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Like...people always use the word "smarter." "He's so smarter than me." etc.
I don't think that anyone is smarter than anyone, I do feel as if one does apply themselves they will get better at whatever it is, but then you just haves those that can't really grasp the topic no matter how many times you try to teach it to them.
I don't think that anyone is smarter than anyone, I do feel as if one does apply themselves they will get better at whatever it is, but then you just haves those that can't really grasp the topic no matter how many times you try to teach it to them.
You know, it's OK for some people to be smart and others not smart. Everyone has a right to vote, a soul, a chance to win the lottery, etc. but not everyone is smart. And some that are smart can sure act pretty dumb sometimes.
I don't think that anyone is smarter than anyone...
Ahhh....the eternal appeal of "equality of essence"! Has been around since Toqueville discovered it here, no?
To argue that no one is smarter than anyone else is very, very miopic, agenda-driven and intellectually dishonest.
Yes, people will have different kinds of talents, each talent with an intensity varying from barely there to extreme.
You probably have the theory of "multiple intelligences" in mind when you question the meaning of the word "smart":
Like...people always use the word "smarter." "He's so smarter than me." etc.
I don't think that anyone is smarter than anyone, I do feel as if one does apply themselves they will get better at whatever it is, but then you just haves those that can't really grasp the topic no matter how many times you try to teach it to them.
Forgot to comment on the part about "applying oneself" that the OP brought up.
This IS a valid point.
While some people really are born with more "advantageous genes" than others in any given area, putting in a lot of practice/effort into something WILL invariably make you better at that something regardless of the genes you were born with (unless they are really, really weak).
The "inborn ability" view has its share of dangers.
From completely denying that anyone is smarter than anyone else to seeing only the contribution of "innate ability" in anything - is a long road.
I think America is a culture that leans towards the "inborn ability" theory.
It is exactly why so many of this country's young people say "I am not a math person".
Nobody worries about the "inborn inclinations" of students in other countries - they just know that knowing Math will contribute a lot to their life chances so Math they do and "good at math" they become - regardless of what kind of genes they were born with.
This approach, obviously, has its limitations if you want to become a ballerina or a singer.
Effort/practice and diligence can only help so much in the arts - usually there's got to be some kind of "divine gift" in you if you want to excel in this area.
Most of us are not terribly smart or terribly talented in any other non-intellectual ways - but we are very much functional and effort/practice/interest can help our life chances a great deal.
Some people are smarter than others, much smarter than others.
The problem comes when we make intelligence or smartness a measure of how dignified a person is or how much human worth they have. That ultimately leads to euthansia.
Some people are smarter than others, much smarter than others.
The problem comes when we make intelligence or smartness a measure of how dignified a person is or how much human worth they have. That ultimately leads to euthansia.
I agree...up to a point.
That being said, we are close to opening a can of worms here.
How exactly should we define "dignity" and "worth"?
Would you include the right to vote? Would you include being discriminated against in the workplace
based on intelligence? Does an employer have the right to always pick a candidate he deems more intelligent? If yes, how can a low IQ person maintain any level of dignity when employers constantly reject them?
What exactly does "dignity" and "worth" look like?
If intelligence vary widely in the population and most of us would agree that decision-making, policy and leadership DO necessitate quite a bit of intelligence, ability to see the big picture, to think in abstract terms, etc (all marks of intelligence)...how does that thing called "democracy" should work out then?
The idea that entire regions, affairs of a state, etc should be run based on populistic instincts, the idea that the vote/opinion/view of a highly educated, highly informed, high IQ individual should weigh as much as the vote of a low IQ, largely ignorant person...that doesn't exactly sound fair or sensible either, does it? Not as long as we agree that intelligence is NOT equally distributed in the population.
And yet - the idea of democracy and equality of essence seem to imply just that: "all men have been created equal".
Like...people always use the word "smarter." "He's so smarter than me." etc.
I don't think that anyone is smarter than anyone, I do feel as if one does apply themselves they will get better at whatever it is, but then you just haves those that can't really grasp the topic no matter how many times you try to teach it to them.
Of course some people are smarter. Some people are taller. Some are better at gardening.
Of course some people are smarter than others regardless of how they choose to apply themselves.
Those are two separate issues.
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