How Intelligent are We?

Richard Cranium said:

Does being a smartass count?

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You have nothing to prove.

You're not alone.

I knew (on a friendly basis) a high school girl I would describe as "sassy", a term one does not hear much anymore. I always wondered if she was "intelligent" as well.

Richard Cranium said:

Does being a smartass count?

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In your case.......

ykf7b0 said:

I taught my kids that two things will make them smart; the fear of God and reading the right stuff.

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I would - for me and mine - change your statement a bit to - The love of God. He’s not to be feared if you’re on his team.

GetX'd said:

I would - for me and mine - change your statement a bit to - The love of God. He’s not to be feared if you’re on his team.

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Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. There are many more scriptures that state the fear of our God as well as the love of God. The fear of God and the repercussion of disobeying His word is what I've taught. Every thought and deed will be judged by the One True Judge. The lack of fear of Him is what is wrong with this world today. His love is always understood by those who seek him and the lack of fear of Him is obvious to us all.

Richard Davis said:

"Brawndo has electrolytes, it has what plants need".

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I got the Idiocracy reference! Not sure what that means about me?
Every day I have more questions and less answers.

Working in IT for almost 30 years, I get to work with a lot of "smart" people, be they fellow IT workers, department/division heads or outside contractors and vendors.

It's also a showplace for people who are not as smart as they think they are.

The problem is that someone who thinks they have all the answers can be very convincing to someone who isn't a specialist in that field.

I've seen many upper level, highly educated people get bamboozled by IT folks that know just enough to be dangerous, but talk a good show.

Lots of times, it was my job to clean up the mess that resulted.

Another problem is confusing education with intelligence. They are NOT synonymous.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I was in a meeting with a room full of people holding master's and doctorate degrees or high level industry certifications- and little ol' me with a high school education was the only one in the room with a plan, or the only one with applicable, documented facts.

Dumbasses, idiots, bullchiters, wanna be's are easy to spot.

Richard Cranium said:

Does being a smartass count?

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Like the old saying goes: "Everybody likes a little *** now and then but nobody likes a smart ***"

GetX'd said:

I would - for me and mine - change your statement a bit to - The love of God. He’s not to be feared if you’re on his team.

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ykf7b0 said:

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. There are many more scriptures that state the fear of our God as well as the love of God. The fear of God and the repercussion of disobeying His word is what I've taught. Every thought and deed will be judged by the One True Judge. The lack of fear of Him is what is wrong with this world today. His love is always understood by those who seek him and the lack of fear of Him is obvious to us all.

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And it can also mean respect. The ones that don't believe have no fear or respect....and most of them don't respect the rights of the ones that do believe.

Dibbons said:

I knew (on a friendly basis) a high school girl I would describe as "sassy", a term one does not hear much anymore. I always wondered if she was "intelligent" as well.

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Reminds me of the tune by George Strait “How ‘bout those cowgirls…you can’t tell ‘em nothing”. Dated two gals in HS that were sassy…but sure had some fun at the lake and outdoor theaters while those relationships lasted. Zero doubt if I had married either one of them would have ended up with the big D, lol. In fact they did get married and both got divorced.

Not universally a fact, but it sure seems all the most attractive women end up in a divorce (you would think it would be the other way around).

Dibbons said:

Not universally a fact, but it sure seems all the most attractive women end up in a divorce (you would think it would be the other way around).

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Think it has some to do with expected high-maintenance like some sexy foreign sports cars need to run well and tuning them can be a bitch. Some know they’re hot and get put on a pedestal accordingly with a perceived free card to be a flaming bitch. Being pussy-whipped can develop a shelf-life reaching the expiration date…as I found, lol.

Like anything else, the definition of the word varies according to subtext.
There's:
a. "book smart" - well educated
b. "logical" - in the Mr. Spock sense, does well on Mensa tests, that sort of thing
c. "common sense" - or horse sense, as it were

A brief Ed story about all that Mensa crap, if I may:
I went to school in the 60's-70's, a time when the NEA (in cahoots with the feds)
just loved to use kids in public schools as guinea pigs for all manner of testing and
poking and other assorted experimentations - all in the name of "research".
Well sure they did...they had a seemingly endless supply of captive "subjects" on
which to try this or that - and they did, regularly.

One such test some of us in 4th + 5th grades were made to take had a name that
began with "Stanford" (I think...)
I can't remember the whole title, but it turned out to be the typical "logic/knowledge"
combo homebrew they used back then.
I remember at the time being a bit miffed that all the kids weren't made to take the
thing, but that it was a different and challenging sort of test, one you had to pay
attention on - and there was a timer, too.
Well, wouldn't you know it...

As a result of that test, I was cursed with the moniker "genius".
Oofa..
My mother was so proud when the school then proceeded to signed me up for Mensa...
I caught hell in school for a long time after that from the other kids (myself and
one other big, goony-bird looking girl were the only two to score that high).
At the time, I was ticked off she beat me by 2 points on the results!
Mama received the card in the mail and apparently I was now a member...

I never paid it any mind and every time correspondence from them came to the house,
she'd give it to me all proud - and I'd find a way to ditch it.
Resumed "normal" childhood, aside from all the "big head/brainiac" jokes from others.
When I moved out of the house though, I went through all the formality of removing myself
from their rolls - after actually attending a couple of their "get-togethers"...
Although I may have "qualified" to be there, I was sure a duck out of water amongst the
other members in person.

So there ya go - Ed's story on what it means to carry a card that originally was supposed
to be a point of pride - and turned out to be something I was almost embarrassed to admit to.
Turns out, I like it amongst humans, not Vulcans.

Reminds me of taking a community college "social geography" class where the teacher was so disappointed on the scores of the first exam that he decided to grade it on the "curve". He even posted the range of scores on the blackboard. I'm a good test taker and found I had the highest score in the class. The kid next to me asked what my score was. I was hesitant to show him, but what the hell, I did. He gave me kind of a dirty look and did not speak to me the rest of the semester, making me feel somewhat of an outcast after that.

I may not be smart, but I can break anything that is idiot proof.

Dibbons said:

Reminds me of taking a community college "social geography" class where the teacher was so disappointed on the scores of the first exam that he decided to grade it on the "curve". He even posted the range of scores on the blackboard. I'm a good test taker and found I had the highest score in the class. The kid next to me asked what my score was. I was hesitant to show him, but what the hell, I did. He gave me kind of a dirty look and did not speak to me the rest of the semester, making me feel somewhat of an outcast after that.

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"The struggle is real."
It's funny how one makes adjustments to compensate for such...

Example: You guys know how I write, obviously.
Sometimes I slip up when posting one of my "stories", but for the most part, it's a conscious effort
to keep things loose and informal - you know, fit in sort of.
However, I have a lot of technical and "proper English" writing I perform as a part of my gig, so it gets
pretty thick sometimes in my correspondence to authorities and customers and such.
But...
When I meet someone I've corresponded with in person for the first time, their response is always something
like "you don't speak like you write!" - because I'm in full "easy-going Ed mode" then.
That's intentional, a learned behavior that has been honed over many years by just what you speak of here,
@Dibbons - namely, the desire not to be looked down upon as a "snob" or whatever.
I mean, let's face it - I was born to southern parents both sides, so there's stereotypes a-plenty to deal with.
Last thing anyone would accept is an intelligent redneck

I can never attest being a smart test taker nor am I close to being Mensa material but I did convince the smartest, most beautiful, God fearing woman alive to marry me…..and I come from a long line of poor people.

I have made millions in my life> How? You ask. Answer is easy for us super smart types. Just " buy em for that they are worth, and sell them for what they think they are worth"!!

My story is that I graduated from a nationally regarded engineering college with bachelor's degree. I went to work and fortunately knew that I didn't know ****. I had the luck of working with one guy in Operations that wasn't an engineer, but taught me more about the engineering stuff I needed to know than I learned in 5 years engineering school. He had been a Navy electronic tech, Soviet sub hunter. I learned the importance of listening to the working guys that built stuff. As a manager I was lucky enough to supervise some amazingly smart guys in their areas. Machinists, electricians, pipefitters. I also had some engineers that were really great, but didn't act like they knew everything. I had one IT engineer that knew more than the entire corporate IT dept combined and I tried to take advantage of that. I was lucky & knew what I didn't know and who did. Knowing who really knows stuff is the key.
All the while I used my car mechanic experiences to guide me.