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So even though I'm basing this off some personal experiences, I want it just to be a discussion thread out of curiosity, not a passing of judgement - so please refrain from flaming and don't go off accusing me of being a snob or shallow or judgmental or whatever. I know people of all intelligence levels can be great people, so no need to point it out. But this is just a correlation that I've observed. We're all taught not to judge a book by its cover, and that 'taste' in things like clothing, decor, art, even food is very subjective. But I find that in general, what is universally considered 'good' taste in these things generally tends to go with the person's overall intelligence level - which, by the way, is not necessarily defined by their profession or education.
In fact, I find these things are a MORE accurate predictor of intelligence than education or career. It's an interesting phenomenon that has often puzzled me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I've known people who were educated and had successful careers; and yet, they had a certain close-mindness, a narrow view of the world and a constrained way of thinking that I would more likely associate with someone from an uneducated background; a type of 'simpleton' attitude, as snobby as that sounds. At the same time I've met people who were not particularly successful financially or career-wise yet showed the ability to converse intelligently and think deeply and openly on a variety of topics.
What I did notice, is that quite often, the way a person chooses to dress, or the way they decorate their home, speaks of that intelligence level quite accurately. I'm not talking about someone who pays no attention to what they wear, and are just happy to throw on a tshirt and jeans, and furnish their home with some simple cheap pieces just for function. Some people don't care and that's fine. Other people put a lot of thought into how they present themselves and their home - and it's those people who put a lot of time and effort, and sometimes money into it, and yet come out with bad results, that I find really lack a certain level of sophistication. I'm talking about things like draping yourself with blingy designer logos all over the place (especially fake, but even real), or simply a bunch of very attention-grabbing pieces that compete for attention and don't go together; clothes that are overly revealing or 'trashy' for women, anything that has a connotation of being sleazy or overdoing it with flashy jewelry or way too much makeup. Think the 'nouveau-riche' look, or the blinged-out rapper look, or the "Jersey Shore" look etc. Same with homes that are loaded up with a mishmash of heavy furniture, a ton of decor, knick-knacks everywhere, and cheap cheesy things all over the place like words on the wall or bad 'art' prints, huge fake floral arrangements etc. Hard to explain, but it's not so much about anything specific but more where you can just see that a person is trying to cram in as much of everything as possible to show off. Same goes for people who, for example, disdain trying any new or ethnic cuisines or claiming to avoid something just because it's too healthy or whatever; the sort of people who would seek out a McDonald's or Denny's when traveling abroad even in places known for excellent local food. It's absolutely shallow and superficial, but somehow I just can't see a person who is truly mentally bright and intelligent making these sorts of choices - and from personal experience, I've been right about this every single time I've gotten to know the person better. Again - this is not to judge the person's character at all.
I don't think gravitation to culture or taste is correlated to raw intelligence. I know quite a few very intelligent people who have terrible taste in design, clothing, food, personal grooming, tattoo styles, etc. I agree that most people who have good taste are intelligent but not all intelligent people have good taste.
In clothing there's certainly a correlation: the more natural or "neutral" a person looks, the more intelligent that person seems to be (in my humble opinion).
I dont wanna sound sexist, or mysoginist but this is especially true in women. A plain/natural/neutral woman can walk around and get less unwanted attention, so she's got more energy, time and cognitive resources to do her thing and focus on higher, more important things in life. More time for self introspection. Less drama, basically.
Drama queens tend to dress in provocative ways, and drama tends to relate negatevely with IQ.
In other things, I do not agree.
I am a very intelligent person, and I could not care less about gastronomy and stuff like that...I've spent periods of time just eating junk food and was perfectly happy. In fact I cant stand this people who make a big deal about food in general. I could never live in a country like France, where gastonomy is regarded like some sort of art.
In literature it certainly happens.
Who can buy, read and enjoy some "product" like the Da Vinci Code? Rhetorical question.
OP, your entire OP is judgmental. How can that not be brought up?
So, someone, for instance, like me, with a law degree, who is now on a fixed income, and can't afford designer anything, would in your instantaneous judgment about my "taste," be someone of a lower intellect.
And you would be completely wrong.
Your OP is offensive and enormously judgmental.
And just making the statement that you are not being judgmental, doesn't make it so.
So even though I'm basing this off some personal experiences, I want it just to be a discussion thread out of curiosity, not a passing of judgement - so please refrain from flaming and don't go off accusing me of being a snob or shallow or judgmental or whatever. I know people of all intelligence levels can be great people, so no need to point it out. But this is just a correlation that I've observed. We're all taught not to judge a book by its cover, and that 'taste' in things like clothing, decor, art, even food is very subjective. But I find that in general, what is universally considered 'good' taste in these things generally tends to go with the person's overall intelligence level - which, by the way, is not necessarily defined by their profession or education.
In fact, I find these things are a MORE accurate predictor of intelligence than education or career. It's an interesting phenomenon that has often puzzled me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I've known people who were educated and had successful careers; and yet, they had a certain close-mindness, a narrow view of the world and a constrained way of thinking that I would more likely associate with someone from an uneducated background; a type of 'simpleton' attitude, as snobby as that sounds. At the same time I've met people who were not particularly successful financially or career-wise yet showed the ability to converse intelligently and think deeply and openly on a variety of topics.
What I did notice, is that quite often, the way a person chooses to dress, or the way they decorate their home, speaks of that intelligence level quite accurately. I'm not talking about someone who pays no attention to what they wear, and are just happy to throw on a tshirt and jeans, and furnish their home with some simple cheap pieces just for function. Some people don't care and that's fine. Other people put a lot of thought into how they present themselves and their home - and it's those people who put a lot of time and effort, and sometimes money into it, and yet come out with bad results, that I find really lack a certain level of sophistication. I'm talking about things like draping yourself with blingy designer logos all over the place (especially fake, but even real), or simply a bunch of very attention-grabbing pieces that compete for attention and don't go together; clothes that are overly revealing or 'trashy' for women, anything that has a connotation of being sleazy or overdoing it with flashy jewelry or way too much makeup. Think the 'nouveau-riche' look, or the blinged-out rapper look, or the "Jersey Shore" look etc. Same with homes that are loaded up with a mishmash of heavy furniture, a ton of decor, knick-knacks everywhere, and cheap cheesy things all over the place like words on the wall or bad 'art' prints, huge fake floral arrangements etc. Hard to explain, but it's not so much about anything specific but more where you can just see that a person is trying to cram in as much of everything as possible to show off. Same goes for people who, for example, disdain trying any new or ethnic cuisines or claiming to avoid something just because it's too healthy or whatever; the sort of people who would seek out a McDonald's or Denny's when traveling abroad even in places known for excellent local food. It's absolutely shallow and superficial, but somehow I just can't see a person who is truly mentally bright and intelligent making these sorts of choices - and from personal experience, I've been right about this every single time I've gotten to know the person better. Again - this is not to judge the person's character at all.
Thoughts? Do you agree?
Haven't you ever met a brilliant engineer, programmer or physicist? They rarely know how to dress well and could care less about decorating their house.
Last edited by BrassTacksGal; 02-14-2017 at 12:09 AM..
OP, your entire OP is judgmental. How can that not be brought up?
So, someone, for instance, like me, with a law degree, who is now on a fixed income, and can't afford designer anything, would in your instantaneous judgment about my "taste," be someone of a lower intellect.
And you would be completely wrong.
Your OP is offensive and enormously judgmental.
And just making the statement that you are not being judgmental, doesn't make it so.
Did you even read what I wrote?
If you read it carefully, you'll see that I wrote:
Quote:
I'm not talking about someone who pays no attention to what they wear, and are just happy to throw on a tshirt and jeans, and furnish their home with some simple cheap pieces just for function. Some people don't care and that's fine.
and you'll see I mention, in fact, draping oneself in designer logos head-to-toe, as one of the things I consider being in bad taste. I'm not talking about dressing in simple or cheap clothes, but quite the opposite - showy, overly flashy styles that scream "look at me!" in an effort to look rich, or sexy, etc. It can indeed be cheap, trashy clothes, or it can be expensive real designer brands, but the end result is the same. Same with homes - a simply and functionally furnished no-frills home is one thing; a house tastelessly overloaded with a bunch of crap, decor, and useless accessories, doesn't matter if cheap or not, is another. It has absolutely nothing to do with money or being able to afford designer anything. Simplicity and understated taste don't cost much, in fact mountains of cheap crap will cost you way more. But I'm talking about people who generally try too hard to impress others by giving off the impression of being richer, classier, etc than others. As the saying goes, money can't buy class. And yes, as I admitted, it is a shallow way of thinking, yet in my experience it has absolutely correlated with the person's intelligence level when revealed in conversation and life. I was just curious if others believe and/or have experienced the same.
Haven't you ever met a brilliant engineer, programmer or physicist? They rarely no how to dress well and could care less about decorating their house.
Yes. My husband. Lol. I buy all his clothes because he can't be bothered to shop for a new pair of jeans when his get actual holes in them.
But, again, I'll repeat what I wrote, as the 'brilliant engineer' type who doesn't care is not what I was describing at all.
Quote:
I'm not talking about someone who pays no attention to what they wear, and are just happy to throw on a tshirt and jeans, and furnish their home with some simple cheap pieces just for function. Some people don't care and that's fine. Other people put a lot of thought into how they present themselves and their home - and it's those people who put a lot of time and effort, and sometimes money into it, and yet come out with bad results, that I find really lack a certain level of sophistication.
Most brilliant programmers or physicists are not likely to be out in public donning, say, a tight muscle T with a fake designer logo, low-rider jeans with a logo underwear waistband sticking out, a heavy gold chain with a cross, and hair sporting half a bottle of gel
Nor are they likely to drape their house in swathes of dusty fake flowers, "precious moments" figurines and
Thomas Kinkade prints
People who can't be bothered to make an effort are one thing. People who go out of their way to 'bother' yet do a horrible job at it, mainly because they overdo it and lack a certain refinement to realize it, are another. Like I said, think of the nouveau riche, or that certain stereotype of the tasteless try-hard that has been poked fun of for ages, even in classic literature. In fact, think of the classic Cinderella story - the way her stepmother and stepsisters are portrayed.
For that matter, I don't think that having good taste automatically makes someone intelligent! There are certainly people who know how to present themselves but still lack that internal sophistication and depth. However, I have not yet seen example of the opposite - people who lack taste, as I see it, yet are open-minded, sophisticated, and intelligent.
If you read it carefully, you'll see that I wrote:
and you'll see I mention, in fact, draping oneself in designer logos head-to-toe, as one of the things I consider being in bad taste. I'm not talking about dressing in simple or cheap clothes, but quite the opposite - showy, overly flashy styles that scream "look at me!" in an effort to look rich, or sexy, etc. It can indeed be cheap, trashy clothes, or it can be expensive real designer brands, but the end result is the same. Same with homes - a simply and functionally furnished no-frills home is one thing; a house tastelessly overloaded with a bunch of crap, decor, and useless accessories, doesn't matter if cheap or not, is another. It has absolutely nothing to do with money or being able to afford designer anything. Simplicity and understated taste don't cost much, in fact mountains of cheap crap will cost you way more. But I'm talking about people who generally try too hard to impress others by giving off the impression of being richer, classier, etc than others. As the saying goes, money can't buy class. And yes, as I admitted, it is a shallow way of thinking, yet in my experience it has absolutely correlated with the person's intelligence level when revealed in conversation and life. I was just curious if others believe and/or have experienced the same.
So, my Filipino friend, with her masters degree, and her overly furnished home with lots of knickknacks, per the style of her birth country, is also unintelligent?
You just can't dig yourself out of the hole you dug here.
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