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Intelligence exists without language, language is only a way to describe the world around us and transfer information. We personally can't experience intelligen

Intelligence exists without language, language is only a way to describe the world around us and transfer information. We personally can't experience intelligence without language because you know language all your life and can't remember a moment in which you didn't. But there were humans in history that didn't knew any language and they were intelligent, there are animals that do not know any language and are intelligent. There were people in recent history raised in jungle by animals that didn't know language and were intelligent. They have different internal models that describe reality.

bilsbie 4y ago
I’m actually not sure about this.
mastercheif 4y ago
In college I tried a medication called Topamax (Topiramate) for migraine prevention. Topamax has a low-occurrence side effect of “language impairment”. After 10 days or so it became clear that I was particularly susceptible to this phenomenon. It was a terrifying experience, but it was also a valuable one as it changed the way I view intelligence. When I was in the thick of it, my writing and speech skills had devolved to that of a primary school aged child. I’ll never forget trying to type a text message and struggling to come up with simple words like “and”. My speech slowed down considerably and I was having trouble with verbal dictation. The terrifying thing was that my internal world was still as complex and meaningful as it was before. All of the emotions I felt were real and legitimate. My cognition outside of communication was intact, I could do math just fine and conceptualize and abstract problems. In spite of this, I was unable to convey what I was feeling and thinking to the outside world. It felt like I was trapped inside my own body. I thankfully made a full recovery. However, my intuitive understanding of the link between language and intelligence was completely severed. While I believe there’s likely a high degree of correlation between the two in populations, on an individual level one’s language skills mostly represent one’s ability to communicate with the outside world, not their ability to understand complex information or process it. See the following for more info on Topamax/Topiramate language impairment: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-008-0906-5 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-008-0906-5
- dunefox 4y ago
  i read Meditation instead of medication and was ready to try it immediately.
biql 4y ago
The remarkable thing is that language can combine intelligence of multiple beings and at some point that collective intelligence becomes a thing of it own, it can capture minds, spread and grow. Now we have all of our collective intelligence encoded in the form of billions of web pages and it seems that the language itself can direct its thinking, at least judging by the ChatGPT outputs (although, doesn't initiate it — it needs some external input, something to respond to, just like humans need respond to what happens in the environment).
- visarga 4y ago
  > can combine intelligence of multiple beings and at some point that collective intelligence becomes a thing of it own Yes, that's what I meant. It is an evolutionary process with mutation and selection just like biology. We are just temporary hosts for these ideas that travel from person to person.

bilsbie 4y ago

I’m actually not sure about this.

mastercheif 4y ago

In college I tried a medication called Topamax (Topiramate) for migraine prevention. Topamax has a low-occurrence side effect of “language impairment”. After 10 days or so it became clear that I was particularly susceptible to this phenomenon. It was a terrifying experience, but it was also a valuable one as it changed the way I view intelligence. When I was in the thick of it, my writing and speech skills had devolved to that of a primary school aged child. I’ll never forget trying to type a text message and struggling to come up with simple words like “and”. My speech slowed down considerably and I was having trouble with verbal dictation. The terrifying thing was that my internal world was still as complex and meaningful as it was before. All of the emotions I felt were real and legitimate. My cognition outside of communication was intact, I could do math just fine and conceptualize and abstract problems. In spite of this, I was unable to convey what I was feeling and thinking to the outside world. It felt like I was trapped inside my own body. I thankfully made a full recovery. However, my intuitive understanding of the link between language and intelligence was completely severed. While I believe there’s likely a high degree of correlation between the two in populations, on an individual level one’s language skills mostly represent one’s ability to communicate with the outside world, not their ability to understand complex information or process it. See the following for more info on Topamax/Topiramate language impairment: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-008-0906-5 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-008-0906-5

dunefox 4y ago
i read Meditation instead of medication and was ready to try it immediately.

biql 4y ago

The remarkable thing is that language can combine intelligence of multiple beings and at some point that collective intelligence becomes a thing of it own, it can capture minds, spread and grow. Now we have all of our collective intelligence encoded in the form of billions of web pages and it seems that the language itself can direct its thinking, at least judging by the ChatGPT outputs (although, doesn't initiate it — it needs some external input, something to respond to, just like humans need respond to what happens in the environment).

visarga 4y ago
> can combine intelligence of multiple beings and at some point that collective intelligence becomes a thing of it own Yes, that's what I meant. It is an evolutionary process with mutation and selection just like biology. We are just temporary hosts for these ideas that travel from person to person.