Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My sister-in-law is what some people would call a "dumb bunny." (A perfectly nice person, though.) She is not smart, but she has wonderful taste. Her home is beautifully decorated, color coordinated, and even written up in the newspaper, complete with photos. She dresses in lovely clothes, perfectly coordinated, with appropriate jewelry, handbags and shoes. But I am positive she has a lower level IQ.
So no, I don't think taste and stylish dressing or decorating necessarily equate to intelligence.
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?
Oh god NO! I know lots of people that are dumb as a door nail that have fab taste and many people that are very smart/ book smart but could not put a tasteful dinner party, gift or outfit together. Some people have both traits and some have neither. I don't think they are related. Though a really smart people who was self aware would pay someone to do the leg work for them to pull of something that required good taste .
There you go! People who are smart may or may not have good taste, but the truly smart would just hire a consultant who has good taste and follow their advice! Good one!
Smart people know when it's time to throw money at problems!
I am late to this party, but I do not perceive a link between intelligence and taste. If anything, it seems to me that there is a tendency for smart people to be busy, preoccupied people. They want things that function in their lives, but dont care very much what those things look like. These people also have self esteem and confidence, so the idea of putting forth a certain image for others doesn't concern them.
I think some people who have good taste are smart, but it isnt because they are smart.
They want things that function in their lives, but dont care very much what those things look like.
I have a saying for this and after redoing a lot of houses and building our own off gird house….practicality and looks don't usually go hand in hand. Most times when I buy something in the house for looks it a useless piece of eye candy. I then end up get rid of it and replacing it with something that works better but may not be as pretty
George Bernard Shaw
“...a man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.”
Jeff Goldblum
As soon as you're interested in what is good taste, then you're in bad taste land already. What's comfortable and what represents your life, what's unique and individual about you, that's style.
I think you are equating intelligence with cultural backgrounds and experiences. Sophistication correlates with knowledge, not IQ.
I have two friends who think that Art Nouveau architecture and design are creepy and scary. It didn't take much digging to learn that their perceptions came solely from ghost and horror stories/films. Those were their only childhood experiences with it so their dislike for it was formed for life.
You nailed it.
Sophistication results from exposure. Creativity results from intelligence.
In other words, a person of average intellect might have great taste due to exposure.
A person of above average intellect might have great taste due to exposure, with the addition of putting it all together more creatively.
As someone else has said, there are different kinds of intelligence. Many forms of intelligence have nothing to do with visual things, so those people might not remotely care about taste. An artist or architect has a visual type of intelligence and can't help but care.
Intellect is a measurable, quantifiable attribute.
Taste is nothing of the sort. Taste is merely a subjective preference.
Intelligent people tend (to those whose typing fingers are getting itchy, understand the meaning of the word tend) to be more successful. They thus tend to have more resources to throw at currently trending standards of 'taste' (which invariably are costlier than what is deemed to lack taste). Thus, intelligent people - who tend to have means - will be more likely than unintelligent people - who tend to have less means - to acquire the accoutrements of 'taste'.
That's not 'having taste'; it's 'having the money to spend on the predominating fashions'.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No!
.
