Question:

1. Think of intelligent people whom you know well. What unintelligent things do they do? All
of them are bound to do some unintelligent things, so why do you consider them to be intelligent
people? Were you emphasizing some factors at the expense of others? Explain.

2. Did you ever consider that the homeless shelter might be filled with people of tremendous
potential? There might be a world-class archer, a great poet, a magnificent violinist, and a great
president. However, the archer never happened to try the bow, the poet never tried writing, the
violinist ignored music, and the president never ran for office. Instead, they worked at other
things and weren't very good. Some might think of themselves as failures, although they would
have been successful if they had only tried these other things. What argument is being made by
these statements? How would the concept of a general intelligence refute this argument?

Answer:

I would like to discuss my best friend. We will call him Brad to keep him anonymous. Brad is
highly intelligent. He has always been active and participated in his curricular academics. This
has helped him accumulate higher levels of thinking (Berger, 2011, p. 245). On the other hand, I,
myself, struggle very much with science and math because I took a hiatus from school for
several years. This pushed me backward rather than advancing, like Brad.

He has been going to school for a few years to get his degree in computer programing. He is
currently working as a computer programmer. His understanding of mathematics and science are
astounding to me. He can explain to me why certain scientific truths are the way they are. He can
expound on sciences of the universe with such ease and eloquence. The depth of his
understanding is incredible. His mental capacity for mathematics comes to him with ease, which
is not the case for me.

He is unintelligent when it comes to people. He struggles with being honest with others and lies
about simple things that dont really matter. This behavior gets him in trouble in the end due to
the fact that he lied. These actions of lying to people affect his relationships often. This makes it
hard for others to trust him and him to trust others. This also impairs his ability to create
meaningful, lasting bonds with those he cares about.

He is also very poor with money. He grew up in a family having luxuries that most people dont.
Thus assuming that these were things that people needed to have in average day living. He often
feels that he must buy the biggest, fastest, newest thing on the market. He does this instead of
saving money to purchase things that are necessary, like a reasonable vehicle, and moving into a
normal home of his own.

The question is posed to me if I feel that there are intelligent people living in homeless shelters
who are highly intelligent but did not achieve it. To this question I pose a resounding yes. I feel
that there is a lot of potential that was squandered away possibly due to drugs, emotional distress,
and mental disease. Many of these people may have dropped out of school and deprived
themselves of educational growth which is so essential to acquire from school. This may have
inhibited their aptitude that the book describes as the potential to master a particular skill or to
learn a particular body of knowledge (Berger, 2011 p.257).

I know that many of these stories are fictional, but some stories in Hollywood depict this
scenario. I feel that this happens very often. Peoples abilities and potential are overshadowed by
their decisions and situations. I feel that it very sad that this happens. It does indeed happen in
our society. I feel that a really good example of this comes from a show called The Colony.
There was a man on there with a very low ability to read. His mental capacity for mechanics was
extremely higher than that of average people.

Reference List

Berger, K. S. (2011). Invitation to the life span. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.