Intelligence

Intelligence (n.) – the capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.

My twelfth grade English teacher used to tell me that intelligence is not the accumulation of knowledge, but the application of knowledge. In today’s society, intelligence is slowly shrinking into a minuscule, evasive occurrence.

I’ve always considered myself to be an intelligent man. Many people are either unaware of their intelligence, and therefore don’t know how to use it, or are aware of their intelligence and use it incorrectly. There’s a saying I’ve heard that states that there’s a very thin line between genius and insanity. Most of the countries most famous serial killers and people we consider to be “psycho” are actually really intelligent. This just shows a misapplication of their knowledge.

A common occurrence nowadays is the “stupid question”. Another saying states that the only stupid question is the question that goes unasked. I disagree. A year back, a very close friend of mine and I had a conversation about what constitutes stupidity. Yes, we all ask stupid questions. But, what this friend and I have concluded that while a stupid question cannot be changed once asked, but the person who asks it is not stupid if they consistently catch their miscalculation. Like if you ask what color the blue sky is, and then catch yourself and say, “Wow, that was a stupid question. Scratch that.” then you’re safe. While the question remains stupid, you’ve saved yourself, for now.

Many people have problems with their own intelligence as how it relates to other people. Most people simply want to date a person on their exact level of intelligence because it would just be easier and less of a headache. They wouldn’t want to date someone less intelligent because they wouldn’t be able to hold an engaging conversation with them and would have to change their vocabulary and such, and they wouldn’t want to date someone who is more intelligent than them because they’d feel inferior and stupid and they’d always think that the person in question would be talking down to them. But, while being with someone less intelligent could be frustrating, being with someone more intelligent should (emphasis on should) be rewarding. I always felt it was a priceless practice to surround yourself with people who are on a higher rung on the intellectual ladder because it allows me to learn in a more valuable way than in a classroom. I’ve always enjoyed learning, but it hasn’t been enjoyable in a school setting because they tell you what to learn and how to learn it and when to learn it. That’s not how true learning is achieved and how intelligence is acquired/applied. To truly learn, it has to be spontaneous and not environment controlled. The best lessons in life are the ones you can’t read in a book, can’t teach in a classroom, and cannot schedule on a syllabus or a lesson plan. It’s how you apply these lessons that defines intelligence.

~ That is all.