3 ms·

> When I think of smart people—like really smart people, not just the smartest guy on the bus, but theoretical-physicist-smart—I can only conclude I’m a damn id

> When I think of smart people—like really smart people, not just the smartest guy on the bus, but theoretical-physicist-smart—I can only conclude I’m a damn idiot What if you have the upper hand and are emotionally intelligent, while lacking academically or in other areas? There's different types of intelligence, like for example being smart about your own body, or being both mentally and physically fit, ready to take on whatever life throws at you. Maybe some smart physicists are secretly depressed? Maybe they're a bit eccentric and not good in social situations where they're afraid to be their unstable selves. It's all about context and perspective.

iamstupidsimple 5y ago
Physics isn't some black magic art. Yes it takes time and understanding that I will personally never have, but it's not the unobtanium people think that it is. Most of the reason people leave theoretical physics is lack of jobs and resources at the lower rungs. You can be "theoretical physicist smart" without being a theoretical physicist.
pc86 5y ago
How is "being both mentally and physically fit" a form of intelligence? Not to say it's not important, or something to work toward, but let's not turn this into some weird participation trophy "everybody is smart in their own way" nonsense. Having clinical depression doesn't make you more or less intelligent. Being socially awkward doesn't change your intelligence. Conflating EQ as a different "kind" of intelligence is silly.
- tene 5y ago
  Regarding "being both mentally and physically fit", while I agree that it's not intelligence on its own, I think this is a good description of the biggest source of variance in the intelligence I can apply to a task at any given time. I'm way smarter when I'm well-rested, well-fed, being active, etc.
- dahart 5y ago
  You’re diving head-first into the philosophical question of what “intelligence” means, but arguing without defining it yourself. You could offer your definition if you want. You could also allow for and acknowledge that there are people who define the word differently than you, right? Since your comment is hinting at this underlying implication, one question to answer up front is why you want to rule out factors that will improve your odds of a better outcome. Why are you resisting wisdom and emotional ability as a factor of intelligence? If people can accurately pattern match their historical lessons and/or emotions and apply it effectively to situations, that is a form of intelligence, no? > How is “being both mentally and physically fit” a form of intelligence? Despite people’s attempts to measure pure smartness potential, learning and education increases intelligence on every metric we have today. Studies have also shown that exercise has a meaningful impact on intelligence, and that it can be used to treat depression. I’d agree that being socially awkward doesn’t change your intelligence, but it can affect people’s perception of your intelligence and feed back into your motivations and actions in a negative way. Anyway, social awkwardness is something one can fix with learning and practice. > Conflating EQ as a different “kind” of intelligence is silly. You are referring to Emotional Intelligence? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence
SyzygistSix 5y ago
I wish I remembered the name of the astrophysicist in the early 20th century who made a correct conclusion but who was ignored because they were so generally disagreeable. It wasn't until at least a decade later that others reached the right conclusion.
michaelrpeskin 5y ago
Ha! IAATP (I am a theoretical physicist). We're nothing special. Your comment is spot on. I'm not that smart, I just think of the world in a different way. No matter what I'm looking at, I view the world as a set of coupled differential equations. That's great for understanding how a pandemic works, but not so good at connecting with your neighbor over a beer. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and you should never think of yourself as less-than because someone else is better than you at something. You know what I can't do? Pass a FAANG interview. I've tried! 3 times! I write novel algorithms to handle complex data and do numerically accurate high-level math. Yes, I can even balance a binary tree (I had to do that to manage a list of basis functions), but I think about computing in a way that makes the people think I'm an idiot when I'm standing at a whiteboard. So I could say that all of those FAANG folks are smarter than me, but they're not. They just have different skills than me. The only person to compare yourself to is you from yesterday. And as long as you're making progress (on even just one dimension), consider it a success. There is so much more than "being smart"

iamstupidsimple 5y ago

Physics isn't some black magic art. Yes it takes time and understanding that I will personally never have, but it's not the unobtanium people think that it is. Most of the reason people leave theoretical physics is lack of jobs and resources at the lower rungs. You can be "theoretical physicist smart" without being a theoretical physicist.

pc86 5y ago

How is "being both mentally and physically fit" a form of intelligence? Not to say it's not important, or something to work toward, but let's not turn this into some weird participation trophy "everybody is smart in their own way" nonsense. Having clinical depression doesn't make you more or less intelligent. Being socially awkward doesn't change your intelligence. Conflating EQ as a different "kind" of intelligence is silly.

tene 5y ago
Regarding "being both mentally and physically fit", while I agree that it's not intelligence on its own, I think this is a good description of the biggest source of variance in the intelligence I can apply to a task at any given time. I'm way smarter when I'm well-rested, well-fed, being active, etc.
dahart 5y ago
You’re diving head-first into the philosophical question of what “intelligence” means, but arguing without defining it yourself. You could offer your definition if you want. You could also allow for and acknowledge that there are people who define the word differently than you, right? Since your comment is hinting at this underlying implication, one question to answer up front is why you want to rule out factors that will improve your odds of a better outcome. Why are you resisting wisdom and emotional ability as a factor of intelligence? If people can accurately pattern match their historical lessons and/or emotions and apply it effectively to situations, that is a form of intelligence, no? > How is “being both mentally and physically fit” a form of intelligence? Despite people’s attempts to measure pure smartness potential, learning and education increases intelligence on every metric we have today. Studies have also shown that exercise has a meaningful impact on intelligence, and that it can be used to treat depression. I’d agree that being socially awkward doesn’t change your intelligence, but it can affect people’s perception of your intelligence and feed back into your motivations and actions in a negative way. Anyway, social awkwardness is something one can fix with learning and practice. > Conflating EQ as a different “kind” of intelligence is silly. You are referring to Emotional Intelligence? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence

SyzygistSix 5y ago

I wish I remembered the name of the astrophysicist in the early 20th century who made a correct conclusion but who was ignored because they were so generally disagreeable. It wasn't until at least a decade later that others reached the right conclusion.

michaelrpeskin 5y ago

Ha! IAATP (I am a theoretical physicist). We're nothing special. Your comment is spot on. I'm not that smart, I just think of the world in a different way. No matter what I'm looking at, I view the world as a set of coupled differential equations. That's great for understanding how a pandemic works, but not so good at connecting with your neighbor over a beer. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and you should never think of yourself as less-than because someone else is better than you at something. You know what I can't do? Pass a FAANG interview. I've tried! 3 times! I write novel algorithms to handle complex data and do numerically accurate high-level math. Yes, I can even balance a binary tree (I had to do that to manage a list of basis functions), but I think about computing in a way that makes the people think I'm an idiot when I'm standing at a whiteboard. So I could say that all of those FAANG folks are smarter than me, but they're not. They just have different skills than me. The only person to compare yourself to is you from yesterday. And as long as you're making progress (on even just one dimension), consider it a success. There is so much more than "being smart"