Common sense...

The Executioner said:Intelligence might not have anything to do with love, but does money have anything to do with happiness?
What good is all the cash in the world to a painter if he isn't happy?
Besides, I have no idea what would need to happen for a simple gardener to be unable to make a living off the things he crafts with love.

If intelligence even has any connection at all 😁 it would be just as abstract as love itself!
For instance, a smart person realizes that love is wildly overrated—just a melodramatic, life-altering nothingness—and they’ll use that realization to their advantage, putting them one step ahead of those perpetual dreamers chasing some romantic illusion. It's pointless!

Forgive me, but there is no equality here, only a direct cause-and-effect relationship!😁

William Gonzalez3 said:.
what do you think, would it actually be smart to start meditating right now, or is there anything more logical than just trying to survive this absolute furnace we're living in?

I honestly haven't a clue... It feels way too sweltering to even attempt meditation.

Maybe the best move would just be to crawl into a bathtub full of ice. 🙂

If we’re talking about the wisdom of Socrates, then sure!
But if you're referring to the vision of a modern strategist—someone constantly evolving and acting on new insights—then there isn't the slightest bit of connection between that and Socrates' old school of thought.

Look, I don’t know if I’m some kind of genius, but I can certainly do basic math. This poll shows 84% saying yes and 40% saying no? How does that even work? 🤣 🤣

tilopa said:Look, I don't know if I'm particularly smart, but I definitely know how to do math. The poll shows 84% saying yes and 40% saying no. How does that even work?🤣 🤣

You completely ignored the subcategories! 😁
The gospel according to the bloodthirsty tells us there were the truly smart people, and then there were those who just liked to pretend they were!🤣

The smart ones are the ones who actually enjoy life.

rustymaker5 said:what’s the actual relationship between wisdom and intelligence?
is a wise person necessarily an intelligent one?
are being wise and being intelligent essentially the same thing—assuming we define intelligence as knowing your own limits and actually acting accordingly?

An intelligent person doesn't have to be wise... though they certainly can be. 😁

brain_cell said:The truly wise ones are those who actually know how to enjoy life.

That’s for damn sure! 👍

But I'm talking about the guy who actually gets something out of it—someone who can truly enjoy the moment and walk away feeling satisfied, rather than just having a blast and then feeling like total garbage afterward...

Hey Lisa Rodriguez84, don't you feel like some of those people who used to be your enemies have been putting on a bit of an act lately... pretending to be your friends?
I honestly didn't catch a single word of what you were saying up there. 😢

rustymaker5 said:Look, Lisa Rodriguez84, haven't some of your enemies just been masquerading as friends?
I didn't quite catch what you meant by that above. 😢

It honestly feels like they have.

Maybe I phrased that a bit weirdly—I tend to overcomplicate things even on a good day—but hey, we're getting philosophical here, right?
Anyway, here's the bottom line: people say being smart means knowing how to enjoy life, and sure, there's some truth to that. But if you're actually smart, you'll figure out how to enjoy yourself without leaving a trail of wreckage behind. For example, everyone "enjoys" themselves while they're out drinking and partying, but that's not true enjoyment if you spend the entire next day puking your guts out. Or if you do something incredibly stupid just for a quick thrill, only to deal with the fallout later. That's not living; that's just short-term gratification with long-term consequences, you know?
You've got to learn how to actually enjoy life...👍

Back when I was maybe fifteen or sixteen, some lady took me under her wing and taught me how to actually drink... and honestly, I’m so incredibly grateful for that lesson. It wasn't about how much you could pour down your throat, but more about learning to read those subtle physical cues, that tiny split second where your body tells you it’s had enough. One more shot after that moment and you’re basically guaranteed to be puking your guts out. Once you master that internal compass, life just gets a lot easier.
Anyway, rule number one is always eat a massive meal before you start partying.
Second, don't go wasting your night on cheap, bottom-shelf poison; if you're going to do it, have some self-respect and stick to the good stuff.
Third, for the love of God, never mix your drinks.
And most importantly... never, ever drink to drown your sorrows!

Once you finally get those habits down, you can actually enjoy the good vibes without ending up dying on a bathroom floor or waking up with a headache so intense it feels like your skull is splitting wide open...

Look, I hear you, I really do. I know how it all works, but let’s be real—it’s a hell of a lot harder to stick to those principles once you’ve had a few beers...

Could it be that concepts like "intelligence" or "wisdom" are merely illusions? 😁 My contention is that these traits are entirely subjective, rooted deeply in one's level of self-respect. Is it not true that those who prioritize their own principles always seem "smarter" than those who constantly bend to the whims and opinions of others? Have you ever observed someone acting purely on impulse and wondered if they were being brilliant or simply volatile? Furthermore, can we truly call someone intelligent if they harbor prejudices against things or people they have never actually encountered?
This is simply my perspective, my personal philosophy 😁

William Gonzalez3 said:On one thread recently, the conversation drifted toward how my own cognitive settings might be somewhat... lacking.

Having been shaken out of my usual comfort zone—and my misplaced confidence in my own absolute intellect (I managed a solid 62 on an IQ test, after all)—I’ve started questioning things.

And I mean the worst kind of questions.

Why?

What is the point of intelligence, anyway?

Why does being smart even matter?

Does any value hold up when faced with mistakes? Or rather, can someone who never makes a mistake truly be considered intelligent?

What does it actually mean to "be smart"?

And there's one last question, which feels a bit more personal: who is the one who possesses this intelligence? (Feel free to share whether you consider yourself intelligent, or if you think someone else is—though please, let's stick to public figures, like an unnamed politician or a former President, rather than calling each other names here.)

If you ask me, that really is the question of all questions.😬

Quincy:

what is the point of intelligence, anyway?

In my estimation... perhaps an evolutionary experiment... pure coincidence... it just happened... regardless of how slim the odds were—an exception that proves the rule, I suppose.☕

Simply put, it's incredible.🤣

I haven't met a single person yet who actually thinks they're stupid. Everyone walks around thinking they’re some kind of genius. 😁

Intelligence is nothing but a burden. You're constantly stuck trying to meet everyone else's expectations, or even your own. 🤷

I’m fairly bright. An IQ test put my cognitive functioning right in that high-average range, somewhere between 110 and 120.

Is there really anyone alive who hasn't been called stupid, an idiot, or a moron at least once? It feels like we use those labels far too loosely.