Does intelligence have its limits?

[Gaze]

Does intelligence have its limits? It was once said, knowledge is power; but is it always or is it really?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence? Or can too much intelligence, although beneficial in some ways, limit our abilities or awareness in other ways?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence?

And can knowing too much make you less competent in other ways?

 

[invisible]

i don't feel sorry for them. i wish i had been born more intelligent. i could have learned more easily and become more competent in a whole range of things. it might have saved me a lot of heartache and i might have been a lot more efficient and effective in the world.

 

[Gaze]

i don't feel sorry for them. i wish i had been born more intelligent. i could have learned more easily and become more competent in a whole range of things. it might have saved me a lot of heartache and i might have been a lot more efficient and effective in the world.

this is not so much whether any particular person is intelligent but whether "intelligence" as a concept has it limits.

 

[Barnabas]

If knowledge is power and power corrupts?

 

[aeon]

One very real consequence of possessing a significantly higher degree of intelligence is the difficulty encountered in communicating with others such that one understands, and one is understood. In as much as differences of cognition lead to differences of perception, a high degree of intelligence leads to a high degree of divergence (from the average) in perspective and context.

That said, I don't think there is any limit that defines "too much." As with most any human metric, the farther from the center of the bell curve you are, the greater the number of challenges you will face as it regards relationships with those in the middle (or on the other side of) the curve - and none are better or worse for being so.


cheers,
Ian

 

[invisible]

this is not so much whether any particular person is intelligent but whether "intelligence" as a concept has it limits.

i don't think so.

 

[the]

Does intelligence have its limits? It was once said, knowledge is power; but is it always or is it really?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence? Or can too much intelligence, although beneficial in some ways, limit our abilities or awareness in other ways?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence?

And can knowing too much make you less competent in other ways?

What do you think?

 

[invisible]

i think that if one person can be intelligent and discover freedom of such limitations then there is no necessary connection.

EDIT oops sorry not in response to corndogman. i just happened to type "i think".

 

[randomsomeone]

I think there are different kinds of intelligence. The most intelligent people I have known demonstrated intelligence of many types, integrating them all and holding them in balance.

And yes, human intelligence is by it's nature limited and therefore has limits. That does not mean we cannot participate in knowledge that is beyond our grasp...we just cannot grasp it, possess it. This, too, is a form of intelligence, but it involves great paradoxes.

 

[Gaze]

My goal in asking these questions is to look at perceptions of intelligence critically. Instead of assuming there are mainly positives associated with it; focusing on some of the unintended or not so obvious consequences. It's more about what do people assume they know because of intelligence but also fail to realize they don't know or how are they not so aware in other ways as they think they are or as others assume they are.

 

[Milon]

I don't think that intelligence itself has a limit, per se. I don't believe that too much intelligence or knowledge can create problems. I do believe that it's how the individual uses them that contributes to problems or not. If one is very intelligent/knowledgeable and relies solely on that (which is VERY easy to do) then that definitely can create problems, restrict communication, decrease awareness, etc. Wisdom is needed to know HOW to apply/use intellect, and I think it's a lack of wisdom that would be problematic.

 

[Praefect]

What is intelligence?

 

[magister343]

The word intelligent comes from the Latin intelligens, which in turn comes from the words inter and legens. Inter means between, while legens can mean reading, picking out, gathering, collecting, or choosing. It would be etymologically conservative to define intelligence as the ability to read between the lines. Of course, it is also quite possible to misread between the lines, which can cause problems.

 

[KazeCraven]

I don't think intelligence itself causes problems. Excluding expertise, intelligence would make any task more easy to accomplish. High intelligence might lead to arrogance/overconfidence, which can be a problem

 

[TinyBubbles]

Does intelligence have its limits? It was once said, knowledge is power; but is it always or is it really?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence? Or can too much intelligence, although beneficial in some ways, limit our abilities or awareness in other ways?

Is there such a thing as too much intelligence?

And can knowing too much make you less competent in other ways?

Before I answer, I'd like to be clear on this: Am I understanding you correctly in assuming you're equating intelligence to (factual) knowledge?

 

[just me]

It is said to be impossible to travel faster than the speed of light. Why? The answer is because we do not know of anything faster than that.

Intelligence can be measured, but not all intelligence is measured. I often wonder if all intelligence can be measured.

In much wisdom is much sorrow. Can we use knowledge or intelligence in place of wisdom and have the same outcome?

 

[Gaze]

Before I answer, I'd like to be clear on this: Am I understanding you correctly in assuming you're equating intelligence to (factual) knowledge?

Not necessarily. Intelligence is the ability to know, and having knowledge is equated with knowing.

But, we often associate intelligence with knowing, although one doesn't necessarily assume the other.

 

[TinyBubbles]

Not necessarily. Intelligence is the ability to know, and having knowledge is equated with knowing.

Ok, thanks for clarifying If we say intelligence is the ability to know things, then I'd say no, there's no such thing as too much intelligence. It would theoretically indefinitely make life easier, since you could grasp concepts that much more readily (by definition). And when new concepts conflict with other, older concepts that you've come to accept, you could resolve the conflict that much more readily with even more information (knowledge). So it would be an upward spiral of understanding and conflict-resolution. This, I'd assume, would lead one to become proportionally more competent at whatever they're trying to do.

But, we often associate intelligence with knowing, although one doesn't necessarily assume the other.

That's true, and I think the assumption is often incorrect. Someone can be intelligent without actually knowing anything useful - they merely have the potential to acquire useful knowledge. The reverse though would have to be true by definition, since how can one possess knowledge without first having the potential to acquire it (intelligence)? One caveat though: a person can know a lot in certain areas and be completely vacant in others, which could be mistaken for comprehensive intelligence. I think someone else mentioned that people are intelligent in different ways; I'd agree with this idea.

 

[KorJax]

i don't feel sorry for them. i wish i had been born more intelligent. i could have learned more easily and become more competent in a whole range of things. it might have saved me a lot of heartache and i might have been a lot more efficient and effective in the world.

But if you had been more "intelligent" to avoid heartache when it happened, then how would you have gained the intelligence to avoid heartache?

You are intelligent now because you have learned from your past. If you didn't have much of a past to learn from, then you can't be intelligent about your actions. It's also the difference between book smart and "street smart".

You can learn all the rules and things behind actions, but somtimes you can never truely learn some things unless you experience it for yourself. That is how people become more intelligent the best - learning from one's mistakes and the mistakes of others that you experience first hand.

Basically, intelligence when it comes to life lessons is a mixture between proper application (judgement) and experience. You need both to be intelligent.

 

[Questingpoet]

Does intelligence have its limits?

yes....but stupidity knows no bounds!!