# What is your definition of "Intelligence" and "Stupidity"?



## calysco (Jan 23, 2010)

I've been questioning T types for a while now on their definition of intelligence since I keep meeting people whose definition of stupidity is "anyone who doesn't agree with me." 

What is your definition? (STs: please respond as well.)

This is what I have amassed so far:

*ISTP:* 
Intelligence- The ability to absorb new information with the least amount of energy.
Stupidity- Someone who allows their emotions to get out of hand.

*ENTP:* 
Intelligence- The ability to percieve things clearly.
Stupidity- Someone who sees the information in the exact same way but has a difficult time coming to that conclusion, or, if it's a multi-step process, gets bogged down really easily

*ENTP:* 
Intelligence- The ability to use information you encounter to make informed decisions. 
Stupidity- Making dumb decisions regardless of the information you have at hand.

*INTP:*
Intelligence- Perception of possible results
Stupidity- Similar to insanity. doing the same things over and over while expecting different results.


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## RomanticRealist (Mar 26, 2010)

Hmmm, my personal definition, 

Intelligence is what intelligence tests measures.

I'm pretty sure I've seen that quote somewhere in my psych classes.

Also, qualities of an intelligent person should be someone who bases their beliefs on evidence, someone who is capable of critical analysis, someone who is comfortable in dealing with uncertainties and someone who is open or curious.

My definition of stupidity:

Someone who believes in everything that they're told and conforms to all the "wisdoms" of society without bothering to seek alternative views.


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## NiDBiLD (Apr 1, 2010)

Intelligence:

1. Understanding of cause and effect in several steps.
2. The ability to quickly come to an understanding and draw correct conclusions in situations where one is lacking prior knowledge.

Stupidity:

1. Failure to automatically understand and act upon the difference between _fact_ and _opinion/presumption/ideal_.
2. Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. _(good one)_
3. Unquestioning obediance to any kind of authority.


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## Vardigon (Oct 15, 2008)

My definition of stupidity comes from an intuitive perception of a person's total capacity for learning & knowing. If the person doesn't have much capacity, then I label that person stupid. Hence, intelligence to my mind isn't something that must be manifest for me to know it's there.


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## Mantis (Feb 7, 2010)

Personally, I have been enlightened after reading some of Osho's preachings on intelligence and what it truly means and I find he is absolutely right-intelligence is nature's gift to any creature on this Earth which enables it to procure all it needs to survive, and prosper, hopefully.
So in human terms I think anybody who is able to get what they want as fast and less harmful towards around them is intelligent.

And, obviously, intellectualism and intelligence can have absolutely nothing to do with one another. Being able to spot patterns adds to your intelligence, for instance, but it doesn't alone stand for what intelligence means.
Some people can simply be instinctually/intuitivelly wired to get by easily, without having to think or analyze-that's another form of intelligence.

Personally, I don't believe in stupidity. When you see an adult acting stupid he/she most likely has emotional problems or wasn't stimulated mentally enough in his/her early, formative years.


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## Mantis (Feb 7, 2010)

ok, maybe I didn't put it well.. basically, an intellectual can simply be someone who has acquired a lot of information, knowledge -maybe even understood it all, but who isn't necessarily adept at reaching a logical conclusion by him/her-self.


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## SlowPoke68 (Apr 26, 2010)

Since it's impossible to discern between the two without making a value judgment: 

Intelligence pertains to those decisions that bring the doer to greater life.

Stupidity pertains to those decisions that bring the doer to lesser life or death.

I don't believe there are entirely "intelligent" or "stupid" people. It only can be evaluated decision by decision.

Sometimes it's wise to take the common path and not even question it that much. If I had to question every convention of normal society I would go insane. So would everyone else. So maybe there's some intelligence in conformity to a certain degree.

Some predominately intelligent people make some incredibly stupid decisions for themselves and on behalf of others. It only takes one to fuck everything up. That's being human.

Some people who are total fools in many ways have more figured out about life than those who are able to process abstract information quickly and act on it.

Or . . . y'know . . . stupid is as stupid does. ;-)


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## Andrea (Apr 20, 2009)

i'm not god so i'm not gonna draw any permanent lines, but i see it like this:
intelligent vs. dumb
smart vs. stupid
roughly. "intelligent" refers to one's mental capacity and "smart" refers to one's practical competence. for example, a man who solves one of the most difficult mathematical problems in the world is intelligent, but because he then refuses the million dollar prize, he is also stupid.

usually there's no need for this distinction as long as you can tell from the context. nonetheless i have a little peeve with people who use "intelligent" in place of "smart" just because they think it carries more weight. in my defense, the former compromises precision for convenience, while the other compromises meaning for vanity.


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## SlowPoke68 (Apr 26, 2010)

Andrea said:


> i'm not god so i'm not gonna draw any permanent lines, but i see it like this:
> intelligent vs. dumb
> smart vs. stupid
> roughly. "intelligent" refers to one's mental capacity and "smart" refers to one's practical competence. for example, a man who solves one of the most difficult mathematical problems in the world is intelligent, but because he then refuses the million dollar prize, he is also stupid.)


Why would refusing the prize make him "stupid"?


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## Andrea (Apr 20, 2009)

he's poor. besides, what's to gain by refusing the money?


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## Jinxies (May 5, 2010)

I tend to break intelligence into a couple of categories. There are those people that are simply brilliant in their ability to understand, process and relate facts and data. They have a massive amount of research and information that they can communicate reasonably well. However, I have met some of those people who sometimes have absolutely no common sense and they get themselves into very stupid situations. 

I have met intelligent people who have no real storage of knowledge, yet their ability to rapidly respond to situations and always come out on top is amazingly impressive. Those that are perhaps more street smart than book smart. 

I don't really like the word stupid and don't like to use it when describing a person... but I've definitely used the term "not very bright". 

Crap in = crap out, if you discover the output is not what you wanted, you may need to evaluate the input. People who refuse to analyze or creatively evaluate a system tend to fall on the more "stupid" side of my scale. 

People who make crappy decisions, can't handle the results, ignore the reasons that resulted in the situation, and then do it over and over again. 

Narrow-minded people that are so pinholed on a topic that they can't turn around to see even the slightest variation.


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## Slkmcphee (Oct 19, 2009)

Andrea said:


> he's poor. besides, what's to gain by refusing the money?


Notoriety. I guess it depends upon your motivations. You can't buy that kind of publicity, virtually no one cares about math but everyone cares about money. If you can solve the most difficult math problem in the world, more money is sure to follow, right? 

Also, that puts you in a whole different tax bracket.:crazy:


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## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Intelligence: The ability to see causes. The higher level causes you can see, the more intelligent you are.

Stupidity: Not seeing the obvious. (and yes, this can happen to everyone. Dumb and intelligent.)


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## kyebosh (Mar 18, 2010)

Perspective


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## Dove (May 7, 2010)

Intelligence - ability to adapt successfully to any given environment
Stupidity - to retain same behavioural patterns in spite of evidence showing that they do not work


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## sinistralpal (Apr 30, 2010)

I found this on another forum, and I thought it applied very well here, so I am going to quote it:



> Besides IQ and multiple intelligences and other methods of measurement used to include everyone into the family I have my own measurement for intelligence: the ability to do more with less. Take the task of connecting the dots, for example. A more intelligent person can formulate the big picture with less dots. If it takes an average person 10 dots to conclude the picture then it will take a more intelligent person less dots - say five. As it takes less and less dots (variables) to extrapolate theories and knowledge we begin to approach the realm of genius where as little as one or two variables (bits of information) suffices to formulate a big picture or draw a conclusion.
> 
> Every bit of information is compartmentalized and placed into a file. Dozens of files make up a folder. Each folder is placed into a larger folder which in turn are placed into even larger folders. However, the files and folders are hardwired to eachother and when a bit of information from one is found to have an association with another, a new file is formed. Level of intelligence is determined by the volume of links between files and folders as well as the speed with which this information can be extracted.


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## openedskittles (May 24, 2009)

intelligence - the ability to reach objective conclusions, identify complex patterns and develop successful solutions, especially when forming opinions or making decisions
stupidity - the inability to thoughtfully consider the future, synthesize data or identify patterns, especially when forming opinions or making decisions. May also be characterized by voting a straight democrat ticket in the United States or thinking Sarah Palin should run for president in 2012.


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## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

To find out if you have a high intelligence, you need to do the intelligence quiz.

In the intelligence quiz you have to guess if you have a high or a low IQ and if you win, you have a high IQ.


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## PseudoSenator (Mar 7, 2010)

*Intelligence* is the advanced ability to understand, analyze, theorize, and apply information. It is the father of knowledge, and the cousin of competence. Its constituent parts include reason, logic, objectivity, etc. 

The Bloom Taxonomy speaks for itself in this instance.











"An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings." --Howard Gardner, inventor of the idea of Multiple Intelligences.

*Stupidity * equals a lack of a factual filter which guards against fallacies and mindless misinformation; this leads to a struggle in forming unique perspectives or opinions. It is also the inability to identify patterns or strategies, and if someone is stupid they cannot anticipate consequences, predict the future, or strategize for it.


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## Merov (Mar 8, 2009)

Instead of trying to give you an complicated explination, I'll just draught up this here nifty Scenario:

Intelligence: Scientist utilizing laboratory equipment; mixing 3NaOCl + NH3 --> 3NaOH + NCl3 to which he has taken every precausion. The end product, Nitrogen Trichloride, to be used in a secondary reaction under laboratory conditions to grow a said mineral composit.

Stupidity: Mixing equal parts of Ammonia and Bleach into a large bucket, adding a few copper pennies, and a small rock, and blowing into the mixture with a straw to start the reaction where you grow these really colorful crystals that will make all your friends go "Wow, how'd you do that?"

*Too bored to put in picture of brightly colored crystal that makes you want to do the experiment that actually makes Clorine Gas that might kill you.

And it's that simple. The human domino factor will do the rest..

Oh whats that 0_o? Another infraction? So soon?
*Trollface.jpg

Oh nevermind 

:dry:


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