Originally Posted by: Dr_simon

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanAchieving PHDs, etc. takes time, money, effort and ambition, but not necessarily intelligence (no offence, Doc Simon!).[/quote]

What a bloody stupid comment, do you know what a PhD is ?

Yeah, I guess you could expect a "bloody stupid comment" from non-intelligent folk such as myself... (totally just kidding there!)

I didn't say that doctors were all stupid, nor did I say that they were all rich, top-hat-wearing cigar smokers. First of all, I said "PhD, etc.", meaning all the degrees that finger_cruncher listed off.

What I meant was that just because one person has a PhD (or whatever) and another doesn't, there is still no basis for declaring one of them more intelligent than the other. To me, intelligence means the capacity to process information and to use it, among other things. To me, an intelligent person is not someone who can memorize a million facts, calculate pi to the 535321563th degree, etc., but, rather, is someone that you can teach something and they take it to a place you never imagined of. For example, Mozart taking music places no one of his time ever though possible with the set of tools at his disposal. BTW, using my own definitions here, I don't qualify as being someone of above-average intelligence, even though ego-boosting internet IQ tests disagree (as if anyone of a sane mind truly believes that because www.imnotsellinganything.noreally.com tells them that they have an IQ of 197 and would they like to buy even more personality tests and let their friends know that they are all consorting with a veritable genius for only 5 easy payments of $19.95 USD that they're actually wildly above average in the intelligence dept. holy run-on sentence, Batman!)


[quote=Dr_simon]As for intelegance, well..... yes it does, you may split hares about the degree of intelligence however I have not met too many rocks or vegetables with PhDs, or even BSs for that. Did you know that the national drop out rate for doctoral degrees in the US is 50% ? Do you think this outrageously high dropout rate is because people are too lazy ? It is not !

Oh yes and for the record, having money is not a prerequisite for entering into a PhD. I went through the system with out a bean to my name. I do not come from a family of doctors or even a wealthy family.

I am of the opinion that any person of average intelligence and above-average work ethic, self-discipline, motivation, etc. can achieve great things in the Western educational system. Sure, maybe you haven't met too many dolts with PhDs, but I wonder how many geniuses simply blunder their way through a doctorate without doing their homework every night.

Basically, though, the only point I was trying to make was that just because you don't have any letters after your name, doesn't mean that you are not intelligent. Also, I know many geniuses (really) who have no education beyond secondary school (if that), and I know many idiots (really) who have alphabet soup at the end of their names. When I was younger, degrees used to impress me, but after meeting so many degreed people who lack functional minds, I had to adjust my viewpoint.