Do you think being *smart* is something you are born with? or obtain?

[Zygen 6,066]

You sir, I complement you. You described everything I wanted to say into two sentences rather then making it long and complex like I did.

Really? Well thats quite astounding to me then.. I'm quite a rambler and very bad at summarizing stuff.

 

So its quite a stunning achievement for me to

[Mephala 2,633]

Our choices define who we are. If someone deemed "not smart" works at, say, Maths every day, and has good study habits, then they'll do better in Maths then the "smart" one who doesn't pay attention, slacks off, and doesn't study. 

 

 

Everyone is different. We're not automatically "smart" or "not smart".

Some people are academically smart, while others are more artistically inclined or technologically intelligent. There's different definitions.

 

Maybe it's a gene they got from their parents, but being smart also relies on hard work. You're not going to remain intelligent unless you work. It's like using a language-you need to use it every day as much as you can, because otherwise you'll lose it.

[MagicalStarRain 599]

For me, being intelligent is similar to singing. It's a quality that most people are born with that has to be developed. I bet some people are born a natural academic and/or hones it, while others are born with a mental problem and/or won't put forth the effort to make it better and better.

[Spring Storm 276]

I think intelligence is mostly something you're born with. Someone who wasn't intelligent can certainly work hard and succeed, but they would probably have to do almost all of the homework and still need a lot of studying to do so. Then there are people like me, who do most of the homework, very little studying, and ace most things.

 

Of course, academics isn't the only way to measure intelligence, but it was an example I could think of of how my natural intelligence usually allows me to do better than my peers. I don't think I'm better than them, or even the best, because I'm usually never the one with the highest grade in the class, but I do better than most.

[The Stranger 812]

Come now, you earn your smarts through experience and through others. You can't be born smart but you are born with the brain power to become smart.

 

If people where born smart schools would be a waste of everyone's time.

[Solar☼Flare 31]

I believe it is a little bit of both. If you're born with a background of being smart your parents will expect more out of you and therefore you're "pushed" into being smart. Your success chance goes up if you are being pushed. Although if this is true then I have no idea why my brother is failing every class he enters and I'm passing every class... so discard what I just said. xD 

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

It's pretty much something you have to work for. No one is born "smart". Some individuals may be born with better memory and greater learning skills but if they don't put them to use then they're just as stupid as anyone else.

[MagmaKnight 17]

I would think it would be a bit of both I person could be born with a natural talent for learning in a certain talent but they still need to obtain the knowledge. 

[Broccoli 127]

-Smartness is sometimes something you are born with. There are kids at school who don't seem to put a lot of effort into their work, and score very high grades, or learn a new concept very quickly. 

 

-What my mom told me: "If someone understand something and you haven't, put 3 times the effort and time into it and there's no way you are still not able to understand." 

 

-Once at school, I heard a math teacher talking to a parent. She told the parent something like "if smart kids don't put effort in their work or slack off, eventually they will become dumb/mediocre."

 

-Of course, people are smart in different things, and have minds that function differently from others. 

 

What I'm trying to say here is that

1. If your mind isn't as sharp as others at something, try until it is, then exceed.

2. Smartness at something can come in hand when used properly. If not used, it can go away. You can't rely solely on talent of being gifted. You still have to try and practice. As they say, "practice makes perfect".

3. Being gifted means you have potential, but you don't really know what you can do with it unless you do something with it. Also, you can't be born with knowlege. It is something you have to obtain.

4. Use your brain! : D

Edited December 22, 2012 by Flip

[Finesthour 7,287]

...Huh?

 

Being "Smart" is such an odd term. It can mean so many things.

 

Are you tech savvy?

Book savvy?

Common sense savvy?

 

It all means the same thing.

You become "Smart" by doing things, and learning from them.

Anyone can be good at school. It just takes effort to learn anything.

[Guest]

If you solely base "Intelligence" off of Mathematics and Science, then yes, some people's brains are better wired to learn that quicker, just like everyone's brains are wired to learn certain things better than others.

 

I myself, am an idiot in math, beyond basic calculations I can't do much, and I'm a senior in High School.  However, I am great with words, and speaking, and understanding how other people feel.

 

If you judge the intelligence of a fish by how well it can climb trees, the fish will always believe it is dumb. 

[Sks_Burns 730]

no one starts life with a full hard drive, its all obtained over time. some people are born with greater powers of memorization and the ability to absorb knowledge better then others, but its not really the basis for intelligence. theres more to being smart then just memorizing knowledge and being able to repeat it on command, its knowing right from wrong, being able to problem solve, being able to create and expand on new ideas, etc.  

 

i dont believe in smart people, much like i dont believe in stupid people. something so vast and complex cant be broken into two groups so easily... it just cant be done. smart cant be lumped into just fields of science, medicine, or math either, as theres intelligent people from all walks of life in all fields of profession. 

[Blindsight 142]

I think we're born with intelligence; if it's low, one has to work hard to be smart; if one's IQ is high, the easier it is. 

But of course this is a really diverse topic. What do we mean by "smart", anyway? Flawless logic? Academic knowledge? Being well-read? Being good at math? Or having the ability to be objective at all times? etc etc

 

... I confused myself a bit.

[Strawberry Tart 161]

This is a really really hard question. But I actually think everyone is smart. IQ tests are stupid. When you make someone take an IQ test, you're basically saying: "Okay, I know you might be talented (smart) at something else, but this test is what will prove if you really are smart." It's like taking a penguin and telling it to fly to see if it is smart. No. Penguins are talented at swimming, not flying!! Maybe someone is not good at math, science, or reading, but is good at cooking or art. That does not make them stupid! They are just "smart" at doing something else. 

 

For example, I'm terrible at geography and math. And people tell me I'm not smart because I currently have 4 B's and 2 A's. But I'm good at baking and singing. But do they care? No. Because there are people better at math than me, THEY are smarter than me. (Even though I may be better at baking.)

 

Society's idea of "genius" is screwed up. 

Edited December 23, 2012 by Strawberry Tart

[Retro*Derpy 3,181]

Well there are people born with more-than-average smarts, they are called Gifted. A lot of people are Gifted, they just don't know it. Others though, that aren't gifted, aren't stupid they just might have to study more. Though it all depends on the subject at hand. One person with a really high IQ might not know something in a subject compared to a lower IQ person with more experiences with that subject. So smarts can really be both Born and Obtained.

[Lunas Husband 2,777]

I think anypony can be smart.. if you work to it. Some I think are just born really smart and that's great! but at the end of the day... if you want to be come smart or well smarter you can.. just a lot of hard work and time must be put in to it.

[FatalRain 108]

I think everypony's smart

We're all just smart in different ways

for example, my old best friend was very book smart and could remember facts easily

my other friend is very computer smart and can fix almost every electronic

I'm..random fact smart? haha I dunno, I know a lot of random things, I suppose

Oh, I'm also fairly good at grammar and all that jazz

 

But everyone is knowledgeable in something!

[Khaoios 1,970]

Not a single human on this Earth is born smart........so in order to gain intelligence, we must obtain it through learning and reading.

[IcyHaze 594]

I think you're either born with intelligence or you're not...but it can be worked on to some extent. A person can improve their brain's power with puzzles and the like, but it will only let them access their full potential, not make them mroe inelligent.

 

To clarify also, Knowledge does not equal intelligence, and vice versa. I've known people who were extremly knowledgable, but idf you asked them anything outside of their field of study, they couldn't even comprehend the question.

Likewise, I've known intelligent peoplem who simply don't know things, due to either an old educational system, or a bad one.

[\/ 650]

I'm fairly sure people are born with more developed abilites in memory and cognitive functions than others, and stuff like that can lead to easier processing of information. I guess it's a bit of both. You're not really born knowing stuff, so it depends on what you try to learn as well.

[Sigma 768]

My mother had my intelligence quotient (IQ) tested when I was just around four and it came back one-hundred and ten, but that was a long time ago, and anyone who uses an IQ score as an excuse to call themselves smart are sadly mistaken. The IQ test has a cultural bias, and has had controversies concerning accuracy surrounding it ever since it's creation. Many people would go as far as to call it 'bad science'. I would be willing to argue that my intelligence was a reward for hard work, not a lucky gift.

 

But of course, that's not what you asked. You asked about intelligence in general, not just mine. Well, I can answer that with a quote:

 

"Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to." -Henry Van Dyke

[Adorkable 2,737]

Of course, I think it's something you obtain.

 

If you didn't pursue knowledge your entire life, you would probably still act like a baby in your 20's.

 

That's if you never learned anything from the day you were born.

 

I don't think you can be born with knowledge, because where would you get it, you know?

 

Stuff like that. ^^

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

I'm actually objectively dumb, and I sure as heck haven't gotten any better in the nineteen years of my life.

 

Seriously, I think intelligence can be defined in a number of ways. Some things like spatial reasoning and the capacity of your brain are more or less hardwired. But a lot of it is environmental, which is proven to shape how your mind works over time. Common sense is important, and that's fully learned.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Lil' Strapless

[Painted Lattice 131]

I'm sure someone's already said something to this effect, but this is my stance on intelligence.

 

Intelligence is a person's ability to cope and be flexible with changes in his/her environment. (And deal with these changes well.)

[4april 374]

I think it is both. IQ is probably hereditary on birth, but how much it increases as one grows depends on many things including your effort.