Is there a correlation between intellect and IQ?
IQ was discredited a few years ago in a big debate, if I remember correct.
Yet, the BBC have been running mass IQ investigations involving the nation (meaning the BBC 1 viewers), and groups of studio participants representing people of various walks of life.
I also participated, with my wife, in one of the programs. I have two university degrees, and have been engaged in "intellectual" type of work all through my life, while my wasn't.
The results were surprising - she got more questions correct than me! But, I "won", I mean I scored a higher IQ than her on account of my age!
So, what is the conclusion? Looking back, my wife did not have the push and the support for higher education as much as I had. So she missed out on that.
What is the point I am trying to make? Indeed!
I think there is no real correlation between IQ and intellect.
I base this assertion on the type of questions thrust at us during the program. The questions, I noticed, were designed to test one's lateral thinking abilities.
Take a book on IQ tests and you can see that for yourself.
Now, what is intellect? Is it reflected in the number of degree certificates one collects? Is intellect somehow connected/related to intelligence?
From another angle, what metric can the society utilise to measure/assess the "intelligence" of a person, when it comes to, say choosing someone for a job?
First thing one is asked is about the educational qualifications. (I am leaving out such aberrations like political influence, family connections and old-school affiliations etc. in this discussion). Then one is invited to face an interview, where the applicant is "expected" to be grilled in order to determine the suitability for the job.
So, if the certificates do not provide an accurate measurement of one's suitability, the interview is supposed to provide the missing clues.
I suppose everything depends on the job. A research job would require a certain set of technical, intellectual and inter-personal skills, which would be different from the skills set required for the job of an accountant, for instance.
Still, how can one determine the "intellectual health" of a person, as opposed to one's physical health?
Perhaps, one can look for signs of any interest in aesthetic topics - art, music, poetry, literature.
What sort of books/publications one reads, what sort of company one keeps, what sort of films one watches, and so on.
TV watching habits can also provide clues in that direction. This is one of my observations. You can guess how I apply my metrics!
Do you agree?
What do we mean by intellectual health?
Ability to see things the way they are, unhindered by filters of prejudice...
Rational analysis of issues unburdened by emotions...
Is that a fair definition?
Is creativity a good metric of intellectual health?Are you a conformist? I mean do you fit in with the standard behaviour models upon which the psychologists and psychiatrists base their diagnostics?
Deviation, in my opinion, is creativity.
SHEEP WILL NEVER DISCOVER THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY, WHILE MONKEYS COULD.
So, if you accept my assertion, monkeys have a higher state of intellectual health!
Perhaps I have got into a muddle here!!!
Intellectual Health is Not the same as mental health.
Lack of a demonstrable, or even an unrecognisable intellect is certainly NOT a disease!!