On Intelligence

Warning: This article may contain generalizations and simplifications.  This is all for the sake of not writing a dissertation on this subject.  I am fully aware that no single statement can account for every possible situation, belief system, random chance, etc.  There is a point beyond that. Thank you.

It feels like a major problem among today's youth is arrogance.  For some reason (that can be difficult to pin down), many feel entitled to far more than they have earned in their life.  They assume that going to college is indicative of brilliance.  They assume that graduating college entitles them to a corner office.  They think it means they are smarter than their elders.

It creates a superiority complex, one that is completely undeserved.

Let us back up a bit.  What is at the root of the arrogance of modern youth?  For one, many young people today live in an age vastly different to those that have come before.  Innovation is exploding.  Knowledge has become commonplace.  The world has truly transformed, for better or for worse, in the past century.  Many youth assume this makes them more advanced than their parents and grandparents.  They assume they have "evolved" past their elders and this makes them “better,” whether morally or functionally.

However, there is an even deeper root, that goes beyond modern technology and "values." (Note: I did not go to a dictionary for this.  What follows is purely my interpretation and should only be considered in that light).

It comes down to intelligence. Normally, when we hear this word, we think of Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. Or we think of the straight A students at school. What many seem to miss is that there are many facets to "intelligence" that go beyond the superficial perception that someone is smart. In my personal opinion, the most basic of these are "head knowledge" and wisdom.

Head knowledge is much more objective.  It is the facts we know.  It is the skills we can utilize.  Head knowledge is what has become commonplace in the modern age.

Wisdom is much more subjective.  It is the lessons we have learned from experience.  It takes head knowledge and utilizes it to grow our intelligence.  Because it takes time, it grows slower than head knowledge.  This is why, as people get older, they are generally seen as wise.

The problem is that we live in a culture that sees having a lot of head knowledge, rather than having the wisdom to use that knowledge effectively, as "being smart."  This is why common sense is no longer so common.  We teach our kids what to think, not how to think.  We teach them facts, but not how to utilize those facts.  This is why I can watch a conversation where a 17 year-old girl thinks she's morally superior and smarter than a 30 year-old woman merely because she is bright enough to go to Rutgers.

This is the kind of arrogance our culture ends up breeding.  It churns out youth who think that a university degree is worth more than a decade's worth of experience, let alone a lifetime's.  We are turning out young adults who will demand more than they are worth and whine when they don't get it. They don't want to work hard to become successful and end up being functionally useless.

And this is the path we are on.