Is the existence of high level human intelligence useless or even detrimental?

[zorn]

What defines human intelligence anyways? 4.4 w/honors? Nobel Prize? Discovering an innovative breakthrough in engineering or science? Being able to maintain a healthy, balanced life? Avoiding trouble and/or violence? Adapting to and overcoming turmoil? Not living in the grips of addictions? Having the gumption to realize your weaknesses and work to strengthen them?

I think people view intelligence mistakingly as a "yes or no" question, when in reality it can be viewed as, "in what ways is an individual intelligent?"

I would define intelligence loosely as the ability to grasp concepts and learn new things... it's helpful/necessary for the kind of achievements you mention but certainly doesn't guarantee them. Things like being able to recognize your weaknesses or maintain a balanced life, I would call wisdom. Like you said the two definitely do not go hand in hand.

I think certain groups like to brag and hide behind their so-called "intelligence" using big, obscure words to mystify the general public, panhandling the government for millions/billions of dollars, instilling the false presumption they're some kind of intellectual elite.

What groups? Here I disagree. Sure there are plenty of quacks, charlatans, and frauds who do that type of thing; but I don't see anyone considering such folks an intellecutal elite. I'm thinking of people like, say, those who peddle homeopathic cures, or dodgy investment offers -- seem like they make most of their money off the suckers of the country, not the government.

 

[Invalid Usename]

...
So where does all of this go now that we have so much control over our environment? Do we somehow represent an end to the 3.5 billion year quest for greater degrees of abstraction?

Anyone wanna take any guesses?

.

Excellent question! Glad you asked! :D :D :D




I think that one possibility scenario is that our machines will take over where we leave off. I don't think that such a possibility can occur any time soon, because I'm convinced that we're [at least] hundreds of years away from fully implementing machine intelligence to a point where it could function like our naturally occurring intelligence.

But I feel certain that it can be accomplished, and that humans are capable of doing it.

Under such a scenario, a natural catastrophe would occur that eliminates most or all biological life. It would be necessary for the machines to be able to both copy themselves, and to create improvements. But, under the right circumstances, the "machine based civilization" could take on all of the functions that we would attribute to an organic civilization.

Perhaps this has already occurred somewhere, and someplace in the universe there are (or were) machines peering into the heavens looking for others "out there."

 

[everythinginside]

I just had an epiphany..

To what is termed Useful?

In the broad spectrum of things, I have to look at the world totally unbiased, and somewhat detached at times. I have adopted the idea that everything is a reaction of a reaction... and that we should not be so convicted in our ways that we lose sight that we are all still human.

This is where human intelligence becomes detrimental.. but perhaps not, when you zoom out a little... Everything has happened, therefore, it is. I don't see the point in going any further than that.

We can do our best... but we're human, after-all...

it's all in the words. I saw some movie last night.. some guy talked about words.


{stoned}

 

[ebola?]

>>I think certain groups like to brag and hide behind their so-called "intelligence" using big, obscure words to mystify the general public, panhandling the government for millions/billions of dollars, instilling the false presumption they're some kind of intellectual elite. >>

hah...I read the first half of your description and thought "Leninists," but they sure as hell aren't elites receiving govt. dough.

ebola
np: download

 

[Jabberwocky]

If mankind isn't intelligent, then what is?

 

[everythinginside]

we are intelligent, in certain degree of sense... however, I really don't claim to know everything, therefore I can't expect everything.

One day a species might liken us to a completely predictable parasite. They might hold no value for our terms of intelligence.

However, I suspect that's not the case, and humans, in fact are capable of great intelligence (look at atomic and quantum sciences, to name a couple). However, as a collective how aware are we really?

seriously?

this is the detrimental area that humanity is getting into..

we have the capabilities to destroy ourselves probably around 13 fold by now... sure, some people might survive...

but you and me, probably not.

But then, on the optimistic end of things, we might just be intelligent enough to make it past 0.

 

[Detrevni]

In calculus there are two main concepts that it is founded upon, one being the derivative and the other the integral. The derivative uses a zero deminsional point to describe a one deminsional line. The integral is basically the polar opposite of the derivative just as multiplacation is to division. The integral uses a one deminsional line to describe a two deminsional plane. When you look at the formula for a sphere, V=4/3(pi)r^3
and then look at the formula for for the area of a circle, it is merely taking the derivative to find the relationship which could then be integrated back the the original sphere equation.

 

[thursday]

intelligence allows us to better apply our faculties of reasoning. and since morality is dictated by logic, i think the more developed our faculties of reasoning are, the easier it is for us to see the dictates of reasons, thus what moral imperatives we ought to follow.

but these days everything is about money. people go to college not to get a well-rounded education, but to learn a trade they can make money off of. they train their minds to rationalize their profiteering instincts rather than to see what logical actions they should take. instead of using their minds to determine what morality demands of them, they use their minds to figure out how to exploit the system we live in to get ahead of others, and to justify their actions to themselves and others--thus, free market capitalism, neoliberalism, and all the dominant ideologies that make the world go round.

one day tho, man will be intelligent enough to see that the world will be a better place when we stop thinking so selfishly and we'd all be better off if we just saw our communities as communities and not "markets."