Think of the most intelligent person you know. Why are they intelligent?

[sevencontinents]

I have been thinking about this tonight and thought I would ask the intelligent community of mumsnet.

Personally, I do not think having a lot of knowledge makes one intelligent. I also think that a certain group of people who undervalue themselves in the intelligence stakes are far more intelligent than they realise: there is something inherently smart about knowing that you have cognitive deficiencies and where these deficiencies lie.

The most intelligent person I know did get perfect academic results but that is not why I think they are intelligent: they understand that their perfect exams results were helped by a photographic memory and a private education, yet this person is also a very quick thinker and links concepts easily. Mathematically, they are gifted, yet they are also articulate, emotionally stable and socially capable (not especially skilled in this area, but perfectly capable with a fairly wide circle of friends). This diversity of skills, some of which they are better at than others, makes this person
very intelligent in my opinion.

What do others think makes a person they know intelligent?

I thought I was reasonably intelligent until I worked in an enviroment with some of the best "brains" in the country, people at the very peak of their profession, not just academic high achievers but an ability to absorb and comprehend complex facts and able to communicate well.
Some of the time I felt just thick, although I know I'm not!

I agree with everything humblebumblees has said but also would say someone who is able to hold two opposing ideas in their head and critically evaluate each, and coming to a conclusion that synthesises the best of both ideas. Solutions are rarely simplistic but people like to present them as such. A truly clever person doesn't do that: they simplify only when it doesn't mislead.

My husband is extremely intelligent.

He is fantastic with languages and speaks fluent English, French, German, and Russian.

He has an encyclopedic knowledge of public transport systems in most large cities. We’re not from or living in the UK but I could ring him from any street in London and he could instantly direct me to the nearest bus stop or tube station and give me exact info on what bus/which stops etc. I need to get to my destination. Same with New York or Moscow.

He just knows a huge amount of stuff. Just really random information. It’s astonishing.

He’s insanely shy and introvert, though. While he has high IQ, his EQ is low but manifests as shyness, not arrogance. It’s a shame because he holds himself back so much.

My best friend is the most intelligent person I've ever known. She was blessed with a high IQ and has spent her life using it wisely. She got two good degrees ( with no help at all from private education ). Used them in a really good job, and sought further education as time went on to keep her qualifications fresh.

Involved herself in local politics to benefit the local community. Learned something new every year - swimming, ballroom dancing, several languages. Just something new to keep the brain ticking over.

She retired early ( single, no dependents ) and took up several really interesting hobbies and activities. Got involved in local community projects , wrote a few booklets about the local area .

If you asked her, she'd say she was pretty average - but she isn't. Her intelligence shines out of her like a bright light.

I am pretty sure who the most intelligent person I know is. He has an incredible mix of verbal, manual, conceptual and numerical flexibility. it's amazing watching his concentration on a new problem. I also like his daft sense of humour and affection for crappy punk bands.

I think there as many types of intelligence as others have stayed.

However, I also think there is some level of intrinsic intelligence (maybe 'potential' is the word) as I have a couple of friends who are not well educated but have the ability to quick grasp very complicated concepts during discussion - e.g. philosophical concepts etc. I think you can often gauge the intellectual capacity of the individual through conversation although obv not all the time.

Stated not stayed

All the really clever people I know read, read, read. Endless curiosity.

Hmm. I have Aspergers and have worked with some seriously intelligent Oxbridge people. One comes to mind in particular who I got on with like a house on fire, and am still amazed/in awe of at the things he discovered and the connections he made...

80% innate intelligence, seriously helped by very good private schooling and several degrees, reads everything, teaches, challenges everything he is involved with. General genius with a fairly exceptional attitude to the world. Also watches the shittest TV and has the most insane batshit sense of humour.
I think most of it was there to start with. It's just who he is.

Hmmm
Lots of people have mentioned oxbridge.
But does oxbridge always = intelligence?
I don't think it does, although I know some seriously clever people who went there, without a doubt.
Is there anyone here who went there who can elaborate?

It's not oxbridge, I know many many people who went there and while they're more than capable and very clever, it's not that pure inate intelligence that's so rare

All the brightest people I know are the ones that work at it constantly, but are also generally very aware of other people and the world around them. I know it sounds basic, but it's really not.

Look at Jamie Oliver
I believe, not necessarily academically intelligent
However, great practical & social skills
He used his fame, to give similar people opportunities in his kitchens
With a team of advisors he built an empire
He also made connections with other chefs, celebs, like Jimmy Farm & George the house project guy
The wives established their businesses too

I feel it's a bit of a shame that his business is declining, but things have moved on....

I know someone who was described as having` the brain the size of a planet'

Oh please tell me you were not sat in a science lesson with me when we got bollocked for finishing early and then sat looking smug - That's when I got told the above.

I've learned over my 44 years that intelligence isn't everything. I probably passed all of my exams with high grades because my home life was shit and school work was preferable. I have pretty shitty social skills as a result.

Yes I am intelligent, I was always top of the class. Compare my life now though to the 'lesser' intelligent and I would swap in an instant. Not because of IQ but because of the environment I was raised in.

I also have a numbers brain, I have a degree in IT purely because I loved the coding - it either works or it doesn't. It either adds up or it doesn't and if not, why not? English Lit and Language were my worst subjects. Opinions and theories don't work for me.

I know someone who didn't go to uni

They can take broken mechanical things apart & fix them & even make spare parts

You can ask them to build you something & they will design & build it. They will source the most appropriate materials

They are interested in learning how things function

They are interested in sharing knowledge with other people

They were told several times at school age that they were not very intelligent. How wrong everyone was... Interesting to see how basic maths & physics can take someone onto bigger & better things

If you have ever watched scrap heap challenge. Someone like the ex army guy who now owns a castle in France
Can't remember his name
His wife is called Angel

I'm going to add that they are someone who completes a project & doesn't leave a task half finished !

Same attitude at work. Do a job well or not at all !

A Dick Strawbridge type character

I think it's one of two of my relatives, or possibly my sil who are the most intelligent people I know.

My sil because she moved to the opposite end of the country to mil, though that might be wisdom rather than intelligence.

Two relatives both hold phds but are well rounded, witty, capable of turning their hand to pretty much anything. They both believe themselves to be only very marginally above average and neither of them think they know that much anything, when in fact they both know and seem to understand an awful lot about a great deal of things.

They both very inspiring (and both happen to bewomen).

My grandad never went to university (WW2, got conscripted), but was soo clever, he spent his life designing industrial machinary and designed a whole new system of musical notation. However old he was he still wanted to learn, bought himself a computer in his 80s and would immediately make friends with anyone foreign who moved to his small village so he could ask them lots of questions.

Interestingly my nonna (his wife) only went to primary school (WW2) but even now she still wants to be informed and reads and watches the news and her mental maths is quicker than mine at 84/5.

I think it's mindset, all the clever people I know always want to learn more.

For me DH is the smartest person I know. He’s fluent in 7 languages, has recall that’s indescribably accurate, is diligent, hard working and, most of all, is forever improving himself.

He’s one of those people who seems able to just try everything and do it incredibly well. Science, music, sport, you name it and without arrogance or unkindness he can just learn it right from the start.

Socially he can struggle yet in work mode he’s friendly, welcoming and exceptionally good at making everyone in his business feel part of a team. He’s had the company for over 10 years and the people he works with (he never says “they work for me” it’s always “they work with me”) think very highly of him.

The DC seem to have inherited most of DH’s better parts, and it’s incredible to watch. They’re academic, sporty, great at picking up new skills but have also inherited my sunny temperament where most days are happy ones. I always say to DH that if you could take the best bits of both of us and make children in a laboratory, they’d be what you make.

I don’t really have any idea who the cleverest person I know it. I know a few clever people and they are clever in different ways. Knowledge and the ability to retain knowledge is part of it, but the ability to synthesise and sift through that knowledge to deploy it effectively separates ‘memory’ from ‘intellect’, in my opinion. Speed of thought, logical quality of thought, the ability to hypothesise, empathise and support a position other than that which the person themselves holds, abstract thought/theorising... All sorts.