4 ms·

Rebelliousness, while may be a valuable skill, is different from intelligence.

• danharaj 10y ago
  Unorthodox thinking is a cognitive ability. what kind is it if not intelligence?
  • ekm2 10y ago
    Creativity.
• kristopolous 10y ago
  Presume there's a multiple choice with two decent answers. A "rebellious" person would see the merit in both and essentially coin toss. A conformist would mimic what the professor sees and pick his right one. The rebellious person did a deeper, objective, thoughtful analysis but did worse than the obedient mimic. Often it's a D student who knows the material the best, has the most passion for the subject, is the smartest in the class, and puts the most work in. I saw it all the time while I was TAing.
  • internaut 10y ago
    > A "rebellious" person would see the merit in both and essentially coin toss. Perhaps a smart person is a rebel roleplaying as a conformist. In a game theoretic sense you get the most advantage without the penalty. It is one explanation I suspected but haven't seen for why contradictory traits might be expressed by somebody in or close to power. > A conformist would mimic what the professor sees and pick his right one. Less Wrong calls this 'Guessing the teacher's password'. It's the art of mimicry. That there is no penalty for this in the education system is an indictment. > Often it's a D student who knows the material the best Even most A students will agree with you. There is an argument made by Alfie Kohn that grades should be abolished. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfRALeA3mdU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfRALeA3mdU
    • 234dd57d2c8db 10y ago
      Sorry but I completely disagree. The D students I knew were dumb as rocks. I got As through my engineering degree with a few Bs in a few of the classes I was less interested in and I have to say, it's completely ridiculous to suggest the D students knew more than I did. You could either solve the problems using techniques taught or you couldn't. Grades were a direct measurement of this ability. Maybe grades don't matter in Psychology or Sociology class, but I don't want to rely on an electrical system designed by the D students in my classes. It would probably kill me.
      • kristopolous 10y ago
        The claim wasn't about all D students or that there was an inverse correlation. There's certainly slackers with Ds...