well, an indicator of my definition of intelligence). To me, it's 1000 times more accurate than any sort of test, or report card, that indicator is thier sense of humor, how funny they are. At least in my case, humor and intelligence almost are two of the few things that almost always go hand in hand. All 3 of my serious realtionships, in which as I stated in the survey thing, I sincerely believe I was the less intellgent one, my gf had always had the craziest most unique sense of humor. Of course that in and of itself is part of the attraction...
Very rarely do you find someone who is extremely funny, but who isn't intellgent as well, and vice versa. Actually, I think it was Barbara Walters who clued me into that fact in some super old back issue of Reader's Digest I read sometime, somewhere. But I'll be damned she wasn't dead on with that observation. Pretty crazy, I guess old people aren't totally worthless after all...
 
i think this thread is cool, just a few minutes of reading it has given me different ways of looking out at the world, adapting and learning.
i think that every post made here contains a contributing factor of intelligence, and brainrape, i think you have made an excellent point...
SO OFTEN people who have a great sense of humour (whether this can be attributed to their environment, beliefs, social status, mental state etc.) come across as being 'intelligent'.
also,
People who actually think, and by think i mean, actually think about what they say and do, BEFORE they say or do it, often come across as intelligent, whereas, another person may be just as intelligent, but they act differently, and thus do not premeditate actions, thus come across as an individual of lower intelligence.
i know this is not very clear, but its the best way i can think of describing it.
hey, maybe i'm not intelligent enough to convey my thoughts?
 
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