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| Is Intelligence a Choice? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sat May 10, 2008 1:19 am (398 Views) | |
| DeMaGoG | Sat May 10, 2008 1:19 am Post #1 |
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Level 23
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So this is something I wondered when I was young. How much of a person's intelligence is determined early on in life? For instance, a young child likes learning and wants to be smart, and has a higher IQ than a classmate that doesn't care about school and has a lower IQ? So would this be a choice for an IQ or would it be that due to the child's IQ, they make that choice? I think a child's choice to be smart has a profound effect on their intelligence. |
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| FaZ- | Sat May 10, 2008 2:04 am Post #2 |
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Level 39
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The "choice" is made by parents, in my mind. I think part of intellect is genetic, but the majority of it is acquired by constantly remaining curious and making strides at a young age. Parents who encourage this by reading to their children, playing math games, etc., will have smarter children. Parents who leave it to the schools to "teach" their kids should expect to be disappointed. |
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| Am25 | Sat May 10, 2008 2:41 pm Post #3 |
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Level 0
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just because someone does not care for school, doesnt mean they have a lower IQ then someone who cares about school |
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| WildChild | Sat May 10, 2008 3:42 pm Post #4 |
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Level 23
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For some it's though genetics. As for me, all my brothers have a high IQ. I'm told to also have one but I don't think so. I never cared for school, and now I'm regretting it wishing I woulda actuallly tried to learn more. But it still isnt to late for me. :P It could also be made by the parents aswell. But if the kid is semi-retarded there's only so much he can learn. FaZ is right. :P |
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| DeMaGoG | Sat May 10, 2008 6:32 pm Post #5 |
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Level 23
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I'm talking about a young age. Like firstish grade. That's when a kid decides to like or dislike school, 'cuz before that you don't do anything but learn to read, count, identify colors, and work on motor skills (I help out at an elementary school sometimes). But you are basically agreeing with me. I think choosing to care about school at a young age strengthens IQ, while having a certain IQ doesn't effect whether a person cares about school or not. And BHC, this is in regards to people who aren't mentally handicapped, so ignore those people in this topic haha... unless someone here is an expert on the mentally handicapped, then I'd like to hear what you have to say. |
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| FaZ- | Sat May 10, 2008 6:56 pm Post #6 |
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Level 39
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I could read and knew how to do multiplication and division in kindergarten. my parents pushed me and I wasn't about to let my sister who was in 3rd grade know things that I didn't. Schools have to accommodate the kids who aren't pushed. By doing so, they dramatically slow down the kids who are advanced and have learned outside of school. That is the problem with education, and the reason why so many intelligent kids are lazy... they stop being challenged, and stop caring. |
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| Druzil | Sat May 10, 2008 7:16 pm Post #7 |
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Level 7
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IQ doesn't directly equal intelligence. People can have a low IQ and be a genius in other fields. For example, I know someone who had terrible marks in high school, he applied himself and tried, yet he still didn't get the grades. But on the other hand he's a mechanical genius, he's won North America-wide contests and has been offered full scholarships to many prestigious IT schools. Some may not be as intelligent in a traditional sense, but intellect covers a vast variety of things. P.S. I know this is somewhat off-topic but I thought I'd put that in, maybe it can be a new topic to debate? |
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| FaZ- | Sat May 10, 2008 8:05 pm Post #8 |
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Level 39
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You're talking about knowledge. Knowledge and intellect are very distinct. |
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| shadowy_lurker | Sat May 10, 2008 8:28 pm Post #9 |
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Level 1
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yeah thats true, i was about to same something like that. Its mainly a choice i think |
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| Druzil | Sat May 10, 2008 8:30 pm Post #10 |
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Level 7
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No, I'm not. If only knowledge applied to what I said then intellect would be non-existent. |
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| FaZ- | Sat May 10, 2008 8:48 pm Post #11 |
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Level 39
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I'll give a likewise example: The extent of my knowledge about cars is how to replace wiper fluid. Does this make me dumb? Likewise, does someone knowing everything about the mechanics of a car smart? You have to be more specific when you saw "mechanical contests," if you mean something different. |
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| DeMaGoG | Sun May 11, 2008 1:07 am Post #12 |
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Level 23
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I think the exact same thing. I learned NOTHING in 3rd grade, other than cursive. I picked up reading really fast and by 1st grade was reading 200 page books. But ya, I definitely stopped being challenged, and I've always been kinda disapponted by it. After 2nd grade, math was basically the same through 6th, science was basically the same from 4th through 8th, history was always the same until high school, and english has always been the same, but english is more of a "practice" subject... There's not really any memorizing involved... I'm saying all of this to show how much time was wasted on "educating" me, when I could have been doing geometry and high school biology in like 5th grade... |
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| Druzil | Sun May 11, 2008 4:38 am Post #13 |
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Level 7
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Following this logic it could be applied to everything. If someone doesn't understand math, does it make them stupid? Nearly everyone who was asked this question would say yes, merely because it's something you're expected to learn from an early age. If I asked the same question about mechanics, the majority of people would say no. Why? Because it's not taught to people from an early age (sometimes not at all). My point was most people's basis on intelligence is skewed, and intelligence can be looked at in a selective manner, rather than just labeling someone as stupid for not excelling in certain subjects. Hypothetically speaking, someone goes to a nation wide mechanical fair and there is a contest and there are 100 entries. They are all given an engine with the same issue preventing it from running properly. I'm sure every contestant would eventually be able to decipher the issue with the engine, but what determines who recognizes the problem first? Intellect, or knowledge? |
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| FaZ- | Sun May 11, 2008 6:34 am Post #14 |
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Level 39
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Knowledge and experience. Why isn't something working? Oh, I've seen this before, the _______ is broken. Understanding math at an upper level is highly intellectual because you routinely encounter problems that you've never seen before. You have to decide which tool to apply to solve the problem. There are many other similar things. |
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| Hanabito | Sun May 11, 2008 10:56 am Post #15 |
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Level 26
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yeah. i base intelligence more on rationale and problem solving over somebody memorizing a history book |
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| DeMaGoG | Sun May 11, 2008 3:07 pm Post #16 |
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Level 23
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Think of intelligence as one's ability to learn and understand. |
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| Druzil | Sun May 11, 2008 4:55 pm Post #17 |
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Level 7
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You're looking at it differently than I am. And in reality, you can provide your explanation of understanding math to my example of mechanics. You could just change the word math to mechanics and the same rule would apply. As well as mechanics to math in my explanation. |
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| FaZ- | Mon May 12, 2008 6:35 pm Post #18 |
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Level 39
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I expected your response so I countered it before you could even give it... reread my post. |
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| Druzil | Mon May 12, 2008 8:17 pm Post #19 |
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Level 7
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Then this whole debate is moot. |
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| Sifl | Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:48 pm Post #20 |
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Level 18
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Deep. I wouldn't say yes. Intelligence is a very broad term, as is stupidity. It's an interesting discussion, perhaps try narrowing it down a little more. From my personal experience, I find language to be the most effective tool for gaining intelligence. I can't think of an idea that cannot be transferred via text. I think of intelligence more as how "open" your mind is to receiving and storing new information. Edited by Sifl, Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:55 pm.
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