While I agree that having humility and refraining from belittling others are important and honorable traits, I also believe that knowledge is power and that superiority does indeed come through knowledge. This is why someone with more experience on the job is generally considered your superior. It is why they make more money. It is one of the reasons you respect your elders. Those with superiority and great knowledge in a particular area just need to learn to guide, nurture and encourage those beneath them rather than insulting and discouraging them. Of course, this is all within contexts. While generally superior in some areas, you are likely inferior in others.
The old phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" applies here. In this case, the big stick is knowledge.
I also think that knowledge is not the same as intelligence. By my definitions, intelligence is a measure of how easily and quickly you can acquire and retain knowledge. Some people are simply more intelligent than others. They can learn faster, remember more, and have greater ingenuity. And with this gift they should feel an obligation to tackle the greatest and most complicated of problems in life for the betterment of mankind. Scientists researching plasma physics and fusion in the effort to develop a mostly clean and highly abundant energy source would be one example.
Are you living up to your potential?
The old phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" applies here. In this case, the big stick is knowledge.
I also think that knowledge is not the same as intelligence. By my definitions, intelligence is a measure of how easily and quickly you can acquire and retain knowledge. Some people are simply more intelligent than others. They can learn faster, remember more, and have greater ingenuity. And with this gift they should feel an obligation to tackle the greatest and most complicated of problems in life for the betterment of mankind. Scientists researching plasma physics and fusion in the effort to develop a mostly clean and highly abundant energy source would be one example.
Are you living up to your potential?
Crap like this is particularly what I am talking about.
I never said I am one to close myself from the world - in fact I said quite the opposite. I am a thinker, a scholar, and well educated. I, however, do not think that because I was fortunate enough to obtain a good education in a healthy family that I am in any way better than anyone else.
You, however, are an arrogant ass.
The best example I can give are people like my parents - and I'm sure many others who visit these boards as well. They are middle-low class, blue-collar, hard-working individuals. They are quite religious. They do not understand the concept of a square root. They do not know how to program a VCR. They do not contemplate their existence.
They did, however, manage to raise 3 kids, create a very loving environment, and dedicate the majority of their lives working hard physical labor so we didn't have to.
I do not know you, but I can assure you you are not better than them because you choose to "better yourself" by going to college. Being a decent human being in no way parallels understanding the universe.
:beer:
Dumac
Diamond Member
- Dec 31, 2005
- 9,391
- 1
- 0
You are calling him an arrogant ass, and implying that being an arrogant ass is a bad thing. The reason you believe that being an arrogant ass is a bad thing is the same reason some believe that a lack of intelligence is inferior (you also almost proclaimed yourself better than chambersc in your reply). Plus, you assume that everyone cares about decency as a human being; why should such a thing matter? Why should such a thing not matter? This is all decided upon the experieces we recieved as a child and how we were raised, mixed with genetic biases.
Don't try to prove your opinion better than another; all thoughts are based upon selfish motives.
But then again, that is just my opinion, so disregard it if you want
I know a lot of dumb people that are really nice dumb people.
Being dumb doesn't make them any less human or less worthy of respect...it just makes them dumb.
However, I am not going to pretend that being dumb is perfectly acceptable. It is not.
They drive on the same roads that I do while talking on their cell phone, they vote in elections and help elect idiots like GWB, they don't wash their hands after taking a dump. The list goes on...
Being dumb doesn't make them any less human or less worthy of respect...it just makes them dumb.
However, I am not going to pretend that being dumb is perfectly acceptable. It is not.
They drive on the same roads that I do while talking on their cell phone, they vote in elections and help elect idiots like GWB, they don't wash their hands after taking a dump. The list goes on...
angminas
Diamond Member
- Dec 17, 2006
- 3,331
- 26
- 91
Intelligence is just a thing, a tool, an object. People are no more better because they're more intelligent than they are better because they have a more powerful lawn mower. What's important is not what you have, but what you do with it. Remember the parable of the talents? Here are a few quotations that deal with the issue better than I can myself.
...For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (Matthew 24:48, the parable of the faithful steward)
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:21)
You don?t have to be smart. You can be dumb, just listen to smart people. Okay? Get it? You don?t have to know how to make a plane, just buy a ticket. You don?t have to know how to make a car, just make the payments. (Adam Carolla, doesn't mean I like the other things he says, and this is more relevant to wisdom than intelligence)
It is not wise to be wiser than necessary. (Philippe Quinault)
A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can. (Michel de Montaigne)
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. (Jonathan Swift)
...For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (Matthew 24:48, the parable of the faithful steward)
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:21)
You don?t have to be smart. You can be dumb, just listen to smart people. Okay? Get it? You don?t have to know how to make a plane, just buy a ticket. You don?t have to know how to make a car, just make the payments. (Adam Carolla, doesn't mean I like the other things he says, and this is more relevant to wisdom than intelligence)
It is not wise to be wiser than necessary. (Philippe Quinault)
A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can. (Michel de Montaigne)
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. (Jonathan Swift)
Humanity's potential for vast intellect is the only thing separating it from animals and since all progress is due to smart people it is not in any way wrong to say that they are superior.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the world can be a thinker and many people never even get the opportunity (ie, those living in very poor countries), so it's understandable if most people are not thinkers or philosophers. What isn't ok (I would go as far as to call it dangerous) is those who not only live the "unexamined life" but attack and demean those do - because they're disparaging everything that makes humans special and aspire to some pitiful animal-like existence.
Is it arrogant to say this? No, the real arrogance comes from people who claim that everybody is just as good as everybody else, because their fragile little egos can't handle the fact that they're not all they've cracked themselves up to be.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the world can be a thinker and many people never even get the opportunity (ie, those living in very poor countries), so it's understandable if most people are not thinkers or philosophers. What isn't ok (I would go as far as to call it dangerous) is those who not only live the "unexamined life" but attack and demean those do - because they're disparaging everything that makes humans special and aspire to some pitiful animal-like existence.
Is it arrogant to say this? No, the real arrogance comes from people who claim that everybody is just as good as everybody else, because their fragile little egos can't handle the fact that they're not all they've cracked themselves up to be.
Good quotes, although many times I wish more had been given to me so more could be expected of me.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 984
- 126
Man's progress comes from our intelligence and continued education and understanding of the world. Without it we're just animals. Intelligence is responsible for where we are today, and if we're lucky the good direction we'll go tomorrow. It does not mean a person is good or successful but its a very desireable trait. You can live as a dumb animal, but intelligence is what makes us special.
irishScott
Lifer
- Oct 10, 2006
- 21,562
- 3
- 0
Agreed. I personally measure superiority by how much someone contributes to society; and a garbageman contributes more than most people think. So do the people who scrub toilets, change car oil at jiffy lube, and work the drive thus. They do everything that makes life better for those of us who have chosen the intellectual route.
Now as for those crack smoking wanna-be gangstas who want to do nothing but get rich and hire whores with their money, THEY are inferior.
However, I have to disagree with the OP on one point: An old person, or anyone who is set in their ways is inferior. The only explanation for not considering another course is if you KNOW for a FACT that your path is the BEST. That and you have to be able to EXPLAIN WHY it's the best. It is partially for this reason that I consider myself a better person then my parents. See thread for the full story on this. Anyone who cannot logically argue why it should be done their way is inferior. And as I grow older, I will always remember that I can and WILL change should a better route be shown to me.
Good point. Intelligence has nothing to do with superiority. We were created by God with a higher value and purpose than animals, which is what gives us the right over them. But God also gave us this world to look after, and in Proverbs it says we shouldn't be cruel to animals. So while we have a higher value than monkeys, we shouldn't treat them poorly.
The degree of intelligence, or other physical differences (contrary to what atheists believe and evolution teaches), is not the only thing separating man from animal. We each were created with a soul, we each have imagination, and we each have self awareness (not physical self recognition). That is why were are different from animals, and that is why we are all equal, and thus should not brag or boast or act superior to each other. Even Jesus, who was God Himself and had innumerable angels and unlimited power, chose to serve in humility.
Good point. Intelligence has nothing to do with superiority. We were created by God with a higher value and purpose than animals, which is what gives us the right over them. But God also gave us this world to look after, and in Proverbs it says we shouldn't be cruel to animals. So while we have a higher value than monkeys, we shouldn't treat them poorly.
The degree of intelligence, or other physical differences (contrary to what atheists believe and evolution teaches), is not the only thing separating man from animal. We each were created with a soul, we each have imagination, and we each have self awareness (not physical self recognition). That is why were are different from animals, and that is why we are all equal, and thus should not brag or boast or act superior to each other. Even Jesus, who was God Himself and had innumerable angels and unlimited power, chose to serve in humility. We are all equally sinners, and even if you think you are "relatively" a good person, you are still guilty of breaking the Law of God just as much as me or anyone else. You have nothing to boast about in yourself, and neither do I.
Mo0o
Lifer
- Jul 31, 2001
- 24,227
- 3
- 76
I'm sure your parents are very nice people, that doesn't mean they're not dumb.
and no i dont look down on athletes who can't spell their own name, becuase I know the training they go through is equivalent to the academic training i've gone through, same goes to skilled workers like carpenters/plumbers.
garbage men on the otherhand, have skills that probably takes a 5 minutes to understand.
and no i dont look down on athletes who can't spell their own name, becuase I know the training they go through is equivalent to the academic training i've gone through, same goes to skilled workers like carpenters/plumbers.
garbage men on the otherhand, have skills that probably takes a 5 minutes to understand.
Exactly. That's why scientific literacy is important, even for blue-collar workers. Voting on issues (or candidates backing issues) you don't understand is irresponsible -- this is one reason why intelligence is associated with superiority (and rightly so!).
GagHalfrunt
Lifer
- Apr 19, 2001
- 25,284
- 1,998
- 126
You're failing to differentiate between intelligence and education. There's no crime against being uneducated, a person does not need to have read Darwin, he doesn't need to understand Hawking and Sagan nor does he need to know the ins and outs of Keynesian economics to be intelligent. Those are all signs of education. Likewise, a person might be able to carry an A average in aero/astro at MIT and still get killed crossing the tarmac at an airport because he didn't look where he was going and got sucked into a jet intake. That's a sign of being highly educated, but not too damn intelligent.
The people who get drilled are the ones who refuse to accept that they're out of their depth on a given subject. Anyone who failed third grade math should not wander into a discussion about calculus. Anyone that believes in biblical fairy tales should stay out of threads about the proven facts of evolution. Those who don't have a drivers license would be best advised to stop spouting off on the supposed superiority of the Vette vs a 911 and overweight 15 year olds who faint when a girl in their class asks them to borrow a pencil should shut up with the "supermodel X isn't that hot" comments.
Nobody ever got called out or smacked around for shutting up. There's an old adage that says "it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and be proven one". Nowhere is that more appropriate than on an internet forum. On a forum this diverse you're going to run into experts on just about any subject imaginable. They have the knowledge to expose charlatans for what they are and to punish them mercilessly for yapping off about things they don't understand. That's the simple fact that too many ATOTers fail to understand. Shut up unless you have something worthwhile to add to a thread. Talking just to hear yourself talk and claiming to have knowledge that you don't really have is a guaranteed way to get an e-noogie. It's not that the experts on that given subject feel superior to the person getting smacked, it's because on that area of expertise they ARE SUPERIOR. If you insist upon blundering into a thread with comment like "1+1 = 3" you damn well better not be too shocked when somebody who knows better calls you on it.
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