Kandy K said:
Now, if it was merely his subjective standard for what the measure of stupidity was, then why would he dispute that with me? That is what led me to think he believes in some sort of objective standard for intelligence, just like how fundamentalists claim to believe in an objective standard for morality...
I don't really understand your first sentence.
In my post, I just wanted to dispute your statement that (quote) "I don't think that anybody is truly "stupid" or truly "intelligent" over each other". I think you're wrong. Maybe we haven't had the same experiences, but I can say, defintely, that I've met people over the years whom I thought either A) This person is as dumb as a post or B) Wow, this dude/dudette is pretty smart.
I think what you are saying is that people aren't really smarter or dumber then others, just that they perhaps look at life differently, or just think differently. For the most part I think this true. But, yeah, as I just said, I think some people are especially stupid, and some, especially smart.
To answer your other question, I, as H.i.B said, am speaking subjectively.
Intelligence is kind of a nebulous term, it encompasses many distinct cognitive processes, and there is no real measure of intelligence --
the best test we have to measure intelligence is the IQ test, but even that is not perfect, as it has been shown to be flawed in some respects. Beauty if also subjective. Like intelligence tests, there are ways to measure beauty (body measurements, facial symmetry, etc) but ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
But with both beauty and intelligence, subjectivity aside, you can say that some people are 'stupid'. I am surprised you may not think this. Some people are stupid -- this is what I'm saying; just as some people are ugly -- from my perspective, anyways.
If, Kandy K, you go through your life never meeting any stupid people or never seeing any ugly people, than I envy you. I suppose it is possible. It's just not possible for me.