Time, Place and intelligence

Erimitus

The mind of God, Antarctica

#16

Aug 26, 2011 @ 15:25:14

@dylangreen Said

well to be honest my partner and i had a conversation about time - he is very much of the belief that time is a human concept so it doesnt matter and isnt real - i agreed with him but added the point that although it was created, society has adapted to function around the concept of time (i.e. normal working hours etc.) making it an important part of life in society (obviously excusing those who live in aboribinal tribes etc.). time is a different concept there a more natural one that i think my partner is probably refering to as 'the better option' (life without time) - i have little knowledge on the matter but i would imagine that night and day and the four seasons are of the only real importance to them.

as for intellegence - it is all down to opinion - there obviously is a definition because it is a word that is recognised but in my opinion intellgence is what differs humans from animal (apart from thumbs etc. lol) - our abilty to us experience to make informed decisions, our abilty to seek knowledge when it is needed, problem solving skills, there are many others

some might say that social skills are a part of intellegence - or having a broad range of knowledge - or detailed knowledge in a specific area - all of these could be classed as the basis for an intellegent person

another view could be that lack of stupidity is all intellegence is - a measure of how big your mistakes are and if you learn from them in the long run

not sure if that helps

- dylan

Respons to dylangreen post #13

Note) I paraphrase not to change your meaning but to determine if I Understand it.

TIME:

Partner: (quote) Time is a human concept so it doesn�t matter and isn�t real.

E: (Paraphrase) Time is a concept.

E: (comment) I agree that time is no more than something that somebody has thought up to measure the interval between events.

E: (Paraphrase) Time does not matter.

E: (comment) If satisfying needs and thus surviving is important then knowing (when) might be considered as important as knowing how.

E: (Paraphrase) Time is not real.

E: I would say that time is an abstraction developed from both experience and other concepts. We (or at least I) have been calling concepts �subjective reality� and although not concrete they do exist in the mind and are real.

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Erimitus

The mind of God, Antarctica

#17

Aug 26, 2011 @ 15:33:03

@galasTAray Said

Do you think it is possible to identify all these factors?

No I do not believe that all factors can be known. I would say that some (many) factors can be known. (e.g. Innate abilities, parents, peers, society, environment, and opportunity {can you think of any?})

Not all factors will always be present and factors that are present would have varying degrees of influence depending on circumstances.

We are still defining what we mean by intelligence.

1

Edited: August 26, 2011 @ 15:33

Erimitus

The mind of God, Antarctica

#18

Aug 26, 2011 @ 15:44:20

@dylangreen Said

well to be honest my partner and i had a conversation about time - he is very much of the belief that time is a human concept so it doesnt matter and isnt real - i agreed with him but added the point that although it was created, society has adapted to function around the concept of time (i.e. normal working hours etc.) making it an important part of life in society (obviously excusing those who live in aboribinal tribes etc.). time is a different concept there a more natural one that i think my partner is probably refering to as 'the better option' (life without time) - i have little knowledge on the matter but i would imagine that night and day and the four seasons are of the only real importance to them.

as for intellegence - it is all down to opinion - there obviously is a definition because it is a word that is recognised but in my opinion intellgence is what differs humans from animal (apart from thumbs etc. lol) - our abilty to us experience to make informed decisions, our abilty to seek knowledge when it is needed, problem solving skills, there are many others

some might say that social skills are a part of intellegence - or having a broad range of knowledge - or detailed knowledge in a specific area - all of these could be classed as the basis for an intellegent person

another view could be that lack of stupidity is all intellegence is - a measure of how big your mistakes are and if you learn from them in the long run

not sure if that helps

- dylan

Response to Dylan post #13

dylangreen: (quote) [time] was created, society has adapted to function around the concept of time making [time] an important part of life in society

E: (Paraphrase) Time was created

E: (Paraphrase) Time is a concept

E: (Paraphrase) Society functions around the concept of time

E: (Paraphrase) Time is an important part of life in society.

E: (comment) I agree.

dylangreen: (quote) Time is a different concept � a more natural [concept] that I think my partner is probably referring to as 'the better option' (life without time) night and day and the four seasons are of the only real importance�

E: (comment) I am not sure that I understand. Are you saying that there is natural time (e.g. a year or a day are occur and are measurable) and there is artificial time (e.g. a week or an hour or a second) only natural time is of any real importance?

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Erimitus

The mind of God, Antarctica

#19

Aug 26, 2011 @ 16:08:08

@dylangreen Said

well to be honest my partner and i had a conversation about time - he is very much of the belief that time is a human concept so it doesnt matter and isnt real - i agreed with him but added the point that although it was created, society has adapted to function around the concept of time (i.e. normal working hours etc.) making it an important part of life in society (obviously excusing those who live in aboribinal tribes etc.). time is a different concept there a more natural one that i think my partner is probably refering to as 'the better option' (life without time) - i have little knowledge on the matter but i would imagine that night and day and the four seasons are of the only real importance to them.

as for intellegence - it is all down to opinion - there obviously is a definition because it is a word that is recognised but in my opinion intellgence is what differs humans from animal (apart from thumbs etc. lol) - our abilty to us experience to make informed decisions, our abilty to seek knowledge when it is needed, problem solving skills, there are many others

some might say that social skills are a part of intellegence - or having a broad range of knowledge - or detailed knowledge in a specific area - all of these could be classed as the basis for an intellegent person

another view could be that lack of stupidity is all intellegence is - a measure of how big your mistakes are and if you learn from them in the long run

not sure if that helps

- dylan

Response to Dylan post #13

Intelligence:

dylangreen: (Paraphrased)

~ Intelligence is:

~ ~ What differs humans from animals�

~ ~ The ability to use experience to make informed decisions�

~ ~ The ability to seek knowledge when it is needed...

~ ~ Problem solving skills...

~ ~ Social skills

~ ~ having a broad range of knowledge

~ ~ detailed knowledge in a specific area

E: (comment) yes, I see what you mean.

dylangreen: lack of stupidity is all intelligence is

E: yes, we can define something by comparing it to its opposite. Intelligence is a lack of ignorance and ignorance is a lack of intelligence.

The term intelligence has different meanings in different contexts. In this context (I believe) a definition for intelligence could be (the ability to think and to learn).

What do you think?

Thanks Dylan

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Edited: August 26, 2011 @ 16:08

dylangreen

Plymouth, United Kingdom

#20

Aug 27, 2011 @ 08:56:34

your welcome - its good to help

i think context is a main part of the definition but as far as your definition (the ability to think and to learn) i think there is something missing - i may be wrong but i think the thirst for knowledge is a sign of intellect as well - someone who strives to learn as opposed to only taking in what they deem as needed - apart from that i think you have it spot on

- dylan

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sister_of_mercy

London, United Kingdom

#21

Aug 27, 2011 @ 13:01:10

In epistemology there is something known as context dependent knowledge, which is what I think the OP is talking about (though I could be wrong). In other words we value knowledge in terms of the context we're in. Knowing how to operate a boat when you're in the middle of a desert wouldn't be considered useful knowledge, for example.

However that doesn't deny the possibility that there are other forms of knowledge that are more stoic and absolute, like the laws of nature for instance. Regardless of the time and place, these laws remain fixed. It's only our perception of them that changes.

As far as adaptability goes, I don't think that's necessarly a sign of intelligence. Even animals adapt to different situations, albeit in different capacities. Humans are probably better at it than other animals but it's still something we're all capable of.

My issue with equating adaptability with intelligence is when you start to factor in people who have conditions like autism. They are clearly adept at academia, but yet fail to respond well to change.

Does that make them not intelligent?
Or are there different forms of intelligence, just as there are different forms of knowledge?

Oops, didn't mean to ramble on quite as much

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Edited: August 27, 2011 @ 13:01

Erimitus

The mind of God, Antarctica

#22

Aug 27, 2011 @ 19:51:04

@dylangreen Said

your welcome - its good to help

i think context is a main part of the definition but as far as your definition (the ability to think and to learn) i think there is something missing - i may be wrong but i think the thirst for knowledge is a sign of intellect as well - someone who strives to learn as opposed to only taking in what they deem as needed - apart from that i think you have it spot on

- dylan

Response to dylangreen post #20

E: I use the term intelligence to describe the ability to think and learn. The ability to think and learn depends on context. Context refers to the surrounding conditions� (i.e. the circumstances (events) of the environment within which the mind exists).

E: Yes I can see that the desire for knowledge is a factor that determines the degree of intelligence (i.e. what is known and how much is known).

E: I suppose we could call intelligence a quantification of knowledge.

What do you think?

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Edited: August 27, 2011 @ 19:51

dylangreen

Plymouth, United Kingdom

#23

Aug 28, 2011 @ 06:15:02

i know it may sound as if i'm being difficult but i think you still need to add something about the application of knowledge - as people can have academic qualifications and not be intellegent - an "intellegent" person would use the knowledge they have and determine the most effective path in which intellegence could be strengthened.

i dont think having knowledge itself is a sign of intellegence but rather the application of knowledge and the thirst to nuture intellect.

conditions are obviously subject to change and as you said before the intellect of a "city dweller" is somewhat limited by placing them in say a jungle, for instnace, however, as someone else mentioned the ability to adapt is also a sign of intellect so knowledge can't be the only thing that the definition is based around - there are terms and conditions, which make intellect subjective.

taking this into consideration i don't think one definition is possible unless it went into great detail about affects of social environments.

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