I must confess that for as long as I can remember, I've felt felt a tinge of loneliness; ok, more than a tinge. It isn't because I don't have tons of friends--I mean, I don't, but I don't need tons. The few I've got are all I need because I've never been the type of person who judges herself on popularity (Thank Buddha, or else I'd have been morbidly depressed by now!) No, the truth is that I've almost always felt lonely for one reason: the sinking feeling that there are precious few people who view the world and those in it the way I do. For some reason, this matters a great deal to me. And this is the reason that I sometimes feel like I'm miles away even while surrounded by humans.
Often, when I'm feeling alone, I like to keep moving. Specifically, I like to go for walks. Don't ask me why. So this is the state of affairs that brought me to Center City Philly the other night. As I roamed Queen Village after dark, I found myself replaying some of the interactions with various people I'd had up to that point in the day. When my mind settled on one of the day's conversations--I don't remember which--I distinctly recall feeling a rising tide of frustration. And while I'm sketchy on the details of the conversation which sparked these thoughts, I know precisely what frustrated me that evening, because it's something that consistently frustrates me to no end: the realization that most people seem to have no handle on what it means to be "intelligent." Not that I feel that I have a monopoly on the definition. It's just that I feel that people throw the word around like it's a hacky sack, with little to no thought about how their use of the term speaks volumes about what they value in terms of mental capacity.
So, you guessed it. I'd like you to weigh in on the subject. What does it mean to be "intelligent"? Who's the smartest person you've ever known? What is it that makes them so intelligent in your view? Be specific, cite examples and do your best to arrive at a definition. But DON'T consult a dictionary. If you absolutely can't resist the temptation to chew on someone else's thoughts on the subject, I'd like you to google quotations on intelligence and tell me if you come across one that sums up your views on the topic--or one that doesn't if playing devil's advocate is your thing (ahem, Mister!). Share the quote with us and connect it with your response. Don't rush your thinking. Let it marinate...(450 words/60pts)
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I think being intelligent is knowing and adapting to the things around you. People who know what they are doing with their life and what is going on. Or people who know a lot about different things. Some people could be smart on their one subject and i think that makes them smart but only on one subject. Intelligence is knowledge of all sorts. People who are curious with thoughts how things work, become smart because they think about how it all works out. But people who are just curious but never take time or tries to find out how things work, i would not call them intelligent. It is not that i am calling them dumb, just not having the will and desire to find out what else they can learn about life and other things. It also has to make sense, like people who knows what they are talking about. That is my thought on being intelligent. The Smartest person i know has to be my cousin Carlos. He is someone who is always up to learn knew things about anything and everything. He always teaches me something every time i see him which is like once every six months. He knows a lot about life and is very interesting to have a conversation with because of all the things he knows. He told me that there is no such thing as doing something for nothing, because by doing something you have gained the experience. I thought about it for a while and it made sense to me and it is a good saying.
Intelligence is definitely a word that is thrown around way too much and given too much but not given enough to the wrong people who don’t deserve it. There are some people in this world who describe them self as intelligent because they get good grades, are street smart, have a good look on things, and I agree; to a degree.
Being intelligent; to me, is knowing your surroundings to the fullest, and completely understanding them. Having every outlook on something or someone and reaching your fullest potential is having intelligence. If I was to write a dictionary, intelligence would be as listed; Intelligence-to know completely and understand to the fullest. People might say that’s a harsh definition and im cocky for believing that I meet my own criteria for being intelligent. The only problem with that is that I don’t find my self intelligent just yet, I don’t believe that any high school student will ever meet my criteria of intelligence only because there is too much going on; and no matter what they say, every student looks at the glass half empty, not full.
Straight A students and top students of our grade are “smart” but that is miles away from being intelligence. What does it mean to be smart? Hours, days, years of memorizing; what does it mean to be intelligent? A lifetime of looking about life in different views. These top students may have done one of the two above, but won’t understand the different outlook until they think about what they are memorizing from a different perspective, and grasp it from a different angle. (Einstein’s Definition) (I did not look it up)
The most intelligent person to me is my sister’s boyfriend. His job requires him to think about problems, equations, and even answer them in ways that aren’t even imaginable. He looks at something and instantly thinks how it’s made, if he can make it a different way, and what can be improved. The average person uses only 10% of their brains; but Tyson (sisters boyfriend) uses way more that the average person. Having intelligence is what you make of it.
In my mind an intelligent person is someone who almost knows the solution to any problem. To be intelligent you must know the answer to any situation like the answer is right in front of you. An intelligent person is the one people look to for answers. The person who is almost guaranteed to always give you the right answers. I don't agree that the word intelligence is thrown around like a ball. Maybe the reason is because I have never witnessed it. I do believe in different types of intelligence. For example, there are people who are street intelligent. They are people who know the street like it's their room. They know who is where and when, they know the best way to make street money; they know the best way to stay out of trouble around any person or place, etc. There are also people who are book intelligent. These people know the answer to any question ever written down. They know the answer to history questions like it was their own history.
The most intelligent person I think I know is Michael Townley. Michael Townley is in my first period class. For as long as he has been in my class I've witness all thought quenching questions asked to Michael Townley to answer. For example, people will ask him little things like "Why is the sky blue?" The thing that shocked me is that he had a logical answer I have never heard before towards that question. He must be right! Another example of Michael Townley in action is in class when Ms. Bunje (you) were in class and you got a question that you don't even know the answer to. What did you? You asked Michael Townley. What did he do? He simply sighed and gave you the correct answer. These are all examples of an intelligent person.
What is it that makes Michael so intelligent? I don't know! I think Michael Townley is intelligent because he just doesn't forget what he is taught. Most people forget majority of the things that they learned in the past. Take me for example. I'm horrible at remembering the answers to historical questions. Michael Townley on the on the other hand has answered historical questions in English class that faded my memory forever ago. If I had the chance I would want to live one day inside of Michael Townley's mind. He just never forgets what he learns. I don’t know what his life is outside of school, but he probably tries to expand on his knowledge. It is probably a library with containing a record number of books, and books never before seen. I’m might get lost with all of the knowledge in front of me. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael Townley knows the secret to life.
It is to my belief that “intelligent” has two separate meanings. Someone could be intelligent about factual information, or they could be intelligent about life itself. Both of these outlooks are highly underestimated and thrown around a lot.
“‘How do you know so much about everything?’ was asked of a very wise and intelligent man; and the answer was ‘By never being afraid or ashamed to ask questions as to anything of which I was ignorant.’” This quote was stated by John Abbot, an artist of his time. When reading this quote the first person who came to my mind is someone I’ve grown to admire. I’ve been going to school with him for about ten years and he still awes me by his historical knowledge. Growing up I witnessed many people making fun of him for the way he looked and addressed himself. I’ve grown to understand that his way is very mature. The funny thing is that he will be engaged in a immense amount of money when he becomes successful and the students who made fun of him will all look up to his achievements.
I want to continue about this young man that continues to blow me away. I respect every decision and opinion he has and makes. Not because they always seem right and the way he puts them makes me want to believe it’s true, but because like John Abbots quote, he wasn’t afraid of ashamed to ask in order to retrieve his knowledge. He was never scared to say his opinion and always respected others opinions, even if he didn’t agree. He is intelligent because he is highly knowledgably about factual information.
The most intelligent person I know when it comes to life is my best friend. This person is always there for me no matter what. He’s the first person I go to when I’m having a life problem. He’s always by my side and always lets me know he will always be there for me no matter what. He tells me that no one should go through life alone, and without friends. I’m not one to have a lot of true friends, but the very few I have, honestly, are all I need. This intelligent person told me to keep my friends close, but my enemies closer; for you never know what’s to come in the future. I respect this person because he, in my opinion, knows it all. Because he is so informed about life, he’s the best person to run to for advice.
These two people have influenced my life in me wanting to be better. They both have had such an amazing impact on what I do and how hard I keep fighting, for school and life. To me, intelligence is more than just knowledge, it’s understanding.
intelligent is a bold word to me or anyone else just like you said mrs. bunje there isn't a true def. to me. I think intelliegnts doesn't only mean how smart you are you don't have to be einstein come on there are only a few how have the brain like that. i think intellgients is learning and experencing as much as you can and take it all in. Poeple who explire the worl and learn how it is to live over there makes you more experience then those who have been there. If you are a person who is a thrill seeker and you takee on task that an average person wouldn't take on that makes you integgelient becasue you are only a few that have done that job. yea people think they are intellgient becasue yuou read and understand thousands of books but does that really make you intellgent. Yes i agree that it does make you smart but i wuldn't say that it makes you very intelligent. To me if you can decide to leave everything and everyone behind to go and seek new beginnings and find out new things that haven't been seen by many find that intelligent becasue experience is the main thought of intelligence.
if i had to choose one person that i could put intellgence on it would have to be my great grandfather. He is one person in my family to have the courage to take one the most hardest experience of all the family. He decided to leave for the army to go over to asia. Just to let you know my grandfather was full blood irish man born and raise there and if you are irish you would know its hard to leave your homeland but he did. when he left he says hes proud that he can go explore new sites that no one else in the family has. My grandfather is the reason why i fellin to the career thatiwant to be in and me and him have the same tastebud as well becasue my grandfather came close to many intellgent chefs over in asia and he brought back their knowlegde with in him. He traveled all over asia and he did learn the cultuere and took in everything but the main thing that he cared about was food. when he returned home he decided that her loved the idea of moving around and taking in everything you can open your mind to new thing and you might find something you will love. My great grandfather travel all around in every country you can imagine until he found his true love and brought ehr back to Ireland. My grandfather was a big lover and he had thirteen children and he loved them all. Yea it a little weird but all his children have brain my grandmother says it runs in our blood but i think it comes from grat granpa. the one thing that my grat granda pa pusheon his children was that they should leave beautiful ireland and set yourself out in the horizon to explore. everyone in the family loved and listen to great granpa as like he was their tiny god. But i can say that my family on his side has listen to them becasue all my family is scattered all around. Now i believe my grandfather has given his inteelgence to everyone he cares and believe that i am caring a part with him in my heart everyday exspecailly becasue everyone tells me that i act and think just like him. One day i will have the integgece that he has had and even more as soon as i can i will be gone and exploring the world and the ones that my great grandparent missed for him. So i believe intellgence doesn't only deal with if you know all the answer to every test you took but the experience you been in and took them in and learn from. Intelligence is bold so i love it and one day i will say that i am a very intelligent woman.
Intelligence can be anything, it could be that someone is really great in school or it could mean that someone has a lot of experience. The way I think of intelligence is a combination of knowing a lot about something and having a lot of experience. If someone says they know everything then in my mind their not all that intelligent or else they would know that it is impossible to know everything because you never stop learning about something. The most intelligent person I know would have to be Doc the Captian at the fire house. Not because he is good at math or english but because he knows a lot about fire fighting and he has the experience to go along with the knowledge. He once told me that in the perfession of fire fighting that you can never say you know everything because it is impossible due to the fact that it changes every day and there is always something new to learn or a new way to attack the fire or new tools. I thought about this for some time and realized that it was the same as in life. You can never know everything in life because the world and life changes every day. You can never be done with your education because something new comes around every day that you may need or want to learn about. If we knew everything than life would be boring and pointless. Knowing that you can't know everything and knowing that your education is never done is what makes you intellegint. Doc is the most intelligent person I know because he realizes this and he has experiences in it because he is always learning something new about fire fighting and he's been a fire fighter for several years. I realize it to because I may be a great hiker and have a lot of experience but I definately don't know everything about hiking and if I did I probbly wouldn't do it because the thril wouldn't be there and it wouldn't be as enjoyable.
To me if someone is intelligent they are someone who knows more than the average person. They can think differently about things that we take for granted. For instances take a great composer, they can hear rain pattering on their roof and create the greatest symphony anyone has ever heard. Or a scientist who can think of an equation to get the average times waves hit a rock. I think intelligence is something so rare and special that it takes someone special to have it. To me it’s nothing like street smarts or another kind of smarts because anyone can have streets smarts. One person that I know who is like that is my best friend Gwen. She is like a super genius; by the time she was in eighth grade she got a perfect score on the pre- SAT and when you ask her one of those crazy math problems she gets it in like a minute. Now she goes all the way to Delaware to the best high school that money can buy. Not only is she book smart, but she is a crazy good artist in both ballet and art. One day I was watching her paint a still-life of a bouquet of flowers and it looked better than the flower. It was like I was watching Michelangelo creating one of his masterpieces. Sometimes I am amazed when I think how much my friend has accomplished. She is two years younger than me and she already acts like a thirty year old. I’m jealous of her, but I’m also glad to say that I’m one of her friends because if I never met her then I could not have inspiration to do my best in school. While looking for a quote about intelligence I came across this one quote: “A genius is one who shoots at something no one else can see - and hits it.” ~Author Unknown. This quote hits everything I’m talking about especially Gwen because she can she herself succeeding through everything that she does unlike people like me who can only see themselves succeeding through some things that they do. Loads of people can say they are smart, but only a few people can say they are intelligent.
Intelligence is a gift that people have to earn and develop. Intelligence isn’t just something to classify a person, it’s generally a word given to all people. Everyone has some sort of intelligence and they use it in many different ways. Some people have math intelligence, some have writing intelligence, some have street intelligence, and etc. It’s like the word “talent”. Everyone has a talent, there are just many many different kinds . Intelligence is what your brain uses to apply itself to life. There is no quantity that a person has to have in order to be intelligent, they just have to know at least something to have intelligence. Everyone is born with this gift in their own special ways and as they live life, they develop it and learn more types of intelligences.
It’s very hard to distinguish a single person as “the smartest person”. With all the different kinds of intelligences out there, who should decide who is the smartest or not? No one could ever measure how smart a person is by the material and vastness in their head except for that person. You could pick the smartest person who always has something to say and is always right and is verbal about it. But does that makes a person intelligent because they call attention to their intelligence? What about the person who sits quietly in class and keeps to themselves and doesn’t say anything. Does that make them unintelligent because they don’t speak out and you don’t know what they could be capable of handling and thinking in their head? So I can’t say who I think the smartest person I have met is. I haven’t had the opportunity to measure out everyone’s thinking and ideas in their head to be able to pick out who knows the most and who is the greatest thinker. There are many people I know who I have no idea what they are capable of. It would be like saying who the most trustworthy person is. How do you know how trustworthy a person is unless you measure it out?
No one will ever be able to figure out who the most intelligent person is. There are many things that one person can know a lot about but know nothing about another topic. The smartest person would have to be the person who knows everything really really well. But unfortunately for our society, there is no such thing as that kind of person. The person with the perfect SAT scores and straight A’s could possibly be socially inapt and have no street smarts what so ever. There isn’t enough time for anyone to learn about everything and strive to be the smartest. We are all equal with our smarts. It just depends on us on what we want to be intelligent in.
In my opinion, intelligence is a hard word to define because of the fact that it can be applied to so many different things. When the word intelligence comes to my mind, the first thing that pops into my head is school, being book smart, knowing facts, and how to use big words. Michael Townley is obviously very book smart, along with a number of people walking the hallways of Oakcrest. But the more I sit and think about what intelligence really is makes me think that it really has nothing to do with that at all. Anyone can sit at home and memorize facts listed in a textbook or how to spell SAT vocab words. But, that’s just knowledge. I think true intelligence is having the ability to use what you know and apply it to your own life. My sister Kaitlin is the first person that comes to mind when I think of the smartest person I know. But maybe this is because she takes honor and AP classes or her GPA is over a hundred percent. She is book smart and common sense smart. But I see her often being shy. I think intelligence has a big role in being able adapt to any environment. An intelligent person has a broad range of knowledge but without being able to connect to people, or your own life, at very least, than it is almost a waste. An intelligent person should be able to connect anything or anyone.
Like we talked about in class, there are two different types of people: ones that assess a situation before adding to it, and the ones that jump right in to anything they approach. I think confidence plays a role in those two different groups of people. Confidence will allow a person to use their intelligence in connecting with people. I suppose that the people with more confidence are viewed as being smarter because they act as if they know. Some of these people do. I guess you really have to get to know a person to see their true intelligence. The people that sit back and assess a situation before interacting with anyone probably have less confidence in their self. No matter how much intelligence they have or how much more intelligent they may be than the group of people that they don’t know, they are afraid of being judged. They are probably afraid of being lonely and not being accepted. No one should feel this way. This makes you look less intelligent, even if you are not. You will come upon many situations in your life. Being a leader will show great intelligence in yourself. There will be many obstacles we will face especially in college. Knowing the answers to the chemistry test will not be as important as knowing how to survive and be successful. Knowing factual information is not nearly as important as being able to adapt to a situation that is thrown to you. We do have the power to be whoever we want. Intelligence means that we have the strength and ability to be that person.
Intelligence is not a easy word to describe and is different for everyone. To me being intelligent is being able to learn from every situation that comes up in your life being able take different paths to get to the same situation but this time learning something a little different. Intelligence is being able to help better yourself and still influence other people. If you do the same thing and same routine every day, your not getting anything out of it. Everything that you do in life effects someone or something around you and being able to understand the deeper thought of a situation is intelligence. Like you ms Bunje, something that seems so simple you take it apart and suddenly it becomes something more complicated and more meaningful. Everything that you say somehow fits into each other like everything in life is the same in some sort of way, it really is quite amazing. Being intelligent does not mean that you are good in every subject in school, or can understand everything that is thrown your way. Intelligence is being able to ask questions and thinking deeply and taking apart whatever it is and learning everything there is to know. this will only come with experience and letting your mind expand and think of things in a complete different way and getting everything you possibly can out of the life you live. People do throw this word around a lot and now that I think about it, they probably never thought of it this way either and don’t know the true meaning. Being intelligent is being able to take completely different objects or situations and being able to compare them and see that they have something the same about them. I believe that everything in life is somehow related to another and being able to explain and understand that is intelligence. Intelligence is knowing that failure is not a option and that even the worst situations help you to learn about yourself and make you a stronger person.
Out of many conversations I’ve ever previously had, I have noticed that intelligence is not the only word people enjoy throwing around but other words as well and they use it in vein or as if it has no value, which sucks because you either think they’re exaggerating on the subject or you’re just not getting enough out of what they are speaking of. I, being the girl who is most famous for verbal diarrhea, am a hypocrite in saying all of that but it’s okay because I’m slowly trying to watch what I say instead of just going dskfjdkghrktjyhdjhf hence, I’m probably not the most intelligible person around but at least I do have a definition to it. The core meaning of intelligence, regardless of whatever the dictionary has to say, should be general understanding of all concepts whether it’s street knowledge or book knowledge. It is having common sense as well as being able to handle pressure, and does not allow anyone’s words to hold one back and one frequently gives back wise responses. The one person that does stick out in my mind for the longest who I could define as a very intellectual person is Pamela Rosario. She is currently about to finish Egg Harbor Township High School, and is number one valedictorian of class 2009. Pamela and I grew up with each other from middle school and then on. We used to spend a lot of time together but I don’t really get to see her much anymore. Although, every time when I do, I noticed she has never had any real specific changes. Every time I chill with her, she’s just grown up being better and better of a person, showing that there are no limitations to perfection. Ever since the first day I met her, I’ve always noticed that she was always going over-board with her studies but it has all paid off in the long run. She is far from cocky and always makes everyone feel so comfortable by saying the ‘right things’ around them. She would never rub her smartness in anyone’s face. She has never lost her cool and I don’t know anyone who has hated on her. Pamela has been through more rough times than any other person that I know and deals with all her situations in a very calm demeanor, no regrets, and keeps growing from experiences she’s had. Her strong-will has made her the most respectful person I can think of and she doesn’t hold back what she wants to say. She is a girl with a huge heart and rarely ever gives into any type of pressure, it almost makes me envious of her. Generally speaking though, that is what I consider a very intellectual person.
People who do things that will reflect upon them in a positive way are intellegent. To me, it means doing the right thing, staying on point, and being respectful. Intellegence is either gained, or it rubs off on you from someone who has it. I would say that I dont know many intellegent people. This is because you must be more than smart, and more than slick. You have to be an upstanding person who hides nothings, but only reveals the best knowledge to people that they care for. They are people who have made mistakes and learned from them. Intellegent people are the ones that try to steer you in the right direction, and keep you out of trouble. They have wits and knowlage and help wa person through any situation with the most positive words to influence your reaction in the best way. These are the things that my sister has helped me with. She is very intellegent in my eyes. She was not only a straight A student, but she is loyal, honest, caring and she listens very well. Shes as good of a listener as she is at responding. She helps me through my thickest problems and shows me where I went wrong and what I need to do everytime I get stuck. I rely on people with intellegence because Im not very intellegent. i make decisions that wind up causing more trouble and I know I can steer clear of these situations. I appriciate having an intellegent sister because she helps me out of my ruts.
What is intelligence? Many think of it as brain power and nothing more, but the act of being truly intelligent concerns more than the upbringings of a text book. Being truly smart is to be diverse, to see the world around you in many different perspectives and analyze them accordingly. It is not simply the containing of information; it is the presentation of those gathered facts and the displaying of knowledge that makes a person seem truly intelligence. The topic is hard to explain because it is merely an opinion, but one thing can be made very clear. Just as beauty, intelligence is in the eye of the beholder.
An example, I believe the smartest person I have ever met is my Aunt Penny. My most reliable family member, viewing her picture on the wall brings me both pride and hope. However, she does not earn my respect because she is a resource of knowledge to utilize during finals in school. In fact, in terms of knowledge itself, I believe I may have the upper hand against her. However, it is her understanding and presentation that makes her seem so appealing to me. Her life is filled with many trials; two children [Both of which have dropped out of high school before even reaching the half way mark] plague her home and dry up resources. A rather lousy spouse only makes things that much more ridiculous. In this seemingly hopeless family, she is the lone pillar that keeps their home standing tall. Under all the pressures of her home, she continues to live her life to the fullest regardless of those trying to hold her back. She does not dawdle and as a result maintains her successful career.
She even has time to aid others with their own issue; Penny has never been one to resist helping another. There have been multiple issues I have addressed her opinion with and each time a new and clearer view is laid in my subconscious. It is this understanding, this knowledgeable and bold step into life that I label as intelligence. She may not be the “smartest”, but it terms of both balance and confidence; she is an asset to all who cross her path.
I share this tale smiling ear to ear, various thoughts of her aid returning as I post the conclusion. Intelligence is an approach to life, a knowledgeable approach that brings hope to the masses. True genius can be found in the simplest settings, but often times we dodge the idea and don’t bother to commend those who bear it. No theories need to be created, no rewards need to be presented, no ideas need to be commended; this is a type of intelligence, but it is not the only one. I believe the essence of the term can be summarized into simple words. The smartest people are the ones who can proceed through life with a sense of understanding and happine, even when constricted by the density of other human ignorance.
I believe that no single person is truly intellgent. It has to do with how we perceive and view other people that makes us think that they may be smarter than us. To be intelligent means to have the capacity to kind of multi-task in a way. You take in the surroundings,observe closely,ask questions,and research or look up the things that you are curious about. I also think that there are different kinds of intelligence, not just one. Someone could be smart in math but suck at interacting with people,another person could be common sense smart but finds it tough to answer hard questions, while another person could be smart in one area and lack common sense. If I had to give a solid definition of what the word "intelligent" means, I would say that it would be a person who has the ability to adapt the things learned and observed to everyday life. The smartest person I know would have to be Dr.Khan. Dr. Khan has been around few a lot of years,but that's not the reason why I picked him. Just sitting down and talking with him, you can instantly tell that he exudes intelligence. Dr. Khan is very humble and often has very good advice. The thing that I like the most about is that he uses wisdom with everything. If there is a choice to be made, he likes to think about all of the possible outcomes before making a decision. One time he told me about how his son had got into trouble. Now he could either not tell his wife, or to tell her. This was a hard decision for him to make since he promised his wife that he would tell her everything that went on with the kids. Dr. Khan never told me what he did, but I can kind of guess. Also, I forgot to say that he also uses his own personal experiences to help out others the best way he can. Dr.Khan is truly the smartest person I know.
Intelligence is word that could have many different meanings depending on how it is perceived. In my opinion, to be “intelligent” means to have a clear understanding of not only the facts and materials of text books but to have a understanding of the world around you. An intelligent person can solve a difficult English question but also be able to step out in the real world and be able to apply their knowledge to their daily life. What good is being smart or intelligent in this case, if you don’t have any common sense. Being book smart can only get a person so far because the rest of the world doesn’t revolve around knowing all the capitals of the states. Don’t get me wrong, I have a very high respect for those who are book smart and who have excellent grades but I think there is more to being intelligent. My cousin is the smartest person I’ve ever known. (I actually wrote my college essay about her but she wanted me to change her name because she was embarrassed). When I wrote about my cousin in my essay I used the word intelligent because I believe she holds that title. She was the first in my family to go off and graduate college and get a degree. She would help me with my homework when I was younger and she always had the right answers. But not only was she book smart she was “real life” smart. She knew how to apply her problem solving skills when one of us would argue with another. She used her intelligence and applied it to her everyday life and its challenges. She has great social skills and is just and over all great person. I recall a time when I was having difficultly making a decision about school. I don’t remember exactly what it was that was baffling me but I do remember thinking how my cousin was so intelligent. I was struggling between 2 decisions and I didn’t know which one to chose. My cousin, like always, was there to lend a helping hand. I remember her making me write down all the crazy thoughts that were going on In my head down on a piece of paper. She knew that the things I was writing down would have something to do with the decision I was trying to make. After I was done, she made me go back and read what I had written and see if it would help me arrive to an answer. When I read the paper I remember reading the same thing over and over again. I had only written about one of the 2 choices I had and low and behold my answer was made. Being intelligent is knowing that you are intelligent and using it to either help others or help yourself by using the knowledge you have to do great things.
I think the meaning of intelligence is to know a lot about certain things. Like someone may be intelligent when it comes to the stock market and know everything about it or someone may intelligent when it comes to fishing and know all the little things about it. Just because their intelligent doesn’t mean they know everything. People can be intelligent in certain subjects, just because you don’t know a lot about something doesn’t make you smart.
When first thinking about the smartest person I know the first thing that popped into my head was my next door neighbor who got a perfect score on his SATs. But then after really thinking about it and letting it marinate. I discovered my Dad is the smartest person I know. My dad is a very smart man and he is still always learning new stuff. My dad knows a lot about some weird stuff like birds. My dad is a bird geek, he knows all these different kinds of species and has all these different bird books he is always reading. My dad is also a book-smart person. Growing up he use to get good grades then went to great college after high school. After college he became an Air Traffic Controller which takes a very smart person to do. Beside from just knowing a lot about stuff my dad is also a very deep person. He is always stop what ever he’s doing and will tell you what life lesson is behind whatever you’re doing. For example the other night I was writing my personal essay about how I’m always positive and he was proof reading it. When he was about half way through he stopped and started telling me how your attitude on life effects you and the people around you and that everyday is a new day and no matter what you can still have a good attitude on life. This brought me into a long thought process about if my attitude on life was good or not. It’s a good thing that my dad gets deep like that sometimes because one it will make you a smarter person but most of all it will make you stop and really think about your life. My dad also sometimes out of no where comes up with a math equation, whether it has to do with gas mileage or just something random he just starts solving it. I think that being good at math makes him an intelligent person. Also when I have had any kind of homework from Social Psychology to Chemistry he knows all of it. When I come to school from a long weekend I sometimes forget how to do some math or chemistry stuff but not my dad he hasn’t step foot in a classroom in over 20 years and still knows a crap load of hard confusing stuff. I think that all of these things make my dad the smartest person I know, it’s not because of one little thing he knows a lot about, it’s a lot of subjects that he knows a lot about and that makes him the smartest person I know.
What does being intelligent mean? I guess some people could call it knowing an abundance amount of knowledge on one topic. There could be two different types of knowledge like factual knowledge and mental knowledge. It’s great if you know past events in history or how to solve that brain aching math problem. For some reason I think knowing how to handle life situations and having the knowledge of how to handle that problem in the right manner is real intelligence. The reason why I think factual knowledge is less important is because in life we are placed with decisions. If you can do all the work but can’t make the right choice to further your self to the next step it’s a waste. I guess you could say, “Well what if you only have common sense and you are as dumb as a nail?” Anyone can learn a fact its simple. Once you understand the concept of the problem, you know how it works and it’s done. With life there are so many more factors and it’s not written down in a text book to learn or how to solve. Smartest person I have ever known has to be my mother. She isn’t some crazy philosopher; she just has a good grip on the world. She can handle life problems with her family but also is smart enough to run her own business. She isn’t narrow minded to others thoughts and is still able to learn new ideas. It’s a good balance and makes me think she is one of the smartest people I know. “Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.” -Dr. Laurence Maybe there is times when there is no answer to a question. Like religion it’s a belief that people have and there is no right or wrong answer. Maybe there are questions or problems that just can’t be solved even with the abundance of knowledge you know or life experiences. What could be true intelligence is to know when there is no answer. There are so many incidents that are just unexplainable and people are just left questioning. In the end I guess true intelligence could be define by any person. Its to any ones interpretation of what they think true intelligence is.
Personally I believe the definition of in intelligence is the measure of a persons knowledge and thoughts. No one in the world is born intelligent over night. Intelligence is something that is learned and obtained as you go through life. You obtain intelligence through the decsions you make,the mistakes you make, what your elders have to say, what people talk about on the news, intelligence is always surrounding you but you never notice unless you dig deep enough.
Everyone one has their own special intelligence that has no restiction or limit on it unless you allow it to. I believe intelligence comes from being open minded and paying attention to your surroundings and the people that are in it.
The smartest person I have ever known, i must say, is my father. I look up to my father to give me answers to any questions I ahve, and he always does. He makes me look and see things and situations from other point of views besides my own, it's as if he broadens the horizon for me to explore others intelligence except my own.My father explains things to me in words or ideas I couldn't see on my own. He tells me about all kinds of lessons of life, what not to do that will bebefit me in the long run, or how to seemany things in another light.
Now people say intelligence is common sense but how so? You shared that common sense is something that is common to you but may be foreign to someone else. I was told that common sense is knowledge gained by you to make things easier for your self, words of my father. so when someone tells you that something is common sense it's as if they're telling you an easier way to do something, just not all the time in such a nice way. So isn't common sense an effect on your intelligence? If someone tell you something is common sense, in a way, they're sharing their ideas with you and furthering your knowledge and intelligence. Intelligence for me isn't how smart someone is whether at school or in life, but it's someones mind set and thoughts.
The word intelligence is just like love; hard to define yet thrown around as if there was no care in the world. There are many different ways to define intelligence, usually based by who a person see’s as being intelligence. I believe the people who are truly “intelligent” don’t acknowledge it and are not modest. My definition of intelligence is; to learn, apply, and live life based on those actions. Many people believe that a person who is “book smart” is intelligent, yes they are, but any person could put excessive effort into their studies and become book smart also. I believe it is “street smart” that is more important to everyday life. More than half of the material a person learns in school will not stick with them through their entire life. It is how a person applies what they have learned to help with future situations they encounter. To me, some of the most “joe shmoes” are the intelligent ones because they are not trying to be “the intelligent ones” My father, a joe shmoe of course, is the most intelligent person that I know. As a child he went to many schools, constantly meeting new people and experiencing different characteristics. Because of this, he has always been very good at starting conversations with people he has just met. My father is books smart also, which is where I like to think I got it from. He graduated from a community college, but never used his degree. Instead, he pursued his passion for painting. Pursuing something you love is way more important than taking a job related to a degree you have. My father has seen and experienced many things in his life. He was a hippie and went to as many concerts as possible, went on spontaneous road trips for weeks , moved to Florida on his own, experienced jail, and had a family. These experiences shaped him into who is he and he does not regret any moment of it. He has run into quite a few problems, but he learned for each and is able to help my brother and I with similar problems. His life may seem like every others and nothing special, but it is the certain qualities I see in him, which are hard to explain, that make him the most intelligent person I know. Explaining the qualities of an “intelligent person”, is just as hard as defining intelligence.
“Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.” -Bertolt Brecht
To me this quote by Bertolt Brecht defines intelligence, because I don't believe that intelligence simply means being book smart. Intelligence is knowing how to live, meaning, balancing your work, education, and various other activities.
I would have to say that the most intelligent person I know is my mom. I said that in class and i still stand by it. My mom is a math professor, that makes her smart, and everyday she comes home, and talks about her day, and i realize that wether she notices or not she learns new things. She is in a band, she balances her time well, between home, pratice and shows. And each time she comes home with a new story to tell she tells me about a mistake she made on stage and tells me about how the band quickly fixes it togeather.
I admire that she is intelligent, because it is something I long to be, even though I believe we all are to a certian extent, I think it is a truly special quality that only certian people fully "control".
Intelligence is determined by a group of multiple factors, with the result being a well-rounded individual. Different types of “smarts” range from common sense to every day logic to book smarts. For instance, a person should do well in school because that is where they will gain a basis of knowledge and information to further their horizons down the line in life. It also grants a person options for their future and interests. On the other hand, it is essential for people to learn about how to deal with various situations and issues they will face each day of their long lives. This is the only way they can communicate with others and deal with conflict resolution. They can typically move on without any conflict or at least cope, meaning they know what to do when the rough patches in life hit. “Common sense,” or simply logical reasoning, comes from these experiences with our friends, family, and world around us. Our environment and interactions with others influence the way we think and learn and, as a result, our intelligence. Being “people smart” can help somebody deal with large crowds or one-on-one if need be. This could lead to healthy relationships and sometimes a much healthier lifestyle. Even just the way somebody learns can be “intelligent” because that person understands and knows how to gain the information from all of the previously mentioned areas. All of these put together lead to a happy, healthy, intelligent person who lives his or her life problem-free and peacefully even during the hardest of times. There are many more branches, and these are only some of the possibilities. Throughout my life though, I have not yet met anybody that fits the definition of a perfectly intelligent individual. Such a person would have to be an absolute genius otherwise. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses involving these different levels of intelligences. Most people are only smart in given areas and never truly to attempt on improving their weaknesses, causing this thought of mine. Some are social butterflies who can talk to anybody and learn from communication. Some bookworms can sit in a library and learn about any given topic during the course of a day through constant research. Others can live in the worst of environments and still manage to come out on top. Only a select few, if any, actually possess all of these intelligences. Nobody is perfect, but people have room for improvement. Hopefully, I might be able to run into this person down to educate me in their ways and assist me in becoming like him or her. Until that day, my definition of intelligence will be measured by the diverse parts of their personality and brains.
Intelligence, in my opinion, is the understanding of the world around us; of how it works and of how its inhabitants function. It spans from knowing how to communicate with others in an efficient way to knowing how the tools of our world work.
Intelligence is referred to by some as being “book smart”. Intelligence isn’t having the mental capacity to memorize something, but to learn and comprehend what the books are trying to teach. Comprehension is a major part of intelligence.
“Common sense”, on the other hand, refers to the comprehension of the knowledge the people in your immediate environment should know. It is the knowledge to know how to react to certain variable as others around you would assume you to react. Some may say that it is common sense not to go into North Philadelphia, but if you aren’t from this area you wouldn’t know this. If someone from another country comes to the United States and reacts differently than we would assume, that doesn’t mean they lack common sense; It simply means that the have the sense that is common to there country.
Speech is also a great display of intelligence. When someone uses good vocabulary in the correct way or arranges words into something meaningful, they give off an intelligent vibe because it displays that they comprehend their language very well. If someone tries to use big vocabulary but uses it in the wrong context, it displays that they don’t have full comprehension of the language, giving off a less intelligent vibe to those who can recognize the misuse of the words.
Knowing how to do a math problem displays intelligence because it exhibits that one has a grasp on the concept being used. Knowing how an engine works shows intelligence as well. Trying to judge intelligence by test scores and homework doesn’t really make to much sense to me because these grades shows someone’s memorization skills and motivation more than their intelligence.
Having intellect is having the skills and the knowledge to function and excel in the world we live in; to know how to manipulate the world around us to our advantage and to know what causes certain phenomena to happen and what will result from these happenings.
To be intelligent means a lot to me. Usually the person is sarcastic, and even good looking. The person usually knows a lot of stuff, but doesnt have to work hard to understand something. It doesnt take much to make them happy, and they know how to handle people. Which is a hard task to follow, people are really hard to understand, and I believe once you master that you are truely intelligent. The smartest person i know is definately Tarah. I dont know what it is that makes her the smartest person i know but there are a few characteristics that make her seem that way. She got an amazing score on her SAT's first of all which she did not study for, or go to bed early the night before. And the SAT's are hard, i certainly am not good at taking them. She has the ability to remeber things the first time she hears them, and can retain imformation from a time where it seems almost possible to remember. She can also go into a test and get a spectacular grade on it without ever looking at a study guide. She can learn something the first time she sees it, especially vocab and math she is amazing at. You can call it a photographic memory I guess. She has all those traits that makes her intelligent to me, but she cant figure people out. She cant go up to a person and tell them what theyu will be doing when they get home, and pretty much no one can do that. If you can, than you really are inteligent. I'm impressed with her ability to retain imformation and i definately consider Tarah inteligent.
I think everybody definition of intelligence is different, but for me, it is a person capacity to think. It is a person ability to analyze a situation and make the right choice not only for themselves, but for others too.
If I had to choose the most "intelligent" person I know it would have to be my sister. She is a history teacher, so she has book smarts, but that is what makes her intelligent. She has the uncanning ability to make choices, that lead to the best outcome. She is maybe, the only person in the world that I can say that I trust blindly. When I come to her for advice, she always has an answer. Sometimes I do not agree with what she is saying, but I listen anyway because I know she is trying to help me. The best example of her intelligence happened this past summer. We were out fishing when our boat broke and we were floating out to sea. My mom was having a full blown panic attack, my dad was cursing at the engine, my brother was helping my mom, and even I was starting to get a little scared. My sister realized how are situation was deteriorating, so she immediately jumped into action. She flagged down another ship to calm my mom down, she called the coast guard to get a tow boat, and after a while she even fixed the engine. She analyzed the situation and took the best possible route to fix the problems, and in the process demonstrated her intelligence.
I would like to say that I am intelligent, but i do not think I am quite there. I think I am book smart, but I lack the ability to make tough decisions. Whenever I am put in a tough decision I always look to other people for help, like my sister.
Intellingence, is a word that is missunderstood. Some people dont understand that being intelligent not only comes from smart people who graduated from college, or someone that gets all A's and B's in high school, but it also come from the average person that lacks all the achievements I've mentioned previously. In my eyes, I can see someone that is homeless living on the streets, being one of the most intelligent people of the society. Obviously not because of the achievements they've accomplished, but because they are able to understand that there's a need for survival and they're able to come up with a plan to survive.
Thats all intelligence really is, its one self being able to understand that there's a problem that needs to be solved. If they're not able to solve that problem right away, they can come up with a plan to find the answer.
So I cant come up with a certain individual that's the smartest. Every one is intelligent in thier own way. We all come to a point when we have to make decisions and make a plan to find the answer if we dont already know. But I've read about someone that could be one of the smartest person. I dont actually know him, he's known as Pi. He was stuck in the middle of the ocean, on a small boat along with a tiger,hayena, zeebra and a chimpanzee. The average person would know what to do or how to do it to survive. Niether did Pi at first, but he had time to think about a plan that would help him survive. The thing about it, is that he's only about twelve.
So that shows that anyone could be capable of being intelligent, and he didnt even finish elementry school. He didnt have to be a college graduate to understand thae expectations to survive.
Intelligence -,as defined by Iris, is attaining knowledge, and using it to its fullest capability, and not only doing what you know but taking what you know and being able to manipulate something you know and fitting it with something unrelated. There are not to many people who can do that. There are many smart people in this world , but being smart does not necessarily make you intelligent. Also there are many people who have great sense at things but it does not necessarily make them intelligent either. To be intelligent you have to have a happy medium of the two a little bit of knowledge and good sense makes a great recipe for an “intelligent cookie”. My Father is the smartest, most intelligent person I know . His name is Jaime Benitez ,he is an old fashion Puerto Rican , who did not go to college. That’s why I admire him his stories are so compelling, and his wisdom is so profound. He is so intelligent because he grew up dirt poor , he always tells me bout how he only had one pair of everything. For that reason he learned young that he had to save up for a rainy day , he had the mentality of a broke man then and still to this day. He took his childhood and formed a life around it. In Being poor he learned he had to work for what he needed because no one would hand it to him. That poor boy , then became a poor soldier, who then became a Sergeant Major in the Vietnam war. He took from that 23 years of knowledge which has helped get him to his 71 year of life. If there’s one thing I get from him it’s the peculiar way of thinking. To Him speaking correctly is like having one pair of shoes , saying something the wrong way was like rubbing your shoe on the cement , you would regret it later, when you needed the shoe the most. His favorite line is
“failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” There are many more I could think of but there too many to write and a whole lot of them are confusing if you don’t think long and hard about it. Jaime is not just intelligent because he is my dad or because he taught himself two languages and became trilingual he is not intelligent because he worked and saved money. He is intelligent more so than any one I’ve met thus far because he realized that the line between scenario and situation is thin and he realized that if conflict arises the key was not to worry about what you don’t have or should have cause that’s not what will save you , but to make the best of what you do Have at your dispense, because if push comes to shove you can always bend what you know into what you need.
i deleted my first comment it sucked and i didn't want you to be mad! :~}
I think there are many meanings of the word “intelligence.” Someone might think their intelligent because they are wizards in math and know how to beat someone in chess. But are they really intelligent. Do you think they just because they know how to beat you in chess they are intelligent? Or you might think that they know way more than you and there is no way you can be smarter than them. But are they really smarter than you? The answer is no. There might be certain amount of things that you know better than a genius. Just because he looks smart, gets good grades in school, or gets a perfect score on the SAT doesn’t necessarily mean that they are smarter than you. Others say that to be “book smart” is to be intelligent, they might be smart but that’s just because they put a lot of time and effort to become that smart. Or some parents might even make them study until their brains blow up. Others think that just because your “street smart” you don’t know anything or care about school. But I personally think that being “street smart” will help you out more in life. For example you might be this genius who goes to Harvard and you are walking to the corner store and all of a sudden these people come after you and are asking you to give them all your personal belongings. What is this person going to do? Do you think that they’ll know what to do? I personally think that they won’t. They might run off thinking that it’s the best things to do, but I think it just makes it worse.
I think that intelligence comes within you. You have to apply yourself and learn from all the mistakes that you have made. Don’t ever regret any mistake that you have done because that shows you that whatever situation you are in you will learn and become a better person from it. You have to believe in yourself to get through life. If you don’t think your smart, how do you think your going to move on to bigger and better things? Everyone in this world in intelligent, they just have to know when and how to use it in everyday life.
The smartest person that I know is my father. He is always giving me lectures about everyday situations and he tells me them so that when I go into the real world I would have some kind of knowledge about what to do in various situations. My father has been through a lot since he was a little boy. He never had his mom or dad by his side to help guide him because they lived in New York and he lived with his grandmother. He told me that he made a lot of mistakes when he was young and said that if he had his parents by his side he probably wouldn’t have made half of them. I know that whenever I’m stuck on something, he will always be there to help me out. No matter what the circumstances are.
Intelligence, something more valuable than the most things in life. Intelligence to me is very important. Intelligence is knowledge and knowledge is power. In my opinion Being intelligent or having intelligence means that you know a little about everything and you use it to better yourself or to help or better others. And that does not necessarily mean only being book smart, but also knowing a little about everything like I said above. I think I have met only a few intelligent people, if I go by my definition. I say this because as days go on, people do not use their intelligence to prosper usually its about money or some other thing. Back then people used to use their intelligence to invent things to help people get better or to help them prosper but now, people are only inventing things to make people more lazy or invent things only for themselves. But one person I see as very intelligent would have to be my father. My father could have a conversation about anything with you. Every thing he does is to help someone out even if its inventing a way to get up the stairs easily or giving out advice about life. And he is always trying to find new ways of bettering his self and the people he is surrounded with. And I think now a days most people do not realize what exactly it is to be intelligent. Because in my world you could be the most smartest kid in the class and have the best SAT scores but it doesn’t mean anything if you do not know how to put it use. And the kid sitting all the way in the back receiving the worst grades ever, Is probably actually the one with more intelligent than the other kid just because he realizes how to use his intelligence. A quote that sums up everything I think intelligence is would have to be a quote by Rene Descartes. “ It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” That is exactly what I believe it means to be intelligent. You could have the best mind working but it does not mean a thing if you do not know how to put it to good use.
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