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I'm in my mid twenties and just through observation I think it comes down to reading. The kids I knew growing up who read books are smart people who's conversations are intelligent. Does anyone have any thoughts to add?
In my experience, the brain is like a muscle- when you exercise it, it gets stronger and when you neglect it, it gets weaker. And not only are reading and education required for being smart, but so is having a good teacher. Think of it like any sport you play- the better your coach is, the more apt you are at becoming better at your sport. Conversely, if you have a shitty teacher, you will not learn the sport as effectively and will most likely learn bad habits.
Don't know why this is getting downvoted since it's true. People are so quick to shit on the whole "education makes you smart" concept because they're getting the wrong education.
If you can really focus in school, make the best out of what you have, and simply deal with the shit you don't need, then an educate can easily make someone much more intelligent.
NewEscuelersDon't know why this is getting downvoted since it's true. People are so quick to shit on the whole "education makes you smart" concept because they're getting the wrong education.
If you can really focus in school, make the best out of what you have, and simply deal with the shit you don't need, then an educate can easily make someone much more intelligent.
Yeah Im guessing everyone skipped over the "meaningful" part of my response
onenerdykidIn my experience, the brain is like a muscle- when you exercise it, it gets stronger and when you neglect it, it gets weaker. And not only are reading and education required for being smart, but so is having a good teacher. Think of it like any sport you play- the better your coach is, the more apt you are at becoming better at your sport. Conversely, if you have a shitty teacher, you will not learn the sport as effectively and will most likely learn bad habits.
Yea, succinctly - organized effort to increase your base of knowledge. Think of it like running - genetically some people have obvious advantages to being a runner, but if anybody puts serious time and effort in, they can be a solid runner. Same for being 'smart.'
It helps if you did it when you were young, but this has a much larger scope - parents, school system, friends, etc.
In our way of living, yes reading exercises the mind (great post onenerdykid) but what if we lived in the jungle or some way that we didnt read? In Malaysia there are still some people who live this way. What makes one of them smart? Some are more observant in certain ways, or more 'aware' while away from the home and connect with the forest better. I read a book by Robert Wolff called Ancient Wisdom about such native peoples.
A quote I liked from the book, what one tribesman asks about a bulldozer making a road "Is it true that machine can do the work of 100 men?" Wolff, "yes" "If that machine does the work of 100 men, what do the 100 men do?"
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I feel like it's a combination, adaptability with ease, intelligence is infinite.
The correlation between reading and being smart isn't completely cause and effect though. Smart people like to read so it's hard to say whether or not the chicken came before the egg.
I think desire for knowledge is the biggest thing and everyone is born with varying degrees of it. After that it comes down to your environment and how you use whatever tools around you. Most of this is subconscious it seems which brings me back to it all stemming from an innate desire originally.
Also OP since this thread is about being a know-it-all, it's "whose" not "who's"
Its important to also learn the distinction between smarts and intelligence. IMO people are born with their intelligence through genes, smarts can be acquired through learning. But to me the most important aspect is the combination of smarts AND intelligence. You can read 50 books a year (roughly 1 a week), it may make you smarter but it won't necessarily increase your intelligence.
intelligence is relative, everyone is intelligent in one way or another. a welder may not be able to write great books or solve difficult equations, but a mathematician/author can't weld a perfect weld. An athlete, skier for example may not always be intelligent in the common view of the word (excelling in the maths and sciences) but I know for damn sure the intelligence he has on all things skiing is on another level. The precision of edge control, knowing when/how to carve, when to drop speed and when to gain speed. all of these things are intelligence in the realm of skiing.
in the end, it boils down to how much time you spend learning. I'm sure most of you guys on here know just how much time it takes to become a great skier, how many crashes, how many injuries and how many recoveries it takes to learn. you don't just "get it", you learn it. the same learning process applies to whatever. you don't weld a perfect weld on your first try, you don't master calculus in your first class and you sure as hell don't master skiing on your first day out. if you guys apply the learning tricks you've learned​ while skiing, trial and error, repetition and dedication to whatever you may choose, the intelligence will come.
but i also have no idea what im talking about
Being able to effectively communicate your intelligence is more important than having intelligence. Go ahead and memorize the dictionary. If you start citing each word you use.... I'll call you a moron
probably a combination of proper education and life experiences. Im only 20 but some of the most intelligent people Ive met in my life either one way or another have gone through some shit in their lives and came out on top and have really interesting viewpoints and ways to go about things.
In my personal experience I have come to realize that the smartest people have the ability to identify and store the most vital information as a means to summarize a larger idea. It's not about processing the information at a faster pace but rather summarizing and storing the most vital pieces of information so that your brain does less work next time trying to remember whatever you were supposed to.
It's a controlled flashbulb memory is what it is.
I like to think of my brain as a biological computer. Whilst your brain gathers info from the outside world, processes the information, conceptualizes the information into an idea, and responds to whatever you conceptualized. It's like when you read this right now, it all started as an thought in my brain, ran a few steps through my fingers, keyboard, internet, eyes, brain. If you can process info quickly then you have a fast computer. If you can keep track of multiple conversations, you have a fast computer. If you can remember key elements of multiple conversations then your a fucking alien. all IMO.
I'd say ones intelligence is part in do to their upbringing, specifically their guardian's expectations for them. Some parents want an intelligent kid and seed a love of education very early, others want a good work ethic, others want both, and some don't give a shit about their children's future wellbeing. Obviously this doesn't apply in every case but it does seem to hold true in many cases.
Simply put
dumb guardian=dumb kid
smart guardian=smart kid
hardworking guardian= wellll there are too many exceptions to make relation
spliff.LifeA quote I liked from the book, what one tribesman asks about a bulldozer making a road "Is it true that machine can do the work of 100 men?" Wolff, "yes" "If that machine does the work of 100 men, what do the 100 men do?"
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I feel like it's a combination, adaptability with ease, intelligence is infinite.
Care to explain it? I`m having trouble getting it maybe it has to do with my english.
I'm lucky to meet a lot of folks that are way smarter than me, and I don't find that the things mentioned in this thread make that much of a difference alone.
The ability to clarify motivations, identify things they are passionate about, manage the emotions that inevitably get in the way of achieving goals (e.g. fear of failure, anxiety), realizing when you need to change what you're doing (either change the goal, or change how you're trying to accomplish it... or maybe realizing the goals is not even worth it in the first place) - those types of attributes are the ones that lead to everything else.
It's easy to read / study / practice / whatever if you're motivated to do it. But it takes so long to get really good at anything that everyone will inevitably experience set backs, drops in motivation, doubts... but the folks who can handle those issues are the ones who appear really 'smart'.
(And I don't really agree that there is a general 'smart' that you can talk about outside of a specific activity or setting- your ability to solve mini-puzzles, like in an IQ test measures, misses the point of what it takes to succeed in the real world. )
Lé.SkiingYah. Pretty much sums it up. Everyone is smart in their own field though too.
feel like this picture below appropriately explains it.
Much as it's designed to make everyone feel good, this isn't actually true. Sure, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but there are also people who are naturally gifted. There's such a thing as just being the Lebron James of information processing.
Through a fluke of genetics (and hopefully, the fact that you're lucky enough to be born into a situation where you can develop that gift, and not, like the Sudan), you can happen to be really well suited to thinking, processing complex concepts. If you analogize everyone's brain to a computer, some people just run at a higher speed.
To answer the original question, it's a combination of two things: natural, inborn talent and the development of that talent. Probably not surprising.
I can't be the only one who has noticed that really really stupid women have 6th senses that cancel out their ditzyness and stupidity.
Try lying to one she can be the dumbest girl in the world but for whatever reason she'll not only immediately know you aren't telling the truth but will also guess what the actual truth is right away and you'll have to play it off and lie more and she won't believe you.
Or like if you have to go into the bathroom for a call at a loud party normal people won't be like 'why are you talking to me in the bathroom I can tell' but the really stupid girl on the other line will right away notice and ask.
smart and stupid isn't a black and white line.
I had a low 60s avg in high school cause I wasn't interested or motivated. now that I'm in college doing stuff I care about and that's taught to me in a way that I understand I avg mid 80s.
also paper smart and actual smart are way different. I went to a school with a rep for being the "best" academically where 96% of kids went to post secondary and let me tell you that most of the kids with high 90s averages can barely cross the fucking street or cook a bowl of cereal. real life comes hard to people who just study and read all the time
GORILLAWALLACEsmart and stupid isn't a black and white line.
I had a low 60s avg in high school cause I wasn't interested or motivated. now that I'm in college doing stuff I care about and that's taught to me in a way that I understand I avg mid 80s.
also paper smart and actual smart are way different. I went to a school with a rep for being the "best" academically where 96% of kids went to post secondary and let me tell you that most of the kids with high 90s averages can barely cross the fucking street or cook a bowl of cereal. real life comes hard to people who just study and read all the time
In anycase I think a lot of it comes down to luck of the draw inherent intelligence, and an innately strong curiosity. The smarter you are, the more you understand, the more interesting the world becomes and the more you want to learn.
californiagrownCream of wheat, oatmeal, grits etc...
In anycase I think a lot of it comes down to luck of the draw inherent intelligence, and an innately strong curiosity. The smarter you are, the more you understand, the more interesting the world becomes and the more you want to learn.
