Fear of intelligence

[nosisab]

Once upon a time the pupil asked his teacher to tell the difference between intelligence and wisdom. The master then answered, intelligence is the capacity to grasp new things quickly and easily, wisdom is to make good use of it.

 

So, continued the pupil, can intelligence be used to do stupid things?

 

You are intelligent and becoming wise, returned the master.

 

 

Often the intelligent person is not wise, not seldom he/she attracts on him/herself the consequences, but the inverse is also true. Some people, not necessarily dumb people, are frightened by display of intelligence from others. Normally when some kind of insecurity already exist.

 

Is very "bipolar" concept that one that people either is smart or dumb, most people fit on an extensive range in the interval.

Edited September 4, 2011 by nosisab

[Blacckkfire]

People are afraid of knowledge because we live in a world where if someone forms a strong opinion, and he or she is given scientific proof against it, instead of at the very least considering that side, they look at it and say "no" in fear of being embarrassed. People need an answer for everything, and when there is not yet and evidence for it, that's when you get conspiracy theories and protestors. When the evidence has finally been looked in to and given to them, they do not accept because their point of view is already locked in their head.

[nosisab]

Knowledge forms with intelligence and wisdom one the most confused concepts triplet, sometimes used as synonymous they are not necessarily correlated although ideally should support and complement each one the other two.

 

Intelligence changes little in a life span, it is an attribute the person is born with; wisdom is acquired and somehow developed, can be seen as a mingle of attribute/trait/skill; knowledge (normally inferred as "knowledge of something") is a skill.

 

PS: Ponderation/meditation/consideration are the tools to develop wisdom.

 

PPS: Intelligence and knowledge can be very dangerous to the bearer as much as to others, seldom somebody can go wrong with wisdom.

 

Conclusion from PS(s): The thread tittle is, in a somewhat different from the initially intended meaning, inspired.

 

"I do fear and fear much the intelligence plus knowledge lacking wisdom...."

Edited September 4, 2011 by nosisab

[bben46]

A great American Philosopher once said:

 

Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!

 

George Carlin http://www.thenexusforums.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/thumbsup.gif

 

If you are of only average intelligence, half of humanity is less intelligent than you. And conversely, half is more intelligent. For some obscure reason both take offense at your level of intelligence. :rolleyes:

[Lisnpuppy]

((Sorry this is sooo long but I warmed to this topic))

 

I actually think this entire mindset started very early and is ingrained in the American identity. Though I can not speak for the rest of the world...though the end seems to be similar if not the cause. The Enlightenment in America brought forth a though of making not just religion but life more simple and getting away from much of the European way of thinking and doing. (This is NOT a religious argument but a touch on the philosophy from the Enlightenment that began to spread in America.) The concepts of predestination were making their way in America and this opened the door, in my opinion for the "simple man done good" idea.

 

I have spoke on this idea in another thread but in America hearing or talking about a person with little or no education that has made good (usually regarding money) is seen as a wondrous thing. Now I have no problem with that and good for anyone who does. However this concept that began with the colonialist...who were not the nobles or landed-gentry from Europe...seeing that they could and should make a better life for themselves. This idea was somehow warped its way into the though that I don't need to be smart or have an education to do well and those that do are obviously born with silver spoons in their mouths at the start.

 

Teachers in this country are largely looked down upon. I don't know if Teacher's Unions have been a part of that though I think so. I believe that a teacher needs to be paid their worth and the poor ones need to go, but how does one measure poor performance? Grades, testing..well you see where that has gotten us. My daughter takes 2 standardized test each year now that pretty much measure the same thing. There is a great deal of teaching for the test...and not teaching our children not just to regurgitate info but to THINK. However teachers are some of the lowest pain professions (especially with the amount of education they are required to have) in the country. We leave our children with these people for over 1/3 of the year for about 12 or more years and expect them to teach not only subjects but citizenship and proper behavior. Well folks I find you get what you pay for. I personally think teachers, police and fire fighters should be some of the highest paid folks out there. (But that is another debate.)

 

Now...in school I was in the "gifted" program. I made average grades and was given the "underachiever" award (literally in some cases) from teachers. I rarely had to crack a book and I could basically not do anything and make average to above average grades. I am not sure I would have done that much at times had I not been required by my Mother to keep a certain grade average for my extra-curricular activities. However initially I did fight my parents of being in this program..not because it was more work..but because I would have been made fun of more that I already was. For being an egg-headed dweeb or whatever they called people oh...25 years ago. (gosh I am old!)

 

I think the dislike of intelligence and education is even more apperant where I live in a very, very rural area (West Viginia) which was populated with the Irish, Scots and Scots-Irish, Welsh people that found a place safe in the mountains where even today...it is very hard to get there and an outsider is not trusted. When someone in those rural areas grows up they are, if intelligent, often made fun of and seen (as Ginny mentioned) as being "too big for their britches.)

 

Yes sometimes I am arrogant. I will be honest and say there have been moments where I have lost my patience with someone who was not as smart...and I, in my embarrassment, have made prejudiced decisions based on if I thought someone was intelligent or not. I try not to be that way now as it has been done to me and it isn't fun. I am more a jack-of-all-trades than a super-genius in one or two things. However I don't resent someone for being more inelligent that I am...I do find fault in those who act superior for whatever reason and disrespect others. As my Mother said, Just because you are right doesn't mean you have to rub someones nose in it.

 

I for one try to teach my child the beauty of discovery along with the importance of education and not just "school learning." Mark Twain once said, "I never let my schooling interfere with my education." So I try to let her know that while school can help prepare you for many things...its the things you learn in life and find to study or discover on your own that can make you special. I try to bring her around to the original idea the colonist had that they would not be bound by what they were labeled or for what they did not have access or opportunity. They did not find education bad then...our Founding Fathers were some of the most well educated and brilliant men on their time...some through formal education..some from their own accord.

 

So I would urge you all to take a step back and see what you are passing along. Is your prejudices causing harm by continuing to spread ideas which will only hold others back?

[Nintii]

My uncle is a lecturer and the problem he had was not the intelligent but the stupid ... he was fed up with the education system pushing through those who couldnt be bothered with studying, so he decided to go and teach those who were hungry for it, the Asian countries ... how utterly embarrassing when a westerner can't read his own mother tongue and someone else can.

I think that as a teacher/lecturer you have to face the full reality of the horror of things to come, while the world around you is oblivious of the calibre of the leaders of tomorrow ...

And the powers that be in the education system create rules that force the dopes to advance through the ranks irrespective of whether they count 6 fingers or five, makes one cringe, heaven help us all.

 

The danger of the education system pushing through the dunces is that one day you will have a massive proletariat - a citizen of the lowest class who has no wealth because they have no education - and they through mob rule end up running the show.

And then you end up with all sorts of dictatorships and failed political systems.

Because of this, we need people to be educated and educated properly.

 

We don't need a world like the movie "Idiocrasy" portrays with Luke Wilson .......

No, don't be ashamed of being educated, encourage it where you can and be proud of it, though don't shove it up peoples noses.

 

Knowledge is a bunch of facts concerning a subject, Understanding is a comprehension of that knowledge, Wisdom is the skillful application of the knowledge you understand and Discretion is simply implementing all of it at the right time.

Now how anyone can be offended with that I don't know ... but many are so just simply ignore them ...

Those types we can bypass.

 

I don't consider myself to be way up there on the boffin ladder but in my field of work, I am one of the most advanced and knowledgable people out there, I have spent years and years immersed in what I do and have lectured many a man of

incredible influence and finacial clout and have changed the course of many a company and to a certain degree have been influential in changing the course of not only my nation but others also in the way they should go in my field of expertise.

I am not a teacher or a lecturer, not by a long shot but I practice what i preach and that is what you should do, daily, live what you know ... monkey will see and hopefully monkey will do !

 

And if monkey don't like you, monkey can fly away .............

Edited September 4, 2011 by Nintii

[Dan3345]

I think what it boils down to is that people don't necessarily like being around people who are smarter than them because it calls into question their own capacity. The fact that many intelligent people, or atleast those who thing they're intelligent, tend to put forth this "I'm smarter than you, I'm right, and I want make sure you know it." stuff only amplifies this dislike... Usually because these people are lacking most social skills or just feel the need to show off. Case in point, Brainy Smurf (the 80's version). May or may not be smarter than everyone else, but goes out of their way to remind everyone how supposedly smart they are. People of all cultures generally hate that. Everything else is displaced emotions and complaints for not measuring up.

 

for lazyness this. And someone else mentioned cutting funds to education.. Now normally I understand how this sounds like a bad thing.. But we have the highest funded education system in the world (or at least one of) and yet we still produce the most uneducated students. Speaking of America of course. So throwing money at the problem isn't going to fix it. Something else is wrong. I blame the teachers. Well actually not all teachers, but a good few I have worked with have been completely.. useless.. They pass everyone to get rid of the more difficult students, and they won't discipline only threaten. Not that discipline (detention) really works. Not only that but our curriculum is horrible. History for example, used to be taught in sections. In 5th grade you learned about the continents and the people on each continent, 8th grade was about our histroy (American history) and 11th grade was about everyone else. Now its extremely random. We follow a similar order, but teachers have no real guideline so for instance a teacher in 5th grade might teach her students about everyone on each continent ahead of others. I had a link about this but I lost it. Will find it and post later.

Edited September 5, 2011 by Dan3345

[Deleted472477User]

And there is a big difference between intelligence, and social skills. One does NOT imply the other. In fact, I have noticed quite the opposite. The more intelligent the person is, the FEWER social graces they have.

 

Could you define what you mean by social graces? I'll admit to not being much of a people person. I'm polite, friendly, all that good stuff you need to get along, but I'm an introvert. Dealing with people, especially in large groups, drains and annoys me. But I don't consider myself rude. I just don't have a lot to say. I'm also not one of those people who can't live without a cellphone glued to my ear, which probably goes back to not being very chatty!

[Vagrant0]

Actually, public schools have a certain group of skills related to a subject that they're supposed to teach at a certain time. It's one of those big things they make clear when you start working toward any sort of teaching degree since your study plan will be heavily influenced by it... The problem however is that often it's more than the teacher can cope with between state, and government standards as well as those areas that either they or the school's administration want to touch on. Do a little research on No Child Left Behind, and consider why 80ish% of schools aren't going to reach the standards for 2014(?). Part of the problem is poor implementation, but the other part is that there is only so much you can cram into a lesson plan and hope that you manage to finish within the day. Then there are the politics of certain topics, like evolution, sex education, drug resistance education, or addressing sudden matters of concern (teacher/student suicide/overdose), ect. For most, it's a miracle that anything taught on one level is carried onto the next.

[arcane20]

((Sorry this is sooo long but I warmed to this topic))

 

Teachers in this country are largely looked down upon. I don't know if Teacher's Unions have been a part of that though I think so. I believe that a teacher needs to be paid their worth and the poor ones need to go, but how does one measure poor performance? Grades, testing..well you see where that has gotten us. My daughter takes 2 standardized test each year now that pretty much measure the same thing. There is a great deal of teaching for the test...and not teaching our children not just to regurgitate info but to THINK. However teachers are some of the lowest pain professions (especially with the amount of education they are required to have) in the country. We leave our children with these people for over 1/3 of the year for about 12 or more years and expect them to teach not only subjects but citizenship and proper behavior. Well folks I find you get what you pay for. I personally think teachers, police and fire fighters should be some of the highest paid folks out there. (But that is another debate.)

 

That seems like a good debate and I agree. When children see rich spoiled pop stars on TV and the guys from jersey shore making all this money and then see their teachers making fairly low wages for the work they do it does speak to the kids about society. Who'd you think they'd rather look up to?