Do you consider yourself to be an intellectual?

Off Topic
1

There’s obviously some very well read people on this forum and some deep thinkers.

This got me thinking to something that happened in my final term at uni. I’d been out training on the river with my crew and a group of us who were all doing our finals were revising in the college library. One of my crew mates (who went on to get a 1st in history) picked up my revision notes and declared “you’re just doing sums - where’s the intellectual challenge in that? :roll_eyes:

I could kind of see his point - someone else had done the hard yards in coming up with the technical theories and equations. I was just doing sums with their work :man_shrugging:

I went to a good university, I’ve done pretty well in my career and I think I’m reasonably smart, but I’m a practical person. My strengths are in solving problems, devising and improving processes and getting diverse groups of people to work together. I don’t consider myself to be creative at all.

I’ve never taken an IQ test (or been interested in doing so). I don’t read high brow or “challenging “ books. I’m not thinking about the meaning of life or the big questions of the universe.

I greatly admire the people who do, but I’m not one of them :man_shrugging:

21 Likes
2

Fuck no!

12 Likes
3

it’s more about what you read and how you think…

horses for courses…

me neither…but i passed my 11 plus and yet my elder brother who is far brighter did not…

you don’t have to…just ask Sloggers who has apparently solved that particular riddle…he hasn’t afaik shared it with anyone yet though…

fascinating questions nonetheless…

3 Likes
4

I think most totalitarian regimes would have me shot at dawn, come the revolution.

Does that answer the question?

I don’t really consider myself to be anything other than a dad, and a fat triathlete of course.

On the other hand I can only put up with academics for so long before losing patience, so maybe I’m the totalitarian.

4 Likes
5

Except for everyone on here several times. Ejc I really wish you would improve your accuracy or stop belittling me, whichever it is.

6

You have shared THE meaning of life on here? Please do so again, for my benefit…

1 Like
7

GET A ROOM

5 Likes
8

I was still moving my finger underneath each word so Mungo beat me to it. Word for word my reply was the same :grinning:

14 Likes
9

To answer your question Whisk, no.

I have always just seen myself as someone bumbling and stumbling his way through life. Though like Joex I reckon I would be a political prisoner under some regimes (because I want good governance).

I worked real hard at school to get a better life, taking myself from a broken home in a Scots council estate, with a schizophrenic mum, through the first in my extended family to go to University (when it was hard to get in), through the professions then self employment before my wife got ill. Then I chose family over career, brought my young kids up and looked after my wife (when it was considered a non scrounger thing to do). Today both my kids have always worked, one has a Masters, and I am happy with that legacy.

The rest has just been a hobby. I began to ‘notice things’ and see patterns others seemed to be missing. So I developed that. I found out that they were age old skills that even the US military have declassified use thereof.

I have found it odd (not on here obviously) but both in real life and on the internet some put me on a pedestal. But such is. Others seem frustrated by or scared of me (keep that door firmly bolted against him). But again such is.

I know that, through my bumbling and stumbling I have helped others (as they told me) and great, wish I knew what I was doing. Ejc, behave.

Over the last decade I took my skills (again ejc behave) and tried to focus them. I failed re US elections, but was (sadly) spot on re ww3 threat and U.S. hedgemonic issues. I extensively prewarned, so have done my bit.

Now, apart from being curious about China c2047 event, getting my family more medical treatment, and enjoying mentally swimming in the oceans (it’s a hobby), I am happy to get out of here when Father Time/Mother Nature next come calling.

Overall I think that I have made a positive contribution (even won an award for inspiring in sport) to my family and society and (if action had been taken on a timely basis) global security (ejc please just control it, there is nowt I can do now and I will likely be long gone before 2047) to life.

But do I think that I am an intellectual? As someone above said Fuck no. Just a bloke who had time and used it to think in different ways to most.

1 Like
10

The earliest English language reference of the word is supposedly Byron wishing he was clever enough to understand them. Surely it’s better to be Byron?

6 Likes
11

Do you even read my posts, you have stripped me apart on this before.

As Joex wrote, get a room, by yourself.

In brief

Meaning of life - to know yourself
Purpose of life - to experience
Task in life - only you know that

Ffs, ejc

1 Like
12

Please don’t, im interested in fact, fiction is what I read of an evening :wink:

2 Likes
13

you don’t seem to understand the question…

…so i will leave it there…

14

Jack of all trades is more like it here. At work and at home. Love learning new stuff, reading new stuff, trying out new things, getting to a certain level of proficiency.

I’m a medium-slow learner, you have to tell me a couple of times, but am a reasonably determined bugger & will usually get to level 3 in the end. But then probably lose interest & start over at level 0 in something else.

Always in awe of people who specialise in just one thing, and hyperfocus on it, and gain level 10 expertise. Whether it’s an intellectual pursuit, sport, music, a practical skill, whatever. Sadly, that’s not me.

Also Spotify says I’m one of Meatloaf’s top 0.1% of listeners globally, which apparently automatically disqualifies any use of the term intellectual.

11 Likes
15

No I class myself thick as shit :wink:
but i passed my 11 plus, got a few a-levels. Chose a career over Uni (which i got in but didn’t start) in my aptitude test to become a developer I sat there in a 3 hr test finished after less than 2 hours thinking is that it, whilst a girl was in tears next to me, later to be told it was up there with the best scores they’d ever seen. i teach myself new programming languages and can fix complex programming issues far quicker than others, once being told you take an afternoon to do what takes X a month and they still get it wrong! I read a lot and love learning new things. I did what was meant to be an IQ test and it came out at 148 iirc, so a load of bolox results wise IMO, but it wasn’t anything hard for me, much like a logic test and that’s the way my brain works so wouldn’t surprise me if I was quite high, its just meaningless as we all have skills and differences that set us apart. I have a terrible memory for facts, especially if they dont interest me, and give me a new squad of 20 kids and I will still struggle with names after months! I’m also quite forgetful!
My wife also says I’m on the spectrum, I just think I don’t like idiots much or trying to talk small talk with people I don’t care to get to know :wink:

11 Likes
16

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

4 Likes
17

I dont think I am. I think Im reasonably smart, probably more intelligent than a lot of the general population, certain all those who frequent the local Facebook group. I taught myself programming, but in that world I would say I was probably at the upper end of the middle of the pack. Have worked and know of developers far better than me.

Academically I didnt do as well as a lot of people thought or expected of me, passed all my GCSEs bar German, and got a couple of As, average A level results, dropped out of uni.

I am interested in a lot of things and gather a reasonable amount of knowledge on things, I dont read really high brow or difficult books.

I wouldnt say I am particular creative either. I am practical. If I wanted to cook a really nice meal, or build something out of wood etc I could follow a recipe or instructions and develop the skills, but couldnt sit there and design something myself.

I think largely I am pretty average and ok with that

9 Likes
18

No its not, its 42. i read it in an encyclopaedia once

4 Likes
19

I think there’s a separate confessions thread if you want to talk about these things :joy:

We’re here to help :joy:

11 Likes
20

I grew up in Teesside and got a degree from here and Sunderland so I’d say it’s a pretty firm no from me :joy:

But, I like to keep my brain interested with lots of useless trivia that’ll never benefit me in life but keeps me sane.

9 Likes