by Hadez » Nov 16th, '13, 06:42
I think a lot of people mistake intelligence for educated. I know a guy that can remember a lot of information. He can absorb knowledge. But it boils down to just him being educated. He has the information, but cannot really utilize it. He doesn't have an answer for "Knowing what I know, what does this mean? What can I get from this?"
Having "knowledge" is all well and good, until it comes time to apply it to something and you can't. To me, that's when "intelligent" people come in. I've found in my life that the people I've met that I consider intelligent aren't necessarily the most "educated." Instead, the people who can apply logic to what information they DO have to come to a conclusion. So, I guess in a way you can say intelligent people better apply their experience to their unknowns.
I'll give a sample scenario to explain what I mean.
Person A is "knowledgeable" but not necessarily intelligent.
Person B is less knowledgeable but more "intelligent" than person A.
Person A is carrying a large wooden board on his shoulder, perpendicular to his body. However, it keeps falling off. He is taking physics in school and memorized the info. He knows that he needs to counter the weight of the board to get it to "balance" itself out on his shoulder. So, he has more of the board sticking out in front of him than in the back. The board will fall forward because gravity is pulling the longer "side" down. So, he uses his strength to lift against gravity to keep it up. The board is dropping because he's using his arms to hold the board up and they became fatigued.
Person B is given the same board to hold on his shoulder. He hasn't taken physics. However, by seeing how the board "reacts" to different lengths (forward or back) he deduces that he must counter gravity. What he does is has more sticking out behind him than in front. Gravity wants to pull the wood down behind him, making the front of the board move up. However, he rests his arm on the front of the board. The weight of his arm counters gravity pulling the back of the board, preventing the board from moving at all. Because he is using his arm's natural weight to his advantage, he is using less of his own energy and is able to carry the board.
Obviously this example is kinda ridiculous. I mean who doesn't know how to carry a board? But I think this explains what I mean. Person A knew a little about physics, but couldn't apply it. Person B knew little, if anything, about physics, but just figures this problem out on his own.