My Perspective: What is Intelligence, Anyways? by Isaac Asimov

-

 Isaac Asimov argues; that intelligence "is not absolute but is a function of the society." Therefore, intelligence is not measurable by tests scores alone; but also by our life skills and critical thinking ability. Asimov illustrates his argument using aptitude tests. The author notes that all his life, he'd scored high on these tests. However, he dismissed it as just being "very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests." Later, he estimated that his auto-repairman could not have scored more than an 80 in a test. However, when it comes to repairing a car, the author is clueless. While the auto-repairman always fixes the car. A true statement by the author is, " in a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly."  An individual's academic intelligence is only one part of their general intellect. Therefore, a test can not thoroughly indicate a person's level of intelligence. He proves this in the joke the auto-repairman played on him.

"Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them."

Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you."

"Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."

Aptitude tests assess logical and remembrance skills. However, they can ignore practical and manual skills. An example, CXC. Students learn how to answer questions and memorize information from text and notes. Still, they dismiss the practical and manual skills that can also help them survive in society. Today, there is room for both creative and intellectual individuals. And students are allowed to try both. For example, a student can do visual arts and still major in biology.  Lastly, schools are just one arena where individuals can learn and build on their knowledge; but society is the most beneficial as it is more hands-on.  Mark Zuckerberg was a Havard dropout.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Perspective: Slice of Life by Russell Baker

-
The author, through his writing, showed us how to carve a turkey. Also, he provided a life hack on how to get away from sculpting a turkey. A method that I definitely would use if necessary. From the title, I initially thought he would illustrate the value of life from an experience he went through. So, when he started with "How to carve a turkey," I was shocked. Russell Baker's process essay is quite humorous as he lights up the piece with many comical phrases throughout the process. His first hit for me was, " if the house lacks a meat cleaver, an axe may be substituted. If it is, add bandages, sutures, and iodine to above list." In the end, however, the author provided an alternative method. One you could use to get away from "carving white meat;" and from needing sutures. I assume he used it sometimes and is just trying to help individuals who dislike carving turkey or cooking. Russell noted that one should start by creating a distraction, then c...
Read more

Travel Chronicles: Three Attraction Sites to Visit in Nanjing, China.

-
Image
  Chaotian Palace Having the largest preserved traditional Chinese architectural complex in Jiangnan, Chaotian Palace or The Nanjing Municipal Museum is a great location for learning the city’s history. Accordingly, Chaotian Palace is a Confucian temple from the Qing Dynasty. The Nanjing Museum is built from several halls of the Chaotian Palace, Jiangning Fuxue, and the Chaotian Palace itself is a part of the complex. One side of the temple is the main exhibition hall of the Nanjing Museum, which consequently has turned the Dacheng Hall and the Changsheng Hall into special exhibitions and non-permanent exhibition halls. Purple Mountain Purple Mountain or Zijin Shan is one of the four most famous mountains in southern China located on the eastern side of China. It is known for its mysterious purple and golden clouds at dusk and dawn. This site is a  win for persons whose interest is in any form of physical or mental art. “It was originally known as Bell Mountain and also became...
Read more

Topic Sentence: Main Idea & Controlling Idea

-
  Topic Sentence A topic sentence expresses the main idea of a paragraph and is the most general statement of the paragraph. Additionally, topic sentences contain both the main idea and the controlling idea.  -The main idea is a complete sentence that includes the topic and what the writer wants to prove or discuss. Must be supported by details. -The controlling idea is the point the writer makes about the topic. It gives a direction to the paragraph. Examples:   " My brothers are artistic. " " English teachers work hard. " " Anything can happen at a county fair. " During an interactive session, we went through subtopics of the 'basic composition' of paragraphs. That is, focusing on identifying and analyzing the main idea and the controlling idea of a paragraph. We were engaged in activities to help widen our understanding of main ideas and controlling ideas. Moreover, how they may present themselves in a paragraph. Though this topic was not ...
Read more