posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
laramie at 11:41am on 16/07/2006
laramie at 11:41am on 16/07/2006A discussion over on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
skzbrust’s journal has got me thinking about intelligence and stupidity. The question that comes to mind is, ‘what constitutes the difference between intellectual laziness and the necessary limitations of time and inclination that lead different individuals to focus their thoughts in different ways?’
That is, should people be considered ‘intellectually lazy’ because they have other things on their mind than what some other people decide they should be thinking about? Which others? Who decides and who should decide how intelligent people should be applying their minds? Am I intellectually lazy because I’m more interested in other areas of thought than current events and political theory?
Maybe; maybe not. I tend to think that an intelligent person is his or her own best judge of how to apply that intelligence, and that society would be boring and the world much neglected if everyone were focused on the same narrow areas of study.
There’s only so much time in the day. I’m most interested in how a human soul works; what’s troubling mine, how to resolve the trouble, what it means in terms of my relationships with others and the world, how to foster and maintain a sense of emotional equilibrium. How can what I learn this way be applied to understanding others and the conflicts and troubles in the world at large? I’m interested in what I learn about the human soul from reading works of fiction and watching movies and TV. I’m interested in learning the languages of the soul: music, art, writing. I’m interested in the craft of each, and more interested in the meaning that is essential to each.
The human soul is a challenging study: more open to consideration than analysis. I don’t think I’m wasting my time.
skzbrust’s journal has got me thinking about intelligence and stupidity. The question that comes to mind is, ‘what constitutes the difference between intellectual laziness and the necessary limitations of time and inclination that lead different individuals to focus their thoughts in different ways?’ That is, should people be considered ‘intellectually lazy’ because they have other things on their mind than what some other people decide they should be thinking about? Which others? Who decides and who should decide how intelligent people should be applying their minds? Am I intellectually lazy because I’m more interested in other areas of thought than current events and political theory?
Maybe; maybe not. I tend to think that an intelligent person is his or her own best judge of how to apply that intelligence, and that society would be boring and the world much neglected if everyone were focused on the same narrow areas of study.
There’s only so much time in the day. I’m most interested in how a human soul works; what’s troubling mine, how to resolve the trouble, what it means in terms of my relationships with others and the world, how to foster and maintain a sense of emotional equilibrium. How can what I learn this way be applied to understanding others and the conflicts and troubles in the world at large? I’m interested in what I learn about the human soul from reading works of fiction and watching movies and TV. I’m interested in learning the languages of the soul: music, art, writing. I’m interested in the craft of each, and more interested in the meaning that is essential to each.
The human soul is a challenging study: more open to consideration than analysis. I don’t think I’m wasting my time.
When it becomes a problem
"It's the same thing isn't it?" As in: All of Michigan is like Detroit, all of New York State is like Manhattan (as known from TV shows shot in Canada...), all of the Midwest votes Republican, etc.
"I don't have to read up on what Italy was like in 1750. I know all about the Middle Ages."
"I won't have any problem spending the winter in [place where it snows a lot]. I've gone skiing."