Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Good Looks or Intelligence?

First I have to question the criteria for measuring super intelligence or extreme good looks. Who can really measure those? The criteria for either is iffy at best, and changeable always, according to the century and place people are in. A person or persons who can define these undefinables deserve credit and praise, but I doubt anyone can do that.

I never think too much about good looks or whether I have them or not. As long as I don’t gross people out, I am fine with the way I look. Also, I don’t see me; others do, and I believe my looks are their problem.

As to intelligence, I can take apart what I believe its components are and talk about those as they relate to me. Even then, I will be generalizing and showing some serious lack of vision. Still, for the sake of argument, I’m going to tackle the challenge.

First, I think everyone is intelligent to some unmeasurable degree. My suspicion is, those who lack an unnamed part of intelligence are those who think they know everything or act as if they do. Truly intelligent people, assuming we can measure intelligence, would have an underlying sense of humility. Even a person who has studied/learned all his life would know he can be wrong on many things. He would also realize the sum of things he doesn’t know is much greater than the things he thinks he knows.

This, I believe I am well aware of. I know I don’t know everything and everything I know is iffy and changeable. If this weren’t true, I wouldn’t start my reviews with a caveat.

A highly intelligent person’s neural networks, both in the right and left brain, has to working much better than anyone else‘s. That I am sure is NOT the case for me, so I would like to have that, if it were possible.

I would also like to have a much better and more controllable memory function. My memory is sometimes quite sharp, but sometimes I think it takes a leave of absence to go hibernate underground. Thus the memory part of high intelligence is what I would aim for first.

As to conceptual thinking, although I am interested mostly in concrete concepts, I find abstract thought also amazing. A bit more creativity could help with my writing, I think.

Then, if a part of high intelligence is the quick grasp of ideas and situations, why not? Give me that, too.

Yet, other areas weigh heavy also, like the ability to survive and stay fit, having interpersonal skills, latching on to the thoughts, beliefs, and intentions of others quickly, ability to reason, ability to solve problems quickly and effectively, etc. Who wouldn’t like to have all those?

Lastly, having chewed the fat on all that, I believe human brain isn’t as immense as we think/hope it is. It is limited by size and by its being of matter and not of energy. True, energy passes through it to make it work, but the brain is still a thing and it is limited. I think that is why some people are musical prodigies while others are mathematical wizards, while others excel in other areas. If anyone ever had the perfect brain and intelligence, human life wouldn’t let her or him use it to its full capacity, because ours is only a butterfly’s life span measured in years.

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Prompt: Would you rather be SUPER INTELLIGENT or EXTREMELY GOOD LOOKING? Why?