>

i’m a really quick learner but don’t really do anything with it lol
This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.
Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"
(For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
Rule-breaking posts may result in bans. >

Psychology says there’s two types of intelligence: (1) crystallised - our knowledge we have gained, and (2) fluid - our ability to learn and understand new and various information >

It’s so funny to me when peoples shower thoughts are just known scientific theories >

Which highlights the importance of sharing knowledge. It's one of the things that separates (most of) us from apes. They don't understand another ape can know something they don't. 
I'm not smart, it's just my crystalized knowledge leaking. >

Its hard to say, but probably not the case with apes
They teach their young things all the time, and new behaviors are recorded to be taught when exposed to a group (liking washing fruits etc) 
The leap to suggesting they may know that other apes know things they don't isn't too far 
I think the issue is moreso their inability to abstractly communicate through language 
The amount of info you can pass on is severely limited if you can't talk >

Ape see ape do 🗿🦍🗿 >

Ape pee all over you >

I have been absolutely appalled as an adult by the number of times my peers have told me that they're afraid to ask questions because they don't want to look dumb.   
How is anyone supposed to not look dumb if they never ask any questions?  There's an infinite amount of knowledge in the world, so everyone is infinitely far from understanding everything.   Ask questions, seek perspectives, postulate answers with those around you when no hard answers can be found.   Thinking is fun, and as a social species we're supposed to do it together.  Never be embarrassed for having curiosity that exceeds your knowledge.  It just means the world still fascinates you. >

There’s questions and then there’s dumb questions.
Trust me, there is a difference. In school I had a somewhat hard time paying attention, so I often would ask the teacher to further explain a subject so I could (in my words) understand it properly. Which is great, had it not been for the rest of the class lamenting it because they’d already understood it because the teacher had already explained it while I wasn’t paying attention.
It didnt happen that often and thankfully didnt scar me to the point where i was afraid of asking questions, but I am empathetic to people with similar experiences being afraid of asking questions. >

As Mr Garrison so eloquently put it:
"Remember, kids, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people!"
Although it was meant as a kind of insult, what with it being South Park and all, it does make sense -- if you don't ask questions you will remain a stupid person. >

"a t rex knows what a door is but a raptor knows how to open it." --my 6-year old cousin playing with his dinosaur toys >

Someone's been scarring their children with Jurassic Park. >

I love how that word works with or without the extra “r”. >

I had to read it a few times before I understood what you were talking about...childrren? Jurrassic? Parrk? >

Which is it? 
Oh, scar[r]ing. >

I always think it's annoying when in movies they show a character is smart by letting him state a fact that someone else doesn't know. Especially if it's in a college class and the teacher asks an obscure quastion that the class just hasn't learned yet. Just because someone studied ahead doesn't mean they are a super genius. >


Just because someone studied ahead doesn't mean they are a super genius

Super genius? Surely not. Smarter than other students? Probably. Pre-studying for a class is amazing way to take much more out of it >

Just because they know more on that topic than the other student does not mean they are smarter than the other students overall, just that they are currently smarter on that one subject area. >

No no, it's the sole act of preparing before a lecture that makes them smarter than other students in the class. It's small effort that results in better understanding of the topic and increased knowledge retention.
So yea, it's smart to prepare. Unless you don't care about the class at all, but then why are you even there? >

People have different methods of learning, some people learn fast if they prepare well before a lecture and others learn well during or even after the lecture. For me, preparing a lot during before a lecture is not very effective, because I learn fastest if someone is explaining it directy to me and I can efficiently use that knowledge afterwards. 
Having a different learning method does not make you smarter than others. >

No offense but you don't sound very smart. >

What you do with information is wisdom
Knowing a tomato is a fruit is knowledge.
Knowing it doesn't belong in a fruit salad is wisdom. >

But what if it can be in a fruit salad? Just need the right combo of fruit… >

Downvotes incoming >

For you lol >

For every Einstein we have, i.e every clever person who stands out and makes a change, there are thousands just as smart as them.
Having a genius level iq means nothing, if you don't use it for anything good. >

And that, my friend, is wisdom. Knowing that having such a level of intelligence is a gift and can be used for something great. >

So true. I’m not a smart man but I have a reservoir of useless information and it allows me to make people think I’m way smarter than I am. The minute someone recognizes it’s just my useless information that is impressive is the minute I know they are smarter than me. >

Yesterday I heard someone saying that you can know things and still be stupid. I agree 100% >

The thing is, “being smart” however you like you define it, is not an independent thing from being knowledgeable. 
In general, knowledgeable people have developed a habit of learning and have honed the skill of dissecting new information into vital parts and process them quickly. Learning new things takes practice. This means that the more you’ve already learned, the faster you can learn new information.
Many of the most innovative solutions to modern problems were ideas borrowed from established solutions in other domains. There were countless technologies including aircraft designs that mimic animal biomechanics. A huge part of problem solving involves studying existing solutions to another problem. Human beings learn best from examples, the more examples you know of someone solving a similar problem, the more equipped you will be solving your own. The more pieces of information you own, the more ways you can combine them to invent your own ideas; you will get better at using knowledge as you gain knowledge.
You can’t really have a complete view of intelligence if you take knowledge out of the equation. >

“Intelligence is the accumulation and recollection of information, wisdom is the utilization of the information.” >

Education is knowing information, intelligence is knowing how to use information, and wisdom is know when to use information. All of these are forms of IQ in their own way. There are very wise people that are not very educated, intelligent people that are not very wise, and educated people that are not very intelligent. You can have 1, 2, or all three traits. >

Wisdom is not usually measured in IQ tests, at least not in the one I had to take to be diagnosed with Asperger’s. But I agree, however I’d say that wisdom is just experience at the end of the day. >

It's like when I was small I loved helping people.. so I studied and certified for human services... 
Thin 1/2 threw university, I realised I hate people >

There was a Bones episode where there was a shooter (I think) and booth yelled at Bones and Zach “you two are the smartest people I know - what is he going to do?” (Or something like that)
Bones responds with “intelligence doesn’t improve what you know, it improves how effective you are doing it - so as a sniper, what would YOU do?” >

Yeah but you have to retain information to process it, compare and analyze it don’t you? I think knowing is part of intelligence. >

The ability to retain information is memorising which is debatably a part of intelligence. >

Don't babies and children learn things quicker and easier than adults? >

That’s just a matter of brain processing power which is why school starts at such a young age and not later in life. >

I think it’s your ability to recall information that makes you smart.. anyone can watch a YouTube video or read a book, but if you can’t remember and recall that information then you’ve learned nothing >

Yeah the straightforward interpretation of the old adage “knowledge is power” turned out to be pretty false. Every single person now has in their pocket a small device containing the accumulated totality of Human Knowledge and … what? Cat videos. Obviously knowledge alone - knowledge without intelligence and insight - is worthless. >

As an IT system engineer, I seldom solve problems by answering questions. I solve problems by asking them. >

Yes, we educated our kids at home and spent an enormous amount of time teaching them to how to learn new things and that they could teach themselves almost anything with an open mind. >

I agree that people teach their kids the fundamentals of how to be a person and how to better themselves so that they may learn and grow their experiences easier than if they didn’t. >

So we only get dumber with age then because as you get older you have a harder time absorbing information, remembering said information and having the energy to put it to use. 🤔
Definitely a shower thought. >

That's not exactly true. Learning new things isn't an innate ability, it's a practiced skill. A lot of older people don't act like that, though - they don't try to learn new things because they think they know enough, and as a result their ability to learn new things grows weaker and might atrophy. It's just like exercising the body - maybe it gets more difficult as you get older, but it gets a lot more difficult if you stop trying for awhile and then suddenly have to use that brain muscle you've let get all flabby. >

i mean yeah isnt that like the whole reason people dont like the grade system schools use since u cant gauche a persons intellegince by testing how long they can sit still behind a book and study >

*gauge... sorry "gauche" is something else. >

In my head I pronounced it as gwa-sh >

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad >

i've always thought americans using the word smart referring to educated people is based on some sort of elitism. at least a result of the elite tricking people into thinking like this.
i think this is why people felt the need to come up with the phrases "street smart" and "book smart". because some people are obviously very clever but they haven't been in the path of the academy. they have amazing problem solving skills, they understand complex concepts with ease but we can't call them smart. well we gotta call them something.
so, i totally agree. if the word smart indicates some kind of talent, street smart people definitely have it. they show the ability to learn and apply. they'd be book smart too if it was books what they dealt with in life.
book smart people are not necessarily smart though. they might just have a very good memory which would be another talent. maybe they have rich parents and all they needed to be was not dumb and fairly healthy. especially in america where capitalism is in the center of how things work. you can and need to buy the means to be book smart. not so much the case with street smart >

Wisdom isn't what happens to a man, it's what he does with what happens to him >

This is the difference between speccing in Intelligence and speccing in Wisdom. >

I mean that is exactly why Wisdom and Intelligence are different stats in D&D and lots of other RPGs >

Yeah, knowing things doesn't make you smart. It makes you a computer. Books contain a lot of information.
Intelligence is the ability to create new information from information. It is the ability to use information, not regurgitate it. >

It takes intelligence to understand that information.  Understanding the information helps you recall much more of it compared to just mindlessly memorizing. So Understanding (i.e. knowing) lots of stuff is definitely a part of intelligence. >

Understanding and knowing are two very different things. Understanding implies the ability to use the information, which is exactly what I was saying. >

Understanding is the ability to comprehend given information and the ability to present/explain it coherently to others. 
Knowing is just knowing. >

Not sure exactly what you are adding here that I haven't already said.
I would dispute that understanding requires the ability to explain it to others. One could understand how to design a rocket engine, but not be able to explain it. You wouldn't say that person doesn't understand, just that they cannot explain it. >

To learn is not to know. There are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the other.
-Alexandre Dumas >

I'd argue it's more than that. I know many people who can read a paper, remember the tiniest details, and put them into use later but cannot be counted on to come in out of the rain. >

Being smart requires stagnation amongst a certain set of people. Change domains at the first opportunity once you get labeled as “smart”. >

Again, i'm going to question the mods on this sub.  My last 2 posts were removed within seconds of me posting them due to a rule violation that I cannot figure out, only that they deemed it "an unoriginal thought".
But then we have this, which is a comment that has been made countless times and is a riff of crystallized vs. fluid memory, which is taught in schools.
I don't get it. >

And yet plenty of people still fail to recognise the deeper meaning of it >

Also: knowing where to find information. Who cares about memorizing facts with our fallible brains when instead you can just remember where to find the information. >

I know a lot of useless facts not to be applied
That’s probably the dumbest thing I could do cause I’m broke as fuck >

I feel a similar way. Ask me anything you want about geography and I’ll answer it in a heartbeat, but that’s not gonna earn me anything. >

There's a really good book on this called "Think Again" by Adam Grant. My boyfriend gave it to me for Christmas. I highly recommend. >

Knowing how to apply intelligence is what we call wisdom. Knowing things without the raw data.
It also has to do a lot with knowing what you don't know and for what reasons you don't know. >

No, having knowledge is what makes you smart. 
What you said is the same concept as saying “having muscles doesn’t make you strong. it’s how easily you build muscle and what you do with it.”
If I knew every detail about the history of the world but it took me 40 years to learn. Than I am still smart. Sure some dude might be able ti do it in 10 years but that doesn’t make him any smarter than me if we both have the same information at the end >

But knowing every detail about the history of our world is basically useless information cause sure, you might get an a+ in every history class at school, but spending 40 years on just that is inherently dumb. Anyone will know that that amount of time is not being smart. >

Wow you completely missed my analogy.. like in its entirety. It had nothing f to do with history… it could have been math, chemistry, etc.. it didn’t matter what subject It was. >

It never had anything to do with history I just used your example. I also could’ve used any subject and the point would be the same >

Not really.. the point I was making was that it doesn’t matter how long you take, as lost as you gain the knowledge. >

so you are telling me that sitting down and studying for 5 hours a day won't make you more intelligent? that doesn't sound right >

It will fill your head with useless information you’re unlikely to use more than once or twice. And studying for five hours a day to learn things is my exact point depending on the amount of subjects you tackle. >

The difference between knowledge and intelligence.
Well educated fools and ignorant geniuses.
The world has plenty of both. >

It's the acknowledgement that you, yourself don't know all things spark the exhilarating curiosity to be eager to learn something >

I am very good at trivia games… jeopardy, for instance. Often I’m complimented how smart I am because of it. I say thanks and politely nod because there’s no way of disagreeing, even when being as polite about it as possible, without seeming like a jerk. 
Knowing factoids is fun and interesting, but it isn’t a gauge of intelligence. After all, the game isn’t called “Trivial Pursuit” for nothing. >

But I think knowing things often makes it easier to learn new things >

It’s like how parents teach children the basics of being a person like reading and other things so that they can learn more easily. Is that what your saying? >

Not a shower thought. I mean, this is kind of the definition of intelligence… >

Somif.you can learn things but it's not really easy and takes a bit.longer than others, you're not smart even though you have the same knowledge and use it for the better as someone who  learns a bit faster. Intersti g point of view. >

No. It isn’t what you do with the info that makes you smart. But how quickly you learn, accommodate and assimilate new information. You can do nothing with it. >

“It’s how easily you learn new things” >

I say knowledge is what you've learned, intelligence is how easily you learn, and smartness is how well you use it >

I was super proud of myself last night. I have been casually studying a subject for fun for a couple of years now, and yesterday someone asked me a question about it that I hadn't encountered. I postulated, based on what I had learned, and it turned out I was 100% correct. I finally felt like I have a somewhat solid, if still very early and developing, grasp on the topic. Never stop learning. >

Intelligence is not a measure of knowledge. It's a measure of how said knowledge is used >

I feel like memorizing info in our day and age is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Whatever I need to look up I just ask chat gpt now >

Well it's not that simple. The amount of things you know has an impact on how many new things you can learn and how easily your learn them. >

Sure it has an impact but it doesn’t define how much you can learn. Like learning addition as a child does help to learning further maths, but not to learning other things like ethics or another language. >

But all of them work the same. If you want to learn Italian, for example, you'll have an easier time if you've learnt Spanish previously. Or you'll have an easier time understanding kantian ethical phylosophy if you've studied about Hume and Descartes previously. It all trickles down and to a certain point, knowledge about some subjects that have seemingly no connection at all might be useful for eachother. >

Intelligence is defined in how well can you use your knowledge. >

I'm guessing learning new stuff to prove people wrong on the intertubes is a bad use of information? >

Not sure this qualifies as a shower thought; it's a simple fact.  I wish more people were aware of it, though. >

Yes, this is true...but it's worth mentioning that smart people (not me on most days) who easily learn things will end up knowing lots of things too.
That's the unfair part. Smart people end up doing both anyway. >

Exactly, book smarts won’t get you anywhere if you don’t know how to apply that knowledge. >

I began listening and reading Philosophy just because of this subreddit >

Different kinds of skills
Knowing a lot of things that you took much longer than other people to know is also a pretty smart thing >

This is why no one should look to Joe Rogan as an arbiter of knowledge. He just regurgitates information told to him while high by a discredited grifter, and people dumber than him think he is a genius. >

There was much more ignorant, intelligent people pre-internet - now intelligent people have no excuse to claim ignorance. Kind of interesting food for thought. >

It’s not that there are more dumb people, its just that the internet has made it easier for them to get their opinions across. >

The dumbasses have options these days. This statement says a lot. >

Smart is how you know, knowledge is what you know, wisdom is whether to know. >

Knowing things + Easily learning new things ✓
Applying knowledge - Nah