Is Boston the most intellectual city in the U.S.? (Lexington: living, title)

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by HomeIsWhere...

Hey you guys...please explain to me what we're really talking about here, maybe it's both intelligence and education. I can't say that I know the answer but I think there is a difference or it's certainly not the same thing.

Is it one's mental capacity, one's education, or both?

Eta: Maybe it's just snobbery.

You Can Be Highly Intelligent Without Being Highly Educated

Two of the most intelligent people I've ever met did very poorly in school. One graduated, but just barely, and the other never finished high school. When it comes to learning anything that they don't associate with school, they learn fast… much, much faster than normal.


The difference between intelligence and education - Philosophy, Politics and Science - Asexual Visibility and Education Network

It’s neither. Intelligence generally means innate ability to think. Education means external training of that intellect. Intellectual means pertaining to the intellect. Intelligent is what you are, educated is how much you’ve learned, and intellectual is what you’re doing with it.

Someone can be intelligent and not educated, educated and not particularly intelligent. They can also be educated and intelligent without being intellectual, like say a smart person with a PhD who spends her days clubbing.

While there’s not a direct relationship between the three, they are strongly correlated. Intelligent people generally get better educations and perform more intellectual work. It generally pays better and is easier on your back.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

It’s neither. Intelligence generally means innate ability to think. Education means external training of that intellect.

And this is what I intended when stating "it's a matter of education": it's a matter of training. Generally speaking, MA schools have the tax base, density, and demand (a combination of culture and parental expectations) required to provide robust training.

[ben Shunamit]

I would recommend reading Thomas Sowell on intellectuals before deciding whether to brag about being intellectual.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by ben Shunamit

I would recommend reading Thomas Sowell on intellectuals before deciding whether to brag about being intellectual.

That book was a hoot. Unbalanced, one sided, cherry picking agenda promoting. Being one sided can be ok, but admit your biases up front. Sowell doesn't here and tried to mask it as scholarship. Poor effort.

[ben Shunamit]

Scholarship? I didn't understand him to be representing it thus. Simply another way of looking at things, and potentially quite useful, at that.

[MassVt]

If Thomas Sowell is the author, you can bet it's biased. No doubt about that..

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by MassVt

If Thomas Sowell is the author, you can bet it's biased. No doubt about that..

Bias isn't necessarily bad, as long as you recognize it. I don't trust anyone who says they aren't biased.

[ben Shunamit]

Originally Posted by MassVt

If Thomas Sowell is the author, you can bet it's biased. No doubt about that..

What bias did you expect him to have, and what bias in that book became evident to you?

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by ben Shunamit

I would recommend reading Thomas Sowell on intellectuals before deciding whether to brag about being intellectual.

I would just recommend not bragging about anything. It almost never goes well.

It's a bit of a shame that we can't discuss things that are intellectual without a bunch of people getting defensive. There's nothing wrong with using your intellect. It's not something that is restricted to educated or even intelligent people. It has, unfortunately, become conflated with intellectual elitism which is what I suspect people react against when they think of something as intellectual.

Originally Posted by MassVt

If Thomas Sowell is the author, you can bet it's biased. No doubt about that..

I haven't read this book, but isn't it basically a giant opinion piece?

[stanley-88888888]

the difference between being smart and being intelligent is that smart people use their intelligence.