Bailey Johnson

FHS 1500

OPTION B: INTELLIGENCE
Respond to BOTH of the following: sets of questions:
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?

Intelligence is an endlessly fascinating and widely controversial concept among

humankind. Some believe that general intelligence is found naturally in humans while others
argue otherwise. Either way, even intelligent people tend to do some unintelligent things, and
those who do not have the opportunity to be intelligent, like those in homeless shelters, could
have tremendous potential for intelligence.
I would consider my brother to be an extremely intelligent person. He got a 4.0 GPA
throughout the entirety of his high school career, is currently majoring in Biotechnology and
minoring in Chemistry, and he spits off complex facts about math and science as casual dinner
table conversation. He can help me with any and every math or science assignment that I throw
at him and is considered an absolute genius among his peers. However, just because he is
considered to be highly intelligent does not mean that he doesnt do unintelligent things
sometimes. For example, he tends to lean towards conclusions which are the most sensible and

straightforward, so he has been driving the same beat-up car for five years now. It is a wreck
no air conditioning, awful fuel mileage, you name it. Our father is a car dealer so getting a cheap
yet much nicer vehicle to drive is easy, yet my brother refuses. He is making the silly mistake of
sacrificing his money, time, energy, and safety through trying to be practical. Another example of
my brother doing unintelligent things is shown through his lack of emotions. My brother is a
very analytical person and is not sensitive to feelings whatsoever, so when I came home bawling
one day after my girlfriend broke up with me, my brother was straight-faced and locked himself
in his room to hide away from my emotions. This made things even worse for me because all that
I wanted was someone to talk to. Even though my brother lacks understanding long-term
sacrifices and sensitivity, he blooms in his practicality and analytical skills, which is why I still
consider him to be the most intelligent person I know but even the most intelligent of people
have their weaknesses.
I am actually very passionate about the subject of unappreciated potential in those in
places such as homeless shelters, where they do not have the capability of expressing their
intelligence. I certainly think that there is potential for intelligence in everybody because
everybody can be intelligent in different ways. In the text Invitation to the Life Span, the
author talks about the concept of general intelligence, or g, which underlies all cognitive
ability and is found at varying levels (Berger, 2014, 445). This is found in everybody, I believe,
in some way or another. Those in homeless shelters are not failures, but rather have simply not
found where their own form of intelligence lies, though opponents may disagree. Everyone
excels at something, and this is what general intelligence proves.

CITATIONS:
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the Life Span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.