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No. I've seen brainy people who dressed as if the clothes were thrown on them at random with a pitchfork. Their homes look like something a hoarder would put together from Curb Alerts on Craigs List. And their movie, reading, and television habits are decidedly lowbrow.
I do wonder, from time to time, about those who collect those tiny spoons or "Hummel" figurines....or shot glasses from every truck stop. Rightly or wrongly, I do kind of associate that with lesser-educated types.
My grandmother (who was born well over a 100 years ago, now deceased of course) collected tiny sterling silver spoons from every major city she took a trip to, mostly on the European continent. Back in those days, believe me, those things were not sold in gas stations/truck stops nor did she get there by car but by boat and train - these were grand trips back in those days that only the relatively wealthy could afford.
That collection, which I now have, is valued in the many thousands now, all hand made, and all exquisite. She had excellent taste. She was also a Phi Beta Kappa grad from Smith. She was very intelligent.
I think there is absolutely zero correlation between intellect and taste. None whatsoever, and if there is, it might even be an inverse relationship! I know this from the fact my ex is an interior decorator and I saw many examples of so called taste among her well heeled clientele.
Of course the fact that the very term taste is so crazily subjective sort of renders any discussion of it as moot, and pure speculation and opinion, with nary an objective measuring tool to support ones opinion.
Good taste is subjective. What was good taste in middle class Victorian homes would be considered awful now. I also think that your term intellect is vague. By what objective measure to do define intellect?
Honestly, I don't agree with you, if you mean intelligent people generally have good taste. That is absurd.
Yes, generally, I do believe that intellect, or intelligence, or learning, tends to accompany good taste. That does not, however, preclude the possibility of, for instance, an absolutely brainless woman who is impeccably dressed and groomed.
The sad thing is that people once really aspired to intellect and taste, but now they don't much.
Actually, now that I think of it, maybe it's no accident that another meaning of "smart" used to be "chic" or "elegant."
I was thinking about this question earlier and I started thinking about Dolly Parton. She aims to be trashy and she's obviously smart, open minded and while not sophisticated in a Jackie Kennedy way, she's able to hang out with everyone. A lot of the things that you think are indications of not being smart could have a lot to do with the things people saw growing up. Dolly thought the hussies were the prettiest so she wanted to be like them.
I don't think that I would want to hang out with a jersey shore type but a lot of people hate gwenyth paltrow, too bc her good taste makes her annoying.
"Good" taste in what, exactly? Clothing, accessories, home decor, homes, music, books, film, art, beauty products? Taste can also be a matter of preference that is influenced by personality, culture and subcultures. For instance, my husband is a man of high intellect, but has a very easygoing temperament and doesn't care about fashion trends, looking stylish or whatever. He wears what's comfortable for the given situation. He's not into home decor, but understands aesthetics, patterns, composition, symmetry, etc., which makes sense as an artist.
Around where I live there are a lot of new construction homes, lots of them are the overdone big-box houses, 6 and 7,000 square feet. They are the epitome of Mcmansions. They combine 5 or 6 architectural styles in one floor plan. I'm not saying my opinion is the only one that matters, just as OP stated, but I find them repulsive. They are gaudy, flashy, and scream "look at how 'rich' I am!!!" I know of a couple with no children and no family members within 2 hours driving distance who recently bought a home with 3 kitchens- why??? The theme with that couple and couples/families like them is that they lack higher thinking skills. They have no problem memorizing and regurgitating information to earn a masters degree in whatever chosen profession it is they do and they have no problem bull****ting their way to a position that pays them a hefty salary, but when it comes down to it these people are just simpletons. They know nothing beyond what the people around them tell them to think.
"Bigger is better", "Brand means everything", "You have to have the newest version" that's what these people think. They know nothing about culture and nothing about the world outside of their immediate surroundings. I'm sorry that's so hard for others to accept about some of their fellow humans, but it it without a doubt true. People who lack the ability to find validation in themselves strive to find it in those around them and often times that manifests itself in what they buy and how they try to look, but because it's a ripoff of the real thing it always looks fake.
Total rot. And yes, you certainly ARE a snob, shallow, and judgmental.
First off you would have to operationally define "taste" - and that is an impossibility. Taste is totally subjective and varies WIDELY across, and even within, cultures. It also varies across time. Home decor ca the Victorian era, widely considered "tasteful" at the time, would now be widely considered to be gauche and overly ornate. Unless you're Vladimir Putin.
Personally I can't abide most things that are considered "tasteful". A "tasteful classic A-line black dress" is not in line with MY tastes, no matter how "classic" its supposed to be. It's just boring funeral wear. And my IQ is (or was before disability) over 150. There is very little that I share in common with what is considered "tasteful" by the 1%-ers. Whose "taste" or (arguably) lack thereof is not shared with the rest of the hoi-polloi.
So no, no matter what you "believe" - and that is another kettle of fish, this idea that feelings trump facts, hence your title belies your stance - the fact is that there is not and cannot be a correlation, let alone any sort of causation, between "intellect" - which also needs to be operationally defined though there is some hope that could be reasonably done - and the non-existent quality of "taste" as an objective entity.
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Intelligence vs education
