Be COMPLETELY Honest!

[The Voice of Reason]

How do you see yourself in relation to others that you meet (in real life or here on the internet) in regards to intellect? Vote in the poll, then post why you see yourself and others in that light. Be completely honest - I'm very curious as to how everyone sees themselves.

Thanks,
TVOR

 

[Scott1]

I'm smarter than some people who forget to include a poll in their question......

 

[jewscout]

I'm smarter than some people who forget to include a poll in their question......

hehehe

 

[Ceridwen018]

That was on purpose, wasn't it Voice? You see, he is actually smarter than us...

 

[The Voice of Reason]

It took me a minute to phrase the responses in the poll - but I can see that you three are to wise to buy into that, so I had to go back and put a poll together.

Smarty pants.


TVOR

 

[Pah]

Hehehe - so far, I'm the only one to be honest. Should we have a poll about "avoidance"? :biglaugh:

Bob

 

[jewscout]

I'd like to think that i'm of an above average intellegence. Though there are some people i've met who are more knowledgable in certain topics than I so i'm not afraid to defer to someone who i can tell knows what they are talking about.
Now when i talk to Deut. or TVOR sometimes i feel the need to bow.
I'M NOT WORTHY...I'M NOT WORTHY

 

[Scott1]

Smarty pants.

I still love ya!

*** looking in phone book for nursing homes***

Everything's gonna be just fine!

 

[lousyskater]

i find my self between the average and above average options. i see my self a little above average, but not much.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

I LOVE to engage in discourse with people that I respect, even if (perhaps especially when) we disagree on the subject matter being discussed. My honest impression of most of the people that I meet is that they are decidedly on the left side of the bell curve that is skewed to the left. So, when I meet someone that can carry their half of a conversation, present a position, and defend it with sincerity and rational thought, I treasure them. I think that the fact that we are on the internet filters out a great deal of the detritius that represents Homo Sapiens, and this site is an excellent example of that phenomenon. Unfortunately, the sieve seems to have some holes ...

I think that this site has an inordinately high percentage of intellectually honest people - and it is the main reason that I enjoy it so. I have to say that I think the population of this site is skewed to the right in a bell curve plotting intellect. Of course, there are those that fall outside the normal three sigma...

With all of that, if I am to be honest, I must admit that I do not meet many people that I feel are intellectually superior - but they are out there. Jewscout's observation that we are all ignorant on certain topics is accurate, but that is not what I meant when beginning this thread. EVERYONE has blind spots - my question was intended only to ascertain how you see yourself in comparison to others, regarding intellect in general - not in any specific area of knowledge.

Thanks,
TVOR

 

[Scuba Pete]

Dang!

I guess the sincerity and rational thought leaves me out!

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

 

[robtex]

I took the average option but I wanted to ask about the thread.

1) people I meet on the internet and espcially forums tend to be higher up the intelligence ladder than my neighbors. People who ain't so bright avoid things like debate. So if the poll is relative their is going to be some play depending on which category one used as a basis for comparision.

2) Intelligence is one of those things you have to qualilfy. If you are talking IQ than for me its been assessed between 118-129 (got me why their is a varation) but lots of stuff not on there....Furthemore some of it like kinetic intelligence is impossible to assess over the net.....but easy to assess with neigbors.

3) if you are referring to debate TVOR for an answer where you are comparing apples to apples with your peers one has to look at the position one is defending and realize that some are harder to defend than others and somehow that has to be a factor. Also it may be tricky to measure because of competitve spirt...for instance I have none when it comes to debate and am unlikey to argue points while others feel great pleasure in it which makes that possilby at least indexable. Though I would have to say that someone who is a strong debator would seem likely to have a propensity to enjoy it more.

4) Average has to be qualifed within some set boundires. For IQ i understand it is 90-110. If it were accepted (just a hypothical) as 80-120 the answers would change dramatically (it is not because only 10-20 percent of population falls outside of 90-110) which brings up the point. ...what if you used intellectual in other non iq areas..where would the proposed bounderies be that would give us a norm....or medium range? A concensus on that might make answers more congruent with an norm if one were pre established in your thread.

I figure though for IQ I might be slighly above average but on other things I probably hit the norm on the top end but maybe scrapt the bottom in the cyber community inasfar as it is a nest for intellectuals.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Ya know, I voted for number four, and then I realized that, were the test to apply solely to life here at RF, I would've voted for number one or two. I constantly feel intellectually humbled at the great minds here, but I am glad that they seem to be accompanied by great spirits, as well.

 

[cardero]

I do not speak “intellectualese” though I think it is a beautiful dialect. I try to avoid contributing to conversations when it gets real deep and heavy. I enjoy reading comments from people who philosophize that way even though I do not understand most of the conversation. I like to state things simply though it would be interesting to engage in an intellectual conversation someday.

 

[Dadball]

I think I'm average. If you ask my wife and kids, they think I'm brain dead most of the time. I guess it's the blank expression on my face when they ask me a question and my only responses are "go ask your mother" or "Yea honey that sounds great".

Honetly, my formal education ended after high school. I did not have the aptitude or the desire to go any further unless I could play football and drink beer. I believe in applied education. Learn what you need to so you can survive or succeed. 24 years ago I got into a field of telecommunications in the military. I have been blessed because it is a field that I love. I'm also good at it. I have gone from an entry level technician to senior corporate management. My last company, most of my peers were EEs or MBAs, and they were always surprise when they would ask "what schools did you go to"? They were more intelligent than I am, but I know how to work with people. Both my survival and success has been built how I lead or serveby the people around me.

I must confess, I am humbled by the multitude on this forum. I think here I may be slight less than average.

 

[FyreBrigidIce]

I think that I am of average intelligence. I say this because I believe that life is an educational road that everyone travels down. I also know that there are people who are smarter in many different subjects than I am. I am smart enough to hold a conversation on topics that I have a little knowledge about but I am also wise enough to not get into a converstaion where I would be way in too deep unless I am in it to learn more about the topic.

Intelligence is not just how smart one is but also how they apply their knowledge and how they choose to obtain more knowledge, if they so choose.

 

[Lightkeeper]

I think there are people who think they are really smart, but aren't. I guess they would be balanced out by the people who think they are less smart than they are. I agree that people with higher intelligence would tend to be drawn to a forum like this. I answered the poll by what my I.Q. test results were. Where we could have a problem here is some people think if they are well read they are smarter. I don't think being well read has anything to do with intelligence.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I don't know my IQ...but based on my personal experience, I have come to the horrifying conclusion that it may be above average.

 

[Watcher]

As much as my ego wanted to pick the last one I resisted and didn't...

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Actually, I wasn't even thinking about IQ when I started the thread. I was really asking how you see yourself, compared to others that you interact with - regardless of IQ, education, or station in life.

Dadball -
For my money, education and intelligence have almost nothing in common. Some of the most intelligent people I have ever met had no higher education at all, and anyone that has worked in industry has met more than a few people with MBA's that couldn't poor **** out of a boot if the directions were printed on the heel.

Thanks,
TVOR