Would you consider Boston the "most intellectual" city on the East Coast?! (student loan, school)

[Infinite_heights77]

Degrees holders shouldn't be the only factor in measuring and determining how intellectual a city is. I'm just sayin... Lol!

Cousin: Graduated with honors from Boston University 94'
Friend #1: Poly Science Ph.D 91' - Clark University
Friend #2: Tenured Professor at UM/Amherst
Former mentor/Friend #3: Law Degree from Boston College 76'

Originally Posted by sheena12

How is that pretentious? Different regions of the country value different things. Northeasterners value education, more than most places in the US do. And arguably, Boston, and the surrounding areas, have some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the United States.

Right in the Boston-Cambridge area, are Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Simmons College, Boston College and others.

Outside of Boston are Wellesley, Brandies Tufts and Bentley.

I would argue that Massachusetts as a whole is a very intellectual state.

Where as the South seems to value sports, evangelical Christianity and military service, the Northest has other values, and intellectualism is one of them.

Easily, Boston could be thought of as the "Capital of American Intellectualism",in a country that tends not to value that pursuit very much.

[bjimmy24]

Still waiting for someone to make the connection between universities and "intellectualism". I think there is quite a lot of evidence to support the opposite. Being "educated" does not mean today what it might have meant in the past. Degrees are a dime a dozen and coursework has gotten easier. People at Harvard get higher grades than ever these days.

You would also still, even if conceding intellectualism (which I don't), have to make the case that it matters at all. Do "intellectuals" do anything for anybody? Say what you want about evangelical Christians (I am not one) but they do have tight communities and do donate tremendously to charity (Massachusetts one of the last in the country in charitable giving, if I remember correctly).

Additionally, what real intellectual movements or cultural movements have started in Boston? This isn't a snarky sarcastic question, I really am asking. I can think of many out of NYC, DC, Detroit, LA, Chicago, etc.

This is such a self-congratulatory idea. Like I said earlier, this is why people don't like us elsewhere, a very condescending attitude and inflation of ego.

[Infinite_heights77]

Well, since I live down the street from John Hopkins University, this goes without stating how intellectually valuable this institution is to its students and the overall general community. Also, we have Loyola University, Goucher College, Towson, UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and a few other smaller college, but that is the extant of it.

But, I don't fully equate intellectualism with how many colleges a city harbors or how many degrees people schools produce. Don't misunderstand my thoughts! I perceive university education/college as an important tool that enforces and strengthens such intellectual development and spaces - but that is not the only variable I'm considering. I also take in account what activities are being produced outside of these academies (e.g. book studies, lectures/presentations, literacy programs, etc..).

Originally Posted by MassVt

Baltimore does have Johns Hopkins, which is an exceptional school, but after that, nothing that's very distinguished. Certainly much more in surrounding cities like Philly and Wash DC..

Boston is probably the most intellectual, but it's competitive..

[Infinite_heights77]

Still waiting for someone to make the connection between universities and "intellectualism". I think there is quite a lot of evidence to support the opposite. Being "educated" does not mean today what it might have meant in the past

*That's why I said what I said concerning this sensitive topic. It's not just simply black and white, this or that, and hot or cold.

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Still waiting for someone to make the connection between universities and "intellectualism". I think there is quite a lot of evidence to support the opposite. Being "educated" does not mean today what it might have meant in the past. Degrees are a dime a dozen and coursework has gotten easier. People at Harvard get higher grades than ever these days.

You would also still, even if conceding intellectualism (which I don't), have to make the case that it matters at all. Do "intellectuals" do anything for anybody? Say what you want about evangelical Christians (I am not one) but they do have tight communities and do donate tremendously to charity (Massachusetts one of the last in the country in charitable giving, if I remember correctly).

Additionally, what real intellectual movements or cultural movements have started in Boston? This isn't a snarky sarcastic question, I really am asking. I can think of many out of NYC, DC, Detroit, LA, Chicago, etc.

This is such a self-congratulatory idea. Like I said earlier, this is why people don't like us elsewhere, a very condescending attitude and inflation of ego.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

You would also still, even if conceding intellectualism (which I don't), have to make the case that it matters at all. Do "intellectuals" do anything for anybody? Say what you want about evangelical Christians (I am not one) but they do have tight communities and do donate tremendously to charity (Massachusetts one of the last in the country in charitable giving, if I remember correctly).
.

They donate to religions and religious organizations, many many of which, if not most, aren't' charitable at all (it was bad, and its getting worse with Trump trying to even further dismantle restrictions on religions from financing/influencing politics). When you exclude religious institution giving the west coast and Northeast are high in charitable giving ranks, which is probably because of the wealth in these areas.

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Additionally, what real intellectual movements or cultural movements have started in Boston? .

Transcendentalism/Unitarianism and Pragmatism are the first two that come to mind.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Still waiting for someone to make the connection between universities and "intellectualism". I think there is quite a lot of evidence to support the opposite. Being "educated" does not mean today what it might have meant in the past. Degrees are a dime a dozen and coursework has gotten easier. People at Harvard get higher grades than ever these days.

You would also still, even if conceding intellectualism (which I don't), have to make the case that it matters at all. Do "intellectuals" do anything for anybody? Say what you want about evangelical Christians (I am not one) but they do have tight communities and do donate tremendously to charity (Massachusetts one of the last in the country in charitable giving, if I remember correctly).

Additionally, what real intellectual movements or cultural movements have started in Boston? This isn't a snarky sarcastic question, I really am asking. I can think of many out of NYC, DC, Detroit, LA, Chicago, etc.

This is such a self-congratulatory idea. Like I said earlier, this is why people don't like us elsewhere, a very condescending attitude and inflation of ego.

An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society. This is what Universities do. Do you think people who do that sort of thing are going to stay employed somewhere else?

And I don't understand why you think that there's evidence to support universities being anti-intellectual. Certainly there's been an increasing focus on job training and real-world skills, but do you think someone who works a real job right out of high school is going to spend more time engaged in critical thinking and research? It's certainly possible, but it's much harder outside of the university.

I agree that intellectual is not (and should not) be confused with intelligent and that neither should be confused with educated, but they're not totally unrelated. At least when I went to high school, the kids who went to college were smarter or worked harder than the kids who didn't (and there was a pretty strong correlation between how good the school was and how smart or hardworking the kids were). Being formally educated doesn't necessarily mean that you're intelligent, but it's a step in the right direction.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

Going to an elite university does not mean you are intellectual. I went to Vanderbilt and Columbia both top 15 universities and a lot of my friends were more focused on getting into grad school and getting high paying jobs than being intellectual with a more well rounded knowledge of a lot of subjects.

[emm74]

There's the Mark Twain quote about it

“In Boston they ask, how much does he know? In New York, how much is he worth? In Philadelphia, who were his parents?”

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

You would also still, even if conceding intellectualism (which I don't), have to make the case that it matters at all. Do "intellectuals" do anything for anybody? Say what you want about evangelical Christians (I am not one) but they do have tight communities and do donate tremendously to charity (Massachusetts one of the last in the country in charitable giving, if I remember correctly).
.

This point comes up a lot, and I believe it is very misleading. Most of those "charitable contributions" are to their churches. Personally, I don't believe that should count because it's not really going to a charitable endeavor. (Look at all the megachurches in the south that have sprawling campuses, with movie theaters and enormous, ornate buildings. That money could have gone to something that would actually help someone.)

When you take out church-giving, the Northeast region and the secular fare much higher.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Vanderbiltgrad

Going to an elite university does not mean you are intellectual. I went to Vanderbilt and Columbia both top 15 universities and a lot of my friends were more focused on getting into grad school and getting high paying jobs than being intellectual with a more well rounded knowledge of a lot of subjects.

Exactly. The "elite" universities can sometimes be the least intellectual places anywhere, in my own experience too.