Sunday, August 30, 2009
What Is Intelligence, Anyway?
By Isaac Asimov
What is intelligence, anyway?
When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me.
(It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too.
(It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too.
Actually, though, don't such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was.
Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test.
Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too.
Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test.
Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too.
In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly.
My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.Consider my auto-repair man, again.
He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me.
One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand.
"The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers.
One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand.
"The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers.
Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them."
Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you."
"Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
~ ~ ~
Autobiography by Dr. Isaac Asimov (1920–1992):
Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you."
"Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
~ ~ ~
Autobiography by Dr. Isaac Asimov (1920–1992):
smse89 posted at
12:35 PM
Saturday, August 22, 2009
and here i amalone
standing by the window
wacthing the glittering stars of the night
without you by my side
Only God knows
how much i long for you
but the situation
doesnt seem to permit me to confess my feelings to you
its not that you would care either
who am i for u to be concern about
you just dont deserve me
sometimes
deep in my heart
i just wish
that im someone different from what i have been
ive always been thinking about this: "what if ive been more cheerful and interesting"
things would be very different
i would lead a less depressing life
i would have more friends
and i would express my feelings and desires more freely
i would become a talented person
not a shy and helpless one
sometimes u would be seen in my dreams
smiling at me
and look at me with those caring eyes
but i realise that those are actually..only dreams
that appears in my lonely nights
now that the time has passed
im left with nothing but fragments of memories of u
hope that those fragments
wouldnt dissolve in the pool of tears
so here i am
watching you from afar
sending you off
with tears in my eyes
S000eN uoopll alwaoooys boooe thooe speooociaoool oooneooo i000ne moooy heart0000
Labels: but hey its my blog ok???, i know these sounds soo cheesy
smse89 posted at
10:29 PM
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Live on. Live on forever,will you?
smse89 posted at
8:21 AM
Monday, August 17, 2009
lectures yg lambat habis...notes yg bahasa ala-shakespeare, punyalah susah nak difahami
perkara2 sebegini membuat saya stress..stress sgt
memang benar kata org
hidup ini penuh dengan ujian
Labels: missing you..again
smse89 posted at
11:54 PM
Saturday, August 15, 2009
somehow or other, people loves imitating other people. we humans have the natural inborn desire to feel accepted and loved. Thats why we intend to follow whats common, but just as what abang has said..people tend to follow whats POPULAR not whats RIGHT. Similarly people tend to imitate other peoples personalities and behabiors wihout knowing whether thos personalities suits them.
sometiems people just deny their own uniqueness and continue to pursue other peoples uniqueness that are unfortunately not fated to be theirs :) so heres the golden rule my friend...
be yourself
never try to be like others
cos there are other beautiful aspects of yourself ythat you are yet to discover :)
Labels: missing the old you
smse89 posted at
11:44 PM
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
a new worlda world that seems so alien to me
ive never thot that it would be this 'flexible' and 'independent'
i should have realised it earlier
now all i can do is have my prayer answered
ps: all i want to do is to follow you in death :) even though you dun like me
Labels: im cruel haha, yes
smse89 posted at
12:50 AM
Sunday, August 9, 2009
how ironic...people will be very happy when they get 20.... interesting events and happenings await them. But for me...ive become vene more lonelier...and sad. Maybe, ive been longing for this very special person to come to me, look at me tenderly and spend the tim ewith me for the rest of our lives. However as the flower will not bloom in summer so is my life. I must resort to fate that we wont be together....that persone never feels the same way as i do. I must accept it...even though its difficult. But one thing for sure...this very special person will stay in my heart forever, reghardless whether he/she consented to that or not. im very adamant on this.
smse89 posted at
8:11 PM
Monday, August 3, 2009
remember this:"meetings and separations are part of mankind"
this was part of the dialogue was conveyed in the drama" Hwang Jin Yi", where a minister meets his aristocrat friend and tells him the truth abt life. Even though the dialogues its quite diffrent from what i've typed above :) hehe...(and sounded nicer hehe) it nevertheless shows how these things are accepted by all mankind. Seprations and meetings, they are part of human life. Nothing to be too sad and regretful about it. But yeah, our emotions alwways overcome us such that we couldnt bear those kinds of things. We couldnt help buut be very happy hwhen we meet a fiend..and we couldnt help but feel very sad and depressed wehn they leave . Bt thats what life is about, people come and go . they wont stay in ourlives forever. But its ok, its ok to cry..a humble erson will cry, but dunt cry too much...cos it'll damage your life.
remember that .
smse89 posted at
12:11 AM