<p>There's an issue that has been bothering me for a while. Well, it isn't exactly bothering me, but I've been thinking enough about the topic for it to become rather annoying. </p>
<p>I go to a very competitive high school. There are students here who are very strong academically. I love it. But at the same time, it's stifling.
There are people who have high grades, strong work ethics, awesome extracurriculars/leadership. But they don't seem to have the drive to learn. They slave over their GPA and college applications, but they are never truly interested in what they are "learning". To me, that's such a shame. </p>
<p>I want to call them intellectuals, but I can't bring myself to do that. I hate it when people pair grades with intelligence. Yes, they are strong students, but are they actually learning? </p>
<p>Just a random topic that probably has no intrinsic value whatsoever. But I'd like to know, what are your views on intelligence? How should it be measured?</p>
<p>The difference I always thought between intelligence and simply being smart is whereas if you're smart you know alot, the intelligent apply their knowledge beyond basic facts. It's like a multiple choice exam versus a masters thesis.</p>
<p>INtelligences is being able to "know" things and when to use one's "intelligence." For example, if you have a genious-child, but your child doesn't have any drive, that's not smart, or "intelligent."</p>
<p>I agree with the OP...hardworking is not intelligent. Intelligent: the kid who seems to grasp things quickly and intuitively, who doesn't seem to need to study, who has a "photographic memory" for things, is creative and can say things in the most articulate way, etc.</p>
<p>While I agree with anyone who says that high grades and hard work do not equate to intelligence the converse is also true. Consider the student whose love of learning has been hijacked by the school system. Too many years of underchallenging schoolwork taught to the lowest level of intelligence would rob anyone of their love of learning, per se. Consider when the schoolwork finally does reach an acceptable level for that student, but then it is taught to a test so that breadth of information covered becomes the main objective. Before you critique your classmates, take a look at the school system. They are only the playing the game so that they can get into college, and hopefully persue their passions. Also, do you think that just anyone with a little hard work can recieve an "A" in an advanced class? One would assume that a certain measure of intelligence is required to get the top two grades in any class, regardless of the amount of work.</p>
<p>Intelligence is one's ability to learn and reason.</p>
<p>So the grade-whores are not necessarily smart, but some definitely are.</p>
<p>But I think the question of who is more intelligent is completely worthless. All that really matters is one's capacity to be successful. All those grade-whores have good reason to think they're superior to those with worse grades, because they are superior--they're more successful.</p>
<p>I never really thought intelligence was anything. I thought people were just hard working...but I guess if I had to define it, I'd say that an intelligent person is someone that pursues knowledge. Just anyone trying to learn anything (& possibly everything). To me, that person would be intelligent.</p>
<p>I don't see how equating grades with success is a valid link.</p>
<p>Is someone who can regurgitate facts really successful? I know kids who feel superior because they receive good grades, and I ask myself whether it's healthy to feel a sense of validation because of a number.</p>
<p>I'd rather be lazy and intelligent than hardworking and condescending.</p>
<p>There are many kinds of intelligence. Grades do not demonstrate the natural intellectual capacity of a person, although it does demonstrate, at the very least, common sense when a student does well in school-- they're thinking about where they'll be in a few years and how much they might regret it if they goof off.
Personally, I think that's the most valuable kind of intelligence: the kind that will help you out in day-to-day life. Can't beat common sense. (:</p>
<p>I think "being smart" and "being intelligent" are two, completely different things. They may be fairly similar if you look it up in the dictionary, but not in my head.</p>
<p>-SMART
able to grasp facts and ideas quickly</p>
<p>-INTELLIGENT
intellectual who is passionate about learning, also fairly smart (or really smart) and likes to be challenged and explore their depth of theirs and others thoughts</p>
<p>INTELLIGENT
is wise; has LEARNED instead of simply acquiring knowledge
often, but not always, naturally articulate*
often times has more than a few highly developed talents (eg, amazing natural and highly creative artist, natural math whiz, fencing champion, etc. all in one, and naturally, not because they were taught)
can interpret facts for something other than face value
connects previously acquired knowledge to new facts and forms greater understanding
can think in highly abstract forms (e.g., poetry, advanced math, art, etc.)
natural, unyielding desire to learn and understand the world. unquenchable.
often, but definitely not always, has quirky (at least for age) interests.</p>
<p>*many of the greatest scientific and mathematical geniuses have so much going on in their mind, on so many different planes, that, when concentrating on a problem (or three), and interrupted/asked a question/asked to describe it, they will simply utter words that are articulate inside their advanced mind, but maybe not to the average person.
One of the tests for highly intelligent children is what words they use to describe things.. and in what way. It's called word play. For instance, some gifted kids make up their own language for certain things (usually limited to nouns). It may sound like gibberish to others, but often times they have a highly logical explanation to describe their word choices (these kids are often articulate, but choose to speak their own language). These kids are world famous poets in the making.. obviously, other kids aren't language lovers, but machine or art or chess lovers.</p>