Would you say grades are a pretty good indication of someone's intelligence?

[kyrax12]

To clarify, I meant book smart.

Having high grades in classes that requires good aptitude, memory, and logical thinking skills are basically I.Q tests in disguise. I am posting this because a lot of people seem to think having high grades doesn't necessarily mean a person is smart, but that it is just that they worked hard. I think it is both.

Classes such as Calculus, linear math, Organic chemistry are universally known to be very hard classes. Math especially tests a person's logical thinking, memory, and problem solving skills to a great extent.
Humans just aren't inherently good with numbers. That is why we have difficulty doing mental math. Of course there are a few exceptions, but generally it is safe to say that a lot of people struggle with math for this reason. The people who are good with math are needed, and you can be sure they will or can make a lot of money.

In conclusion, having good grades in classes that require good aptitude is a good indication of someone's intelligence.

discuss.

 

[yhelothar]

Yeah, for some classes, I can see what you're saying. But while it may be sufficient to show intelligence, it may not be necessary, meaning absence of good grades doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of intelligence.

 

[Crono]

No, because there are plenty of people who just don't focus their energy on getting good grades. Intelligence isn't even half of what it takes to get good grades in difficult classes, it's putting in time and energy to do all the work.

I know a lot of people who have gotten through difficult classes simply by putting in more time to study and use available resources, while there are plenty of other people who are very intelligent but do poorly in classes because they don't expend the same amount of effort.

There is some base level required depending on how difficult a class is, i.e. perhaps someone with extremely below average intelligence still won't be able to complete an advanced physics or mathematics course no matter how much time and effort is put into studying, for instance, but I'd be uncomfortable defining what that level is or limiting anyone outright. I don't want to underestimate anyone regardless of intelligence - it's better just to focus on your own ability and ethic rather than to appraise the intelligence and ability of someone else - so I don't.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

To an extent, sure, but freshman/sophomore year classes like organic chemistry and calculus I are perfectly doable for those willing to put in the hours.

 

[zerocool84]

Most math, basic, algebra, calculus, is basically follow these rules and that's it. Doesn't take much smarts to do that.

 

[Fenixgoon]

in some cases, yes, in other cases, no. there was a guy i knew who had crap grades, but he knew his stuff. he just thought all the work was a waste of his time.

much the same way BMI is indicative of health/fitness *on average*, i would say grades are generally, but not always, indicative of [book smart] intelligence.

more important than grades is understanding and application. there are plenty of people who know things on paper, but when it comes to actually doing something, they don't know how to do it.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

if you have mediocre grades, it means you are lazy and are probably never going to do anything in life, even if you are intelligent. but then again most intelligent people realize that and study

 

[kyrax12]

in some cases, yes, in other cases, no. there was a guy i knew who had crap grades, but he knew his stuff. he just thought all the work was a waste of his time.

much the same way BMI is indicative of health/fitness *on average*, i would say grades are generally, but not always, indicative of [book smart] intelligence.

more important than grades is understanding and application. there are plenty of people who know things on paper, but when it comes to actually doing something, they don't know how to do it.

He is not very smart then. Now I don't know much about this guy, but I know that grades are a huge factor to making it big in this competitive job market.

Is he doing something good with his time?

I also want to know more about the BMI thing. People with low BMI usually perform better in cardio activities than people with higher BMI right?

I asked this because even though I sucked at running, I was able to adapt and improve in a pretty fast time span. I have low BMI too.

 

[Lil Frier]

No, I really don't. It obviously varies from class to class though, the level to which I would agree or disagree. Teaching styles vary, so while one school might be open-book for its tests, another might not. A math teacher might give formulas to students at one school, while a teacher at a different school might not.

I would say that grades can indicate intelligence when they are good, but poor grades don't necessarily indicate a lack of intelligence.

 

[Lil Frier]

if you have mediocre grades, it means you are lazy and are probably never going to do anything in life, even if you are intelligent. but then again most intelligent people realize that and study

Really, this is a terrible generalization. There are so many reasons for poor grades from an intelligent person that simply claiming laziness is garbage.

Varying workloads and general life issues can affect grades greatly. Level of interest in a subject matters. Keeping the material engaging/challenging matters. It's not uncommon for a student to be in an uninteresting subject and not try, or for a student to get bored due to not being challenged.

I'm still in the process of getting my education, but it's definitely something that applies to myself. I got pretty crappy grades (don't recall GPA) in high school, but I got a decent 28 on my ACT. I've got a GPA north of 3.5 in college though, mostly because I get to take classes that aren't a 100% bore. I had no interest in trying hard in a high school English class where my teacher cared more about befriending her students than teaching well, but when put with great teachers in college (in terms of working with students and covering material well), my grades got better.

There was definitely a big issue with laziness for me in high school, and it's still translated to some classes in college as well, but I think there is so much more to it than just "bad grades = lazy = complete failure in life."

 

[xaeniac]

Albert Einstein was not a great student.

 

[Murloc]

some people get bad grades because they don't care.
But I guess we could argue: is someone who can't use his booksmarts still intelligent?

Anyway yeah, the results in maths and science classes are generally a good indicator, unless the student is bored.

Not so much the languages because lots of intelligent people don't care for those or don't care about the class but they still learn the language regardless.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Good grades are not an indicator of native ability alone but a combination of intelligence and attitude. Some people are brilliant but don't care while others produce outstanding work who have lower IQs who expend more effort. IMO IQ is often overrated as a predictor of performance. It's only one component of ones entire self.

 

[Triumph]

Lots of anecdotal arguments in this thread. OP's title reads, "Would you say grades are a pretty good indication of someone's intelligence?" And the answer is yes, they are a pretty good indication. Not perfect. So that's pretty much it, might as well close the thread.

 

[Dari]

No, because there are plenty of people who just don't focus their energy on getting good grades. Intelligence isn't even half of what it takes to get good grades in difficult classes, it's putting in time and energy to do all the work.

I know a lot of people who have gotten through difficult classes simply by putting in more time to study and use available resources, while there are plenty of other people who are very intelligent but do poorly in classes because they don't expend the same amount of effort.

There is some base level required depending on how difficult a class is, i.e. perhaps someone with extremely below average intelligence still won't be able to complete an advanced physics or mathematics course no matter how much time and effort is put into studying, for instance, but I'd be uncomfortable defining what that level is or limiting anyone outright. I don't want to underestimate anyone regardless of intelligence - it's better just to focus on your own ability and ethic rather than to appraise the intelligence and ability of someone else - so I don't.

Pretty much this. As with anything that has to do with success, hard work is far more important than intelligence.

 

[TecHNooB]

bad grades dont necessarily mean you're dumb. it does indicate that you're lazy or dgaf. good grades dont mean you're smart. it does mean that you handle your shit.

 

[Crono]

edit: too late/early in the morning, misread a reply

 

[her209]

Classes such as Calculus, linear math, Organic chemistry are universally known to be very hard classes.

Wow. You consider those the hard classes?

 

[TecHNooB]

Wow. You consider those the hard classes?

translation: if they're easy for me they're easy on average. implications: i represent the average.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

translation: if they're easy for me they're easy on average. implications: i represent the average.

I got an A in P Chem!

Does this mean I have high levels of smartness?

 

[Jumpem]

Not at all. Grades are merely a reflection of someone's ability to memorize.

 

[TecHNooB]

Not at all. Grades are merely a reflection of someone's ability to memorize.

did you go to law school or something?

 

[Jumpem]

did you go to law school or something?

CS.

 

[Gillbot]

No

 

[TecHNooB]

CS.

CS is fairly logical... at least there's logical motivation for the way most things are done. however, I can see how remembering all the motivations can be difficult. not as raw (in logic) as pure math or things closer to pure math. I guess law would be similar in that respect. remembering all the motivations is hard.