What Everybody Ought To Know About Intelligence

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”

Socrates

Back in high school I recall having this Spanish teacher, who for the sake of anonymity I’m going to refer to as Shitterson. And Shitterson would always yell at any student in his class who’d utter the phrase “Soy intelligente” (I am intelligent).

His very coarse Jamaican accent would rumble throughout the classroom, “NONE OF YOU ARE INTELLIGENT OR BEAUTIFUL, UNLESS I SAY SO!” And back then, I laughed every time because I thought he was just being a douche. But as time galloped along, and I got the opportunity to experience more of life, I realized he had a valid point.

Intelligence isn’t something that should be declared so freely by just anybody. It isn’t something you automatically garner by correctly memorizing a few Spanish phrases when prompted for an answer. Although, that would help you out quite a lot in Shitterson’s class. Otherwise, you’d face the horror of receiving “FORTY ZEROES!!!!”

( I know, Spanish in high school sounded like a blast. And it was – a blast of freaking anxiety!)

So while pondering on recent and past events in my life along with placing Shitterson’s words under a magnifying glass, I’ve come to some personal conclusions about intelligence. And today, we’ll be looking at 3 of them that resonated the most with me. But before all that…

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Now, let’s talk intelligence!

#1. Intelligence Is Learned Behavior

This may come as a shocker to a lot of people, especially someone who’s a firm believer in being “born smart”. I feel as if intelligence greatly transcends smarts. Additionally, I believe that it derives from one’s ability to adapt to his or her environment in order to survive prosperously or change it entirely for the better.

It’s about being able to CONSISTENTLY sit down and dig a lot deeper until you’ve stumbled upon the bigger picture, and come up with methods and stratagems that are going to propel you forward each day.

Consequently, this ability to habitually problem-solve and critically think is not something that comes naturally to most (arguably to any). Said ability is crafted by one’s personal experiences and from the learnt history of others that have come before him or her.

Furthermore, the art of being intelligent is never-ending, ever-changing, and ever-growing. It’s a continuously evolving concept that thrives off hell-bent curiosity, situational circumstances, imagination, pragmatism, and one’s desire to succeed in life. It simply isn’t something you’re born with or something you magically grasp because of genetics. Which brings me to my next point.

#2. Intelligence Is Not The Same As Being Academically-inclined

I think a lot of people have this misconception that just because somebody is academically-inclined or “born smart”, that they’re automatically intelligent as well. Like I said earlier, intellect is about being able to consistently take real-life challenges and overcome them with well-thought out solutions.

And honestly, a person can learn all the theory in a classroom, read all the books in the library, get all the A’s he or she wants, but all of those things go out of the window if this person is unable to solve real-life issues in a logical, creative, and objective manner.

Now, this is not to say that academia cannot help heighten one’s sense of intelligence – because it can! There are many circumstances that arise during one’s academic journey that pushes them to embrace the virtues of critical-thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.

In parallel, there are many classes that cater to developing these skills. I recall my sophomore year of college hehehehe…..(the academic part that is). I was introduced to two of my major engineering courses – Intro to Statics and Intro to Linear Circuits.

And the hell I endured from these two classes coupled with the torment brought on by those two demonic lecturers, transformed my approach to life’s rigors forever. These classes instilled in me the irrefutable truth that engineers solve problems and that you cannot be an engineer if you can’t solve problems. And that’s life for you – peppered and well-seasoned with problems.

So it’s up to us to develop the skills we need to find sound solutions to these everyday problems. We have to be the engineers of our own lives and not rely solely on the theory of things. Because theory alone will get you nowhere in this practical world of ours.

#3. Intelligence Is More In “The Doing” Than “The Thinking”

I think I’ve made it clear by now that the ability to critically think is incumbent upon the intelligent. Notwithstanding, such a skill is rendered useless if it cannot be well-executed and followed up with affirmative action.

Now ask yourself, how many times have you come up with a seemingly bulletproof plan? Seriously, I want you to think about it. Now, how many times have you actually got up and put said plan into action?

What prohibited you from following through? Was it fear of failure? Well, allow me to be the bearer of bad news – INTELLIGENT PEOPLE DO NOT FEAR FAILURE. They understand that failure is just another opportunity to strategize and execute their plans more intelligently until the desired results are achieved.

Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with planning; it’s actually encouraged that you plan things out well in advance. However, it will all be in vain if you choose not to put it all into play. Intelligence also comes down to action! Your actions and how you navigate through life are what significantly dictate your level of intellect.

It makes no sense for you to plan and obtain knowledge if said knowledge cannot be efficiently applied to solve problems. Some problems call for simple solutions, some call for more eloquent ones, but they all require actually doing.

**Final Thoughts**

All in all, I guess what you can take away from this post is that intelligence is a skill. It’s a non-inherited skill that continues to either be sharpened or dulled overtime by the everyday occurrences of life and our responses to such stimuli.

So the next time you hear somebody use the word intelligent, don’t blast them into yesteryear like Shitterson would. In fact, take some time to analyze their reasoning. Oftentimes, intelligence can be interpreted as lunacy when misunderstood.

As always, take care of yourselves and work toward becoming a more capable, intelligent you. Love you all!

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