Intelligence

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   Swabezposted 10 years ago

   Was discussing this with a friend the other day and wanted to know other people's views on this. I was trying to say that intelligence should really be measured on the behavior of the person. The scenario is that student A works really hard and gets B grades and C grades. Student B works very little but is quicker at picking things up and so gets the same grades with much less effort. I think that the student working harder is actually the more intelligent one, this being because student A already works hard and so when going into employment it will be considered a good skill to have. If student B worked harder they would be getting top grades and putting themselves above others in terms of job prospects. The fact that student B wants to work little and be on par with others suggests less intelligence in the long term.
   
   Which student do you think is more intelligent?

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   1. 95

      wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think you are rationalizing to be more PC.  Much like giving every student in class an award during the award ceremony; they'll feel bad if they don't get something so make sure everyone is equal even if they're not.
      
      Intelligence has absolutely nothing to do with working hard; it has everything to do with the ability to learn.  If all we have to go on is school grades it is obviously easier for B to learn (at least in an academic setting) and is more intelligent.  The fact that B needs to work little and still be on par suggests more intelligence.

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      1. 66

         Swabezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah I think i  was rationalizing a bit. Thanks for your answer I hadn't really considered settings other than academic, but I realize it's quite hard to judge on a whole.
         
         However I don't agree with intelligence having nothing to do with working hard. I always thought  intelligence includes a persons ability to learn and so if you're working harder (academic setting again) then you should be learning more.

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         1. 95

            wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Well, that was kind of the point.  I'm assuming from your post that A works hard, B works much less, but that both A and B earn the same grades (presumably learning the same thing; something that isn't actually true IMO).
            
            Given that, it takes more time and effort to learn the same thing; B must be more intelligent to learn as much without making much effort.

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   2. 60

      sailingknightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Kind of along the lines of what Wilderness was saying, there are many different kinds of intelligence.  I believe we overlook some of the more common day-to-day intelligence.  This can be considered "common sense" or "street smarts".  A very good example is that a person who is academically intelligent may not have the knowledge of how to react in social settings.  This, in my opinion, means the individual does not have social intelligence.  In the Navy, we refer to these people as "Nukes", mainly because they typically work in the nuclear field.
      
      The level of work a person (a student, in this case) has to put in does not necessarily play a role in determining the level of intelligence, per se.  I think the fact that a student understands the need to put in more work does display a sign of a certain type of technology. 
      
      That is my two cents.  That is about $2.50 will get you a cup of coffee from the local gas station, but you must share my opinion to get it that cheap.

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      1. 66

         Swabezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks that is a good point actually, many people I know who work extremely hard at University are lacking in social skills. This is going a bit off topic but if you ever write a hub about navy life I would like to read it.

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      bBereanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think it is important to keep wisdom in mind for a proper perspective.  If a student finds school easy and predictable, scanning the curriculum and extracting the relevant points they know will be on the test while actually reading and studying none of the material, they may still be capable of posting top grades.  They are intelligent, but have not wisely utilized their abilities.  Properly applied, their future could be outstanding but they have foolishly traded that prospect for an easy time in school.  Intelligence is great, but wisdom is more important.

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2. 66

   Swabezposted 10 years ago

   I don't really know what most internet abbreviations are but if IMO is 'In My Opinion' why do you not believe it to be true. I have a friend at Sheffield who did hardly any revision for maths, but got approximately the same percentage as me when I worked harder.

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   1. 95

      wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Presume you're replying to me.
      
      I say that because I know people (I'm one of them) that are very good at taking tests.  I've known others that may know the subject matter very well, but simply cannot take a test and demonstrate that knowledge.
      
      So tests are not a real good way of measuring knowledge, which is how we're measuring intelligence here.

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      1. 66

         Swabezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah sorry I must have clicked on the wrong button or something. Yeah completely agree with you.

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