Thursday, July 21, 2011

Common Sense vs. Intelligence

      It is no secret that Common Sense and Intelligence don't indubitably go hand in hand. But why? What makes, per say, a "book smart" person, lack in the ability to understand situations, and use sound judgement in every day matters?  And what makes a person with "street smarts", and/or common sense, have little other knowledgeable qualities such as higher education or "book smarts"?   
      Take Data from "Star Trek Next Generation": Data was made to know everything pertaining to well. . .data, but he was hardly able to easily understand and make sense of everyday situations. Or, take Dr. Temperance Brennan from the TV series "Bones". She is incredibly intelligent, almost to the point where she is hard to converse with, but when it comes to daily situations she is often clueless as to what is going on, and needs help and advise to understand, and make basic daily decisions. On the other hand, take a person who has lived on the streets most of their life. They don't have a higher education, nor do they have "book smarts", but they have situational awareness, sound judgement, and experience in everyday practical matters, and they easily get around in life.
     More than often, people are looking at the world with one eye. They are very intelligent, but lack common sense, or they have common sense and lack intelligence. So how does the mind make sense of intelligence and common sense? And is it possible to develop a balance between the two? 
     According to Dr. Stanovish's book "What Intelligence Tests MissThere are three components to the cognitive system that handles these functions. First, there is the Autonomous Mind. The Autonomous Mind engages in thinking based on simple associations, such as a habit, or a thing you have done in the past, and it allows you to what you have always done without putting much effort into it (Britannica.com). Second is the Algorithmic Mind. The Algorithmic Mind processes info, comparing it among concepts and memory (Britannica.com). And last is the Reflective Mind. The Reflective Mind refers to goals of the system, beliefs relevant to these goals, and the selection of action to try to get to these goals (Britannica.com). 
     Everybody for the most part has a pretty strong Autonomous Mind, but everybody has strengths and weaknesses with their Algorithmic and Reflective Mind. Somebody with a strong Algorithmic Mind is is likely to be more intelligent. Not saying they are inevitably "book smart" as that is their choice to actually acquire information, but they have the brain capacity to take in information easily. A person with a strong Reflective Mind has more, per say, common sense as they are able to understand situations and use sound judgement. Though, to effectively make decisions, you need to develop both your Algorithmic Mind and your Reflective Mind: use logic, but also adapt to your environment sensibly so you can understand and see your environment for what it is. 
     In the end, every person is uniquely different when it comes to intelligence and common sense, because each person was raised differently, and each person adapted differently to his or her environment and situation. But can you have the right balance when it come to common sense and intelligence? I believe that with a lot of practice and focus, one can recognize and develop their cognitive weakness.

No comments:

Post a Comment