Intelligence is the ability to hear someone's opinion and not be swayed by it.
It was left unattributed, prompting me to consider the sad possibility that the page's proprietor authored it himself, feeling sufficiently proud of his brainchild to inflict it on the internet-going public. Too bad for him. His quote is blindingly, breathtakingly stupid, and completely antithetical to every intellectual endeavor ever. (Also: it makes me angry.)
At the risk of insufferable white-knighting, let me clear something up. Intelligence never exists in a vacuum. Intelligence is routinely mistaken. Intelligence neither has nor pretends to have all the answers. Intelligence is sufficiently confident that it cheerfully admits its limitations. Above all, intelligence craves further understanding, relishing in opportunities to refine and revise and be swayed by the opinion of another.
Here is a tip for you, O anonymous peddler of Facebook quotations. When you argue, you can nearly always find common ground with your opponent, a reasonable component of his argument that causes you to adjust — ever so slightly — your thinking. When this proves infeasible, there are two possibilities: either your opponent is an intransigent, incoherent noisemaker, or you are. Take care that it isn't you.
I feel guilty having subjected the internet to the above quotation, and my grandstanding is not penance enough. Here is compensatory wisdom, quotes that ought to be on our anonymous friend's profile:
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. - Bertrand Russell
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.
- Richard Feynman
The truth is always a compound of two half-truths, and you never reach it, because there is always something more to say. - Tom Stoppard
In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted. - Bertrand Russell
There. Now I feel better.
2 comments:
Yeah, that sounds like something a tool would say. Regardless of what one ultimately believes, I think it's a sign of intelligence to be able to put yourself in someone else's position and see things their way. You may not agree with them, but at least you can do that.
I suppose you have to walk the fine line between always questioning yourself on everything (even when it's past appropriate) and stubbornness. That is hard.
Sometimes I'm afraid that we are contributing to a society in which ideological fealty trumps dialogue -- where it's considered morally superior to refuse to alter your opinion even when a compelling argument to do so comes along. It works well for partisanship and fundamentalism, but it's bad bad bad for any sort of intellectual edification.
I agree that it's a tough line to walk, since too much self-reflection will give you the post-modern paralysis. But I don't think that too much introspection is a risk that, on the average, humans tend to take.
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