<p>So, this is a question I've been wondering for a long time. Now people are going to say, there is no stupid students, only lay students. Well let's be honest here, are some people just naturally more smart, and some people are naturally...a few fries short behind everyone? of course a hard working student will get much further than a lazy student. But I do agree that some people are just born smarter. There's this kid in my class, he is SO smart. Especially at math. He doesn't pay much attention to class, but yet he gets all A's and are able to answer every unexpected question instantly while it takes others like 15 minutes just to think. He gets the lesson in the first five minutes. Doesn't even need to practice. You just know he's very smart. Like he just plays math like a toy yet some feel like math is incredibly complicated like Crossword Puzzle Rubix Cubes Strapped On To someone Who are Screaming at you In Another Language and drives them crazy. I'm pretty sure everyone knows someone like this. And yet, some people study hard, always pays full attention, yet still takes them an extreme amount of time to understand ONE simple concept. Big difference huh? So what's your opinion on this? do you agree that some people are just naturally smarter academically? There's so many examples like this, it just obviously shows that some people have a higher intelligence than others. Some are smarter academically, some are smarter both academically and in a lot of other categories. Now don't get me wrong, obviously no one's perfect. But I do believe some people are intelligently gifted. </p>
<p><a href=“There’s one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don’t”>http://qz.com/139453/theres-one-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-at-math-and-those-who-dont/</a></p>
<p>read this</p>
<p>I think some people do have more inherent academic ability. But I also think these gifts can lie in different places and people can use them to achieve similar results- for example, I have a friend with very good short-term memory, another with very good long-term memory, another with calculation skills, and I have very good pattern-recognition. These are all somewhat different “gifts” but we all do very well in school as a really, we just have different approaches to things, and some classes with better with different things. Math and physics come easily to me, and history comes early to my long-term memory friend, etc. But we all still do well in the other classes, they just don’t come as naturally.
Anyways, so I think people can be smart in different ways, but that we learn to work with these ways. Also obviously people can be more even, or more “spikey” but a lot of times we learn to work with what we have. Also obviously not everyone is gifted and if we could sum the different ways to be intelligent, I think some people would just be inherently more intelligent, but a lot of things are just different.</p>
<p>Omg this is my interview question!</p>
<p>There are different kinds of intelligence. </p>
<p>Being able to hear in your head what a complex orchestral composition will sound like, and imagining variations that would enhance it, from reading the sheet music, is certainly an indication of extreme intelligence… in music. Being able to memorize 50,000 digits of pi is an indication of a different extreme intelligence. Being able to write and delivery a speech that brings people to tears is an indication of a different extreme intelligence. Being able to solve complex partial differential equations quickly is an indication of a different extreme intelligence. &c.</p>
<p>IQ tests measure a certain kind of “general” intelligence, which mostly deals with things like common knowledge, applying basic logic to word problems, vocabulary, some math and puzzles, reading comprehension and retention. You might describe it as the tests simply measuring your ability to take that kind of test.</p>
<p>In any case, any particular kind of intelligence will still need to be developed by exposure, use, and practice to reach its potential. Think of your physical brain as being like the raw material for a sculpture. Maybe the area that corresponds to math is like mud in one person and like fine marble in another. Then think of learning to use that area of your brain like the sculpture itself. To make a statue of an angel, just chip away anything that doesn’t look like an angel. With enough effort, the mud could look reasonably good, but the marble statue can be incredible, IF you spend the time and effort to carve it right. If you don’t work on it, the hunk of raw marble is just… possibility, not ability.</p>
<p>If you think someone is “gifted” in some subject, understand that they have found and worked on “fine marble” areas in their brains.</p>
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<p>This is what it comes down to. Some types are trained mostly, others are mostly innate, and a very select few are purely either. Each one places differently on the spectrum.</p>
<p>@FCCDAD I agree, but I forgot to mention that the kid I’m talking about actually is gifted in every subject in my opinion. I guess he worked on every area in his brain lol</p>
<p>I used to think the kids in my class who didn’t do well in math were just lazy. But then I realized that people in my P.E. class probably thought the same thing about me, because I was SO bad at running, gymnastics, etc. I really think people DO have innate talents. I STILL struggle with anything involving large muscle coordination. When I take downhill skiing lessons, the instructor usually shakes his head and says, “Wow, I’ve never seen anybody ski quite like that…” When I went to physical therapy recently, the PT asked me to run on a treadmill and actually CHUCKLED when he watched me! He said, “Some people just aren’t built to run…” And then comes along my son, who could run a mile in 4:26 and was on a team that won a Junior Olympics national championship in cross country! He’s also gifted at math, so he’s unusual.</p>
<p>@Mainelonghorn Exactly. Now I am sure that intelligence isn’t just something that if you work hard enough, then you can get. It has to do with your brain. The biggest proof is ALBERT EINSTEIN. His brain was so different from others, that’s why he’s so smart, of course he worked hard too. But he’s gifted. Also scientists has proofed that if you have more of a certain chemical in your brain, it makes you smarter. I forgot what the specific chemical is tho. You can just tell which kind of student is the “hard work” type, and which is the “naturally smart” type. Also another example is Steve Jobs, he was very smart, he skipped from elementary directly to middle school, and he quit college after the first semester, he didn’t need any more college, he’s already smarter than that. </p>
<p>@chanelli300 good article, but sometimes you really can’t change your natural intelligence. </p>
<p>Of course natural intelligence plays a factor. No matter how hard I try to become Michael Jordan, my body is not physically capable enough to become like him. No matter how much I study, I will never obtain the same level of intelligence as Einstein or Newton. Think of natural intelligence as a limitation; once you reach your extremes, you cannot transcend it. </p>
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<p>To be honest, that kid doesn’t seem very special to me. In my linear algebra class at UCSB, I do not pay much attention; I usually just play on my phone (Yik Yak). I do not need much practice. I received a perfect score on both midterms, so my overall grade in that class is 100%.</p>
<p>I do not consider myself to be good at math. I failed to qualify for AIME twice by one problem each time. I still hate myself for it. AIME qualification isn’t even very impressive when compared to USAMO or MOP qualification.</p>
<p>In my high school, my math abilities were insignificant compared to my classmates’. I had “A’s” and I did not pay much attention in class, but many of my classmates probably did not need to pay attention either, and their “A’s” were higher.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’ve met lots of people who are very good at math but are horrible at tests/pressured situations. I’ve met people who are really good at math without trying who do worse than people who try in the class; and I’ve seen situations where the opposite is two. I think it’s a combination of both; the best students will both have the material come easily to them and be hard working, but people on the other ends of the spectrum can succeed as well.</p>
<p>Obviously natural intelligence plays a role. If you’re smart, school will be easier. Effort is still required (incomplete homework = terrible grades, no matter the IQ), but it’s easier.</p>
<p>However, too much importance is put on natural intelligence. It doesn’t give someone else more value than another; it doesn’t make one person’s thoughts better than another’s. Natural intelligence doesn’t give you talents in every area of your life. It’s not the end all be all. Everyone would be better off if we stopped sizing people up with our IQ measuring sticks, deciding if they are worthy of our attention. (I’m not saying the OP or any other posters are doing this.) I saw it happen too much in my high school years, and I think a lot of friendships were lost due to someone being deemed insignificant in the academic food chain.</p>