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Being intelligent and being informed
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
The most intelligent person may not have an informed opinion.
I have noticed that some people who are smarter than average tend to think that their superior brainpower gives weight to their opinion on any and all subjects they feel like talking about, even if they have never engaged in any real study of them. People probably assume that intelligent people are more likely to be informed, less likely to speak from ignorance, and I think that is probably a good assumption in many cases. But I also think that some intelligent people take advantage of this popular assumption by putting on airs of knowledge and confidence even in areas where they actually know very little.
Another thing that may happen is that an intelligent person will dismiss a subject simply because he finds it tedious, but use his cachet to give people the impression that the thing is somehow objectively unimportant or trivial, rather than merely uninteresting to him. The smart one has made his pronouncement, and anybody who wants to continue the line of inquiry must be either an idiot or shallow. |
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| d-miurge |
| An intelligent person doesn't have an opinion, an intelligent person has a thought point of view. |
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| Lira |
I tend not to think highly of opinions in general, regardless of the person behind them.
In our culture they seem to be over-rated in the sense that you always hear gems such as "people are entitled to opinions" and that "you should have a say on what's going on around you".
That's the slippery slope for creating "experts" who don't know anything about what they're talking about.
The metaphors comparing discussion to war (e.g. "win an argument") are equally bad. People think that, if their opinion is shown to be flawed, they're less of a person. That's just... stupid. |
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| Akridrot |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
The most intelligent person may not have an informed opinion.
I have noticed that some people who are smarter than average tend to think that their superior brainpower gives weight to their opinion on any and all subjects they feel like talking about, even if they have never engaged in any real study of them. People probably assume that intelligent people are more likely to be informed, less likely to speak from ignorance, and I think that is probably a good assumption in many cases. But I also think that some intelligent people take advantage of this popular assumption by putting on airs of knowledge and confidence even in areas where they actually know very little.
Another thing that may happen is that an intelligent person will dismiss a subject simply because he finds it tedious, but use his cachet to give people the impression that the thing is somehow objectively unimportant or trivial, rather than merely uninteresting to him. The smart one has made his pronouncement, and anybody who wants to continue the line of inquiry must be either an idiot or shallow. |
agreedo |
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| Silky Johnson |
Yes but knowledge does not always equal wisdom and/or intelligence. Any fool can regurgitate a "well thought out opinion".
edit: wait, I just re-read your post, and I think that's what you're saying, isn't it? D'oh! |
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| Project-K |
| Depends how you define intelligence. Some definitions include knowledge. But yeah I know what you're trying to say. It should also be noted that just because someone is educated, doesn't mean they'll know what to make of their knowledge. Sometimes you meet morons with PHDs. |
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| d-miurge |
| quote: | Originally posted by Project-K
Depends how you define intelligence. Some definitions include knowledge. But yeah I know what you're trying to say. It should also be noted that just because someone is educated, doesn't mean they'll know what to make of their knowledge. Sometimes you meet morons with PHDs. |
Yeah that's why I split "life intelligence" and "schoolgeek intelligence". |
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| Boomer187 |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
Yes but knowledge does not always equal wisdom and/or intelligence. Any fool can regurgitate a "well thought out opinion".
edit: wait, I just re-read your post, and I think that's what you're saying, isn't it? D'oh! |
you are soooo not intelligent. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by Boomer187
you are soooo not intelligent. |
Yeah well you're ugly! :mad: |
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| bananas |
| An intelligent person says stfu |
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| glass |
| Scooter has been shown to make you less intellegent. |
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