Intelligent ability is not the same as logical abstract reasoning in behavior. I think we agree on that. But intelligence is a prerequisite for it. > They are

Intelligent ability is not the same as logical abstract reasoning in behavior. I think we agree on that. But intelligence is a prerequisite for it. > They are the most likely to believe in absurd nonsense. I disagree. Intelligent people who believe in absurd nonsense are better at rationalizing that nonsense and at making it convincing. Some people write very lengthy books arguing for a clearly flawed premise precisely to distract from the fact that the premise is flawed. But overall intelligent people are less likely to believe in nonsense in the first place and more likely to critically and, importantly, logical soundly examine a thesis that is presented as given. > Intelligent people convinced themselves, day one at school, there is a better way described on the books. They got really good when they understood this. They got pretty rewards. What I think you are describing is academic (and professional, maybe somewhat social) performance and conformity, not intelligence. Your answer reads increasingly convoluted to me towards the end. But I will try to interpret a sentiment from it. People who do not arrive at the same conclusions as you do not necessarily do so for a lack of reasoning. Two equally intelligent individuals when presented with the same messy, incomplete fragments of reality can through reasoning arrive at widly different conclusions. And in reality we are never even presented with the same fragments of reality in the first place. Man, if you think you have figured it all out, you really haven't. Regardless of what it is that you believe. There really is nothing more foolish or more NPC like than to think you've understood it all.