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Are they really that intelligent if they truly believe that their expertise can be applied to any field? Imo, understanding your own limitations is a form of in

Are they really that intelligent if they truly believe that their expertise can be applied to any field? Imo, understanding your own limitations is a form of intelligence that is very important.

maleldil 3y ago
You could have specialised intelligence and be clueless about everything else, including evaluating your ability. Intelligence doesn't beget humility. Nobel disease is a thing[0]; Linus Pauling is possibly the most famous example and the cause of people taking too much vitamin C until this day. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease
- dumpsterdiver 3y ago
  > Intelligence doesn't beget humility. I completely disagree. Imo, a truly intelligent person understands well that they cannot carry the world upon their shoulders, and from that realization they are humbled.
  - simiones 3y ago
    By that criterion though, people like Edsger Dijkstra or Stephen Hawking would not be considered truly intelligent people. I think many would consider such a definition bizarre.
    - dumpsterdiver 3y ago
      Why would the people you mentioned be considered unintelligent by that criteria? Are you suggesting that they are not humbled when faced with the fact that the world will continue rotating without them?
    - freedomben 3y ago
      Citation may be needed for both of our statements, because my recollection from reading Hawking's book and other things is that he had a sense of humility about things he didn't understand, just like any good scientist must lest they lead to incorrect conclusions.
- candiodari 3y ago
  This is in contrast to research on the subject. Intelligence is one of the very few psychological properties that's universal. A smart person is smart. Doesn't matter the subject. Of course that doesn't mean they know everything. It means that either they are smart and know a lot about a field OR can become knowledgeable a lot about a field in relatively little time. This does also mean the reverse: expertise in a field does not actually require intelligence. It just works a lot faster if you have it. But being "dumb" does not place an upper limit on how capable you can be in a field, you'll just have to work longer to get there.
throwanem 3y ago
I often find it less useful to think in terms of intelligence than of cleverness and wisdom, which seem not just distinct but orthogonal. Cleverness is required to be a capable programmer. Wisdom manifestly is not.
- dumpsterdiver 3y ago
  I want to argue with your wise words, but I'm not finding any ground. It just upsets me that people can't manage to temper their cleverness with wisdom. I guess that's what I consider "intelligence". Cleverness tempered by wisdom. Thank you for your comment, it helped me sort out my own thoughts.
DrThunder 3y ago
Humans aren't ants. They can in fact apply their intelligence to alternative "fields". This idea that you can only use your knowledge in one specialized are is idiotic. I would say your intelligence is incredibly low if you think this. If we were unable to do this as a species we would have been wiped out long ago. Specialization is a modern mindset.
- dumpsterdiver 3y ago
  I said "apply their expertise" to other fields, not "apply their intelligence". There's a big difference between incorrectly attempting to apply specific knowledge of one domain to another, and using your general intelligence to become proficient in a field. > I would say your intelligence is incredibly low if you think this. This coming from the person who resorts to belittling comments in an otherwise very mild conversation. Got it.
  - DrThunder 3y ago
    Ah ok, it's fine for you to call everyone too stupid to understand anything outside of their field. However, when I challenge this idiocy, I'm the one belittling people. Interesting take. Your mindset is how we ended up with the lie that COVID came from bats and ended up vaccinating children with a dangerous untested vaccine. Never question thou holiest of holy "experts".

Are they really that intelligent if they truly believe that their expertise can be applied to any field? Imo, understanding your own limitations is a form of intelligence that is very important.

maleldil 3y ago

You could have specialised intelligence and be clueless about everything else, including evaluating your ability. Intelligence doesn't beget humility. Nobel disease is a thing[0]; Linus Pauling is possibly the most famous example and the cause of people taking too much vitamin C until this day. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_disease

dumpsterdiver 3y ago
> Intelligence doesn't beget humility. I completely disagree. Imo, a truly intelligent person understands well that they cannot carry the world upon their shoulders, and from that realization they are humbled.
- simiones 3y ago
  By that criterion though, people like Edsger Dijkstra or Stephen Hawking would not be considered truly intelligent people. I think many would consider such a definition bizarre.
  - dumpsterdiver 3y ago
    Why would the people you mentioned be considered unintelligent by that criteria? Are you suggesting that they are not humbled when faced with the fact that the world will continue rotating without them?
  - freedomben 3y ago
    Citation may be needed for both of our statements, because my recollection from reading Hawking's book and other things is that he had a sense of humility about things he didn't understand, just like any good scientist must lest they lead to incorrect conclusions.
candiodari 3y ago
This is in contrast to research on the subject. Intelligence is one of the very few psychological properties that's universal. A smart person is smart. Doesn't matter the subject. Of course that doesn't mean they know everything. It means that either they are smart and know a lot about a field OR can become knowledgeable a lot about a field in relatively little time. This does also mean the reverse: expertise in a field does not actually require intelligence. It just works a lot faster if you have it. But being "dumb" does not place an upper limit on how capable you can be in a field, you'll just have to work longer to get there.

throwanem 3y ago

I often find it less useful to think in terms of intelligence than of cleverness and wisdom, which seem not just distinct but orthogonal. Cleverness is required to be a capable programmer. Wisdom manifestly is not.

dumpsterdiver 3y ago
I want to argue with your wise words, but I'm not finding any ground. It just upsets me that people can't manage to temper their cleverness with wisdom. I guess that's what I consider "intelligence". Cleverness tempered by wisdom. Thank you for your comment, it helped me sort out my own thoughts.

DrThunder 3y ago

Humans aren't ants. They can in fact apply their intelligence to alternative "fields". This idea that you can only use your knowledge in one specialized are is idiotic. I would say your intelligence is incredibly low if you think this. If we were unable to do this as a species we would have been wiped out long ago. Specialization is a modern mindset.

dumpsterdiver 3y ago
I said "apply their expertise" to other fields, not "apply their intelligence". There's a big difference between incorrectly attempting to apply specific knowledge of one domain to another, and using your general intelligence to become proficient in a field. > I would say your intelligence is incredibly low if you think this. This coming from the person who resorts to belittling comments in an otherwise very mild conversation. Got it.
- DrThunder 3y ago
  Ah ok, it's fine for you to call everyone too stupid to understand anything outside of their field. However, when I challenge this idiocy, I'm the one belittling people. Interesting take. Your mindset is how we ended up with the lie that COVID came from bats and ended up vaccinating children with a dangerous untested vaccine. Never question thou holiest of holy "experts".