The true bun fight divider - intelligence

[Bennifer]

Seeing as we?ve got some bunfights going on, I thought I?d ask about a different divider than class ? intelligence. I?ve a fair few friends from a range of backgrounds and levels of education. Sometimes, I can find myself thinking ?how can you not know this?? with some of my friends who are lovely. It might be something historical, geographical, or political. I?m not suggesting I?m a towering intellect, but I suppose, I?m relatively well educated. Is it patronising to have friends where you steer clear of topics. How do you cope with this issue in your daily life?

YANBU. I am often amazed at people's lack of knowledge of current affairs. I was discussing going on holiday to Greece saying I was a bit concerned due to the issues happening there. My colleague genuinely didn't know what I was talking about. How?

That's nothing to do with intelligence, it's about how well informed someone is, and the scope of their "general knowledge"
Being more intelligent than the average person doesn't mean you "know more stuff". Likewise someone of somewhat less than average intelligence who reads a lot, watches the news, takes an interest in things, will "know more stuff" leading some people to think they are more intelligent iyswim.
It's like people thinking the winner of, say, Mastermind must be a genius. It's just not so.
I guess ignorance would be the word having thought about this for way more time than strictly necessary

by being thick enough to be tiresome for intelligent people and clever enough not to care

I can assure you that intelligence doesn't make a person well informed.

I know some very well educated people that quite frankly haven't got a clue about a lot of things I would consider to be common knowledge.

General knowledge and common sense. Lots of so called 'intelligent' people have neither.

intelligence isn't the same thing as knowledge or education. isn't intelligence the ability to absorb information? and build on it (utilise it)?

its all been said by the above posters. i would add that i do find the lack of interest in current affairs frustrating sometimes, but then, its a bit deep for the school gates, and work is work not chat. My rl friends and I are too busy downing wine away from the kids catching up during child free time to talk about global issues.

I very rarely know what's going on in the world but I'm not uneducated!

My DC watch kids programmes if the TV is on so I don't watch the news, or I listen to CD's rather than the radio. I have a vague idea about most things from the occasional glance at the BBC news website but if you started a conversation about Greek's economy all I would know is that they're in a crisis but that's about as much as I know on that topic. I'm sure it's more in depth than that though

I was brought up in a house where watching the news was mandatory, and I do think it is important, even for children to have a basic grasp of current affairs.

i am intelligent (smirk), well educated and very well read, i work in the financial markets so have an interest in economic affairs. I have a crap memory, so things like greek mythology, order of past prime ministers, US state names, etc often slip my memory. This doesnt mean i am not intelligent because i havent remembered as many facts as you. It makes me forgetful. The leap is knowing something and building on it. You may just know the fact, just remembering a fact doesnt make you intelligent.

As for Greece, as long as you're not based in Athens i'd say you're far from protests, and if you take Euros for your spending money you're probably fine this summer...or take a credit card. You might find the odd strike hits your flights or something but its not like you're holidaying in a war zone. Just a struggling European country. I'd be similarly concerned with a Spanish holiday to be fair!

I concede the point that intelligence and being well-informed / educated isn't exactly the same thing (depending on how you measure intelligence). For example, I know some very clever technical people who wouldn't know who wrote a certain book. Perhaps I could leave intelligence out of the OP and replace it with being informed / educated.

As others have said, that's not about intelligence. It's about ignorance - not knowing things. You could have an IQ of 150 and know nothing about current affairs.

DS1 (12) reads the paper and watches the news. He likes Have I got News for You. I have not encouraged him he just likes it. His Geography teacher said you could tell.

He has common sense too, and thinks through everything very thoroughly.

I think most people talk to different people about different things. The whole point about having a two way conversation is that you tailor the topics to something that you can both enjoy a conversation about.

I have friends where I would only talk about the latest films, celeb gossip etc, but others to chat politics too.

I have found that what the News says is going on in the world is increasingly there for schlock shock purposes and manufactured-for-sale, so I increasingly ignore current affairs.

book smart
street smart

best to be both IMO.

beachyhead, I agree with you, it's what I tend to do ... but is it patronising to have friends who you ignore topics with for the reasons you've stated?

It's only patronising if you let them know you're ignoring those topics for the reasons stated.

You can be intelligent but then lose it. I have friends I was at uni with who have chosen a certain path in life. Met up with them recently and it is as if they are afraid to admit to a strong opinion on anything, unless its a cake recipe or similar. No interest in discussing world or even national affairs. It was disappointing as they were lovely, lively, interesting girls at 15 years ago.

I have a couple of friends in their early 30's who never watch the news, never read a newspaper, do not really use the internet other than FB, and to be honest, it is impossible to have any sort of conversation with them as they are bloody clueless unless it comes to holidays and hair styles... I dont expect to sit in the pub discussing the economic state of the world, but I would prefer to have some semblance of an adult conversation sometimes when we go out.

This actually reminds me of something I was going to put on another thread last night but didnt bother. A poster implied that women who have predominantly male friends are predatory and other women hate them, but in my experience I prefer the company of my male friends when I go out, simply because their conversation is more varied, and we can have some good topical debates beyond Cheryl Coles performan on The Voice.

I met someone recently who didn't know what Kosher meant.

I met someone a couple of years ago who'd never heard of Sir Walter Raleigh.

I was astounded at both. How can you not soak up stuff like that through osmosis?

Hmm, that may be your experience Squeaky but it does sound a bit sexist.

You should befriend pensioners then.

My mum watches the news 6 times a day, if i don't know the very latest news she gets shocked!

Imo its not about knowing information but the ability to analyse it, a lot of people just repeat whole sentences they have heard.

I don't think it's patronising. I think it would be far more patronising to start a conversation about economics with someone who clearly had no knowledge or interest in that area...that might be considered being showy offy...it's just about being aware and considerate...

Define 'intelligence'. I have a genius level IQ, got a full scholarship to a top public school so had a brilliant education. But because I'm autistic I can't read between the lines. I don't have the first clue in social situations and have been unable to hold down even a basic level job. I never lose at trivial pursuit but I don't know how to make friends to have anyone to play it with.