I wish I understood what people mean when they talk about intelligence. Are we talking about tests? And if so, what do these tests actually measure? Because I don’t believe they tell us anything of use at all. Or rather, they tell us some of what culturally specific knowledge they have retained.
So how much does that matter? What if you come from a different culture? Does it make you stupid that you can’t score well on my culture’s test? What if you never went to school? Is school and book learning the only kind of learning that matter? I have a lot of book learning. Do you want me to guide you through a Louisiana swamp? I’ve never been near one in my life!
I think everyone has their own intelligence that is related to what’s important in their life. If clothing and makeup are important, then their intelligence lies there—something that is easy for other people to denigrate. Maybe their intelligence lies in fishing or golf or brick laying.
Sometimes someone or another will tell me I’m intelligent, which generally annoys be because I don’t know what they mean. I don’t think them mean I score well on tests, because they have no idea what my test scores are. Maybe they mean I write reasonably clear English. Maybe they think I know a lot about something they don’t know much about. Maybe this impresses them.
Or maybe I’ve mistaken it all, and being told you are intelligent isn’t really a compliment of some kind. Maybe it means they think I have an attitude. Maybe they think I think I’m better than everyone else. Sometimes someone will say that, but if they think I think I am smart, then they are clearly idiots.