Am I more intelligent than my parent, sister/brother, friend, colleague or partner? Do I really want to know considering that any answer to this query indicates superiority or inferiority in capacities and abilities? How will I react if told that I'm inferior to my wife but superior to my boss?
I'm talking about cognitive intelligence, so please don't distract me with emotional and other types of personality giftedness (not yet, anyway!). Intelligent people are known to be quick in finding solutions to difficult situations. How do we find out how intelligent we are. There are intelligence tests (e.g. IQ), criteria and signs used by experts and practitioners, yardsticks employed by educational institutions, exams and exercises utilised by employers, books and electronic materials that provide explanations to your answers and scores. Often, the people we are in contact with tell us so: family and relatives, neighbors, teachers, classmates, clients, etc.
Is it significant to be intellectually superior or gifted? Imagine having intellectually gifted government decision makers, politicians and citizens who are sensitively, genuinely and humanely making this world more peaceful, just, environmentally-friendly and self-sufficient?
How do we ensure that giftedness translates into success for individuals and society as a whole? Do we enhance giftedness and doesn't this contribute to inequality?
Intellectual giftedness is a weapon of competition. Consequently, so much money is spent on special/private education, extra-curricular activities, support services and materials, etc to help challenge/develop the mind. These days, there are scientific discoveries and technologies that promise to improve one's intelligence. Likewise, it's not impossible to produce gifted children. For example, with assisted reproductive technologies, those who can't have children can choose the intellectual (not only physical) attributes of their donor. However, is this ethically/morally right?
The pursuit of intellectual giftedness affects you directly and indirectly.
Looking forward to hearing your views.
Cheers,
Rolade
