this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2024
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To me it is chess. I know how the piece move but that is it.

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[–] [email protected] 84 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Chill man. There's loads of types of smart. Some people are great at chess, others have an intuitive feel of how a ball moves in the air, or how musical notes harmonize, or how equations collapse into simple forms, or how color or smell evokes emotion, or how ingredients work together to create pleasant texture and flavors, or how materials fold under the strike of a hammer, ...

Point is, while you may not be smart in one area, there's always areas to explore. Who knows, you may be a savant in your field. Enjoy the journey and appreciate the diversity.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I hate that people don't recognize the depth of what intelligence can be. You alluded to athletic intelligence, but there's so many more. Emotional intelligence is a big buzzword, but just being a kind person is a reflection of that type.

Some of the most insufferable people I've ever met are "smart" but holy shit would I prefer to spend my time with someone else.

I don't think there is a great way to quantify intelligence, but IQ and MENSA ain't it. And chess is just boring. I'm not good at it because I don't want to be.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Some people are very smart at writing smart things like you !

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Thanks, friend. I really needed that in light of the recent news.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 month ago

You don’t. If you’re even entertaining the thought that there is more to learn than what you already know you are displaying intelligence. Stupid people “know” they’re NOT stupid and intelligent people constantly question their own intelligence. This is why a grown adult with the reading age of a 12yr old can spend twenty minutes online and become the world’s foremost authority on… 5G, vaccines, international geo politics, chemtrails, why the Nazi party were “ackshully” socialist etc. etc.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago

I know somebody who is great at chess, but thinks covid was a hoax, vaccines are fake, Musk is a genius and Russia has a right to Ukraine.

We're all capable of being a dumb-ass while having something else we're good at.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll spend its life believing it’s a failure.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago

Being bad at chess doesn't mean you aren't smart.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

What is smart.... I mean, most of us Lemmy tech people are good at computers but completely useless and may even despise other activities such as dancing, singing, acting, psychology, and so on.

Never forget that the school system evaluates how good of a worker you can be, not how good of a human you can be. The entire system is just built for economic growth, not your happiness. In fact, you consume more when you are feeling like shit.

A bit of a side note, I know, but it's all connected to a bigger picture, so...

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago

Doesn’t mean you’re not smart. People’s brains work differently. Some people enjoy thinking five moves ahead, or memorizing standard plays and reactions. Other people are good at math or chemistry. Talents aren’t an “all or nothing” thing.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I was tested as a child and had an iq of 164 at 10 years old. For my entire childhood every adult treated me like I was smarter than them and in most cases I was. I was in gifted and accelerated classes and excelled.

I know I'm not smart because from the headstart in life I got I went on to barely graduate from high school, drop out of community college twice, never hold a job for longer than 18 months, and have more gaps on my resume than experience.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

There are multiple kinds of 'smart'. The following section in Wiki breaks them down into IQ, emotional, social, and moral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence#Human

Historically, a lot of 'high IQ' people didn't necessarily 'fit in' to society. See the story of William James Sidis ... 'He entered Harvard University at age 11 and, as an adult, was claimed by family members to have an IQ between 250 and 300'.

Also historically, people smart enough to see that a lot of the world is about shuckin' and jivin' and not giving a crap? may not be not interested in playing the game. Some find other interests and don't see the point in 'accomplishing' things that will mostly be forgotten. Ramanujan had a HUGE talent for math ONLY, unrecognized until he wrote a professor halfway around the world.

We were all born without a manual. There are ways to enjoy life on your own terms.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's all because you're bored. The world isn't geared for genius level intelligence.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Boredom is a lot more dangerous and potentially disastrous than most people realize, but it's definitely not my only problem. I struggle with some mental health issues that make most things a lot harder for me than many other people.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

or even... I'm slightly above average, they put me in honors classes etc. functionally because I played Magic School Bus games as a kid and showed up to 2nd grade already knowing what an herbivore was, I got more boring homework to do for my entire adolescence. Whatbreally doomed me was "academically gifted" math class was just skipping a grade and my math performance never recovered.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

People smart enough to realize how much they don't know are most likely to think that they aren't smart... and it takes a certain level of intelligence to do that.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

I'm smart enough to know that everyone is both smart and stupid.

I'm stupid enough to believe that doesn't apply to me.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Calculus III kicked my ass.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Calculus in general is beyond my ability

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I was good at math until Cal III when I hit the wall. I've forgotten almost all of what I learned, though. So I'm not really good at math anymore. Unless you enter certain career paths, most people won't need to use advanced math in their day-to-day. I bet you're good at some non-math stuff.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

On chess, there is a moment in 2001: a Space Odyssey wherein HAL and Frank Poole are playing chess. A more attentive person than me pointed out HAL cheated. I paused and looked at the board forever. I almost gave up. I thought I would never figure it out. Finally figured it out! I have never felt so smart for wasting so much time.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I live on the Earth, home to humans. Every human I've met, heard, or read about has been pretty stupid about something. I can't imagine that I'd be the sole exception, so if I had to guess I'm not smart.

More to the spirit of the question, for me it has to do with programming. I love programming, I went to school for it and learned a ton. It really covers a wide breadth of applications, and you can make anything happen with a computer if you're determined enough. And, like any field, there's general knowledge as well as deeper specializations.

If you're not into programming, know that there's a divide in every application between what's called the Back End and the Front End. The front end is what the user interacts with, and ultimately is an interface for the back end which actually runs the application.

I don't know if it would still be considered accurate, but in school we'd joke about how the back end is more complex (more services to integrate with), and the front end is easier because it's all about look and feel. Generally speaking, people develop an affinity for one or the other and then further specialize based on that.

I can't seem to pick up a front end framework to save my life. The thing that the self-described smart kids called easier is wayyy more complicated than it looks. I have a lot of training, I'm skilled in multiple languages, and I can whisper the secret words that open up the database. But I don't know if I could Hello World my way through a React app if there was a gun to my head.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My brain insists on telling me so several times a day so nowadays I just roll with it.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Reading a book that explains a book I don't understand and failing to understand either at the end.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Sounds like at least one of the books in question is shit

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Last week I moved the cheesegrater so I could look behind it... for the cheesegrater.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

one of the smarter folks of western civilisation history said "i know that i do kot know" so maybe asking yourself whether you are or are not smart is all it takes

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Many of the things that really matter to us are fundamentally beyond human comprehension. We cannot understand ourselves, society, our place in the world, the consequences of our actions, or the laws of the universe, and we rarely agree or cooperate with each other.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I'm likely average, middle of the road intelligence. Smart enough to get by and dumb enough not to excel at anything. I know a little about a lot of things and not a lot about one thing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Everyone is smart about something but dumb about most things

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Admitting you don't know everything is smart.

Continuing to still think you do know everything when you don't is when you're dumb by default.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh you think you're smart? Name every chess move

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Because others have gone out if their way not to be reliant on me specifically.

People never let me plan things, people treat me like a child, people always ask other to double check only my work, etc...

The worst thing is its a positive feed back loop. People think you're dumb and don't give you any opportunities, less opportunities means less experience, less experience means you appear less competent, being less competent makes people believe you're dumb.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Not really an answer to your question, just wanted to say intelligence isn't a one-dimensional thing. You can practically be a master on any one field but lack basic abilities in accomplishing what other people do every day. Or the other way around, you're not particularly good at one thing that's commonly attributed to intelligence, like chess or maths, but be highly intelligent or skilled in other things. And for me that includes social intelligence, being able to remember a lot of stuff, being handy or having a grasp for music, or anything. I think I'm alright in various things. But I regularly observe people being very good at something. Like scientists and I can barely read what the math even does. Or the lady at the bakery who remembers things about the personal lives of like >200 grandmas and which kind of bread they buy every week. In turn, I know like a 200 facts about Linux networking. But I couldn't do what she does, even if I tried.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Any position I hold is toppled over with the slightest argument unless I have very recently done a ton of research on the topic. I have zero ability to recall whatever evidence I used to come to a conclusion. It's incredibly frustrating because I do try to be informed about things but I just can't defend anything at the pace of a normal conversation.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I know I'm not smart because I often need to do the same mistakes several times before i get it

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You've gotta make the same mistake two or three times, just to make sure 😉

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

There are different kinds of smart. A person can be quick and creative at something (math, mechanics, music, marketing ...), and less so at everything else.

If the something is -complicated-, then a lot of learning is needed, and a good qualified teacher will help you sort out what is really important to know. Chess is complicated, and you need to learn basic strategies of how to move and not get eaten alive. There are some books that can help with that. But a human teacher can get you there a lot faster. If you're really motivated but you're not remembering enough? it may not be your 'something' !

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Intelligence is not easily quantifiable (dont you dare get me started on IQ) so its pointless to worry about how you stack up in one area. Ive met a genius nurse who cant spell restaurant without spell check. I know engineers who cant visualize a 2D drawing in to 3D space. I think im pretty smart, lots of conceptual thinking comes naturally to me but I hate chess. It doesnt make sense to me. I suggest thinking about what you are good at, rather than what you're not.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I know I'm not smart because I seem to have trouble retaining and/or recalling information. I'll understand the concepts then, but fuck me if I try to recall it months later. Also I remember things wrong, my partner (who has an excellent memory) calls me out on it all the time.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I'm visiting my elderly father this weekend and he told me last night that he remembers when he and my mom took me to the doctor when I was like 2 or 3 and I tested positive for high amounts of lead (not lead poisoning, just a high amount), and now I'm like damn, maybe that explains why I suck at a few things...

I wouldn't say I'm legit dumb though. I maintained a 4.0 GPA in college and I get by just fine, but now I'm like "do I suck at math because I was exposed to lead as a child?"

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Believing that you are smart, is the first sign of not being it. Even the smartest people will admit that they are mostly good at maybe a few areas, and at best average at everything else.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I tried to help my little cousins w math homework one time and had no idea wtf i was reading until i reread it twice or something.. theyre like 13..... math never been my strong suite really😅

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Spelling doesn’t appear to be a strength either. ;)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

If you are smart, you know that you really aren't smart

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Structurally I know how things should work, but sometimes trying to program it tho...

2 images side-by-side of a dire/grim looking puppet first glancing to the left then right

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