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Comment on Assuming a button that, every time you push it, your intelligence goes up. The obvious and sane thing to do is to push the button all day. Yes? No? Maybe? Is there something that I'm missing here?

assplode@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

It's very tempting to shamash that button. Intelligence is lionized. It's high praise to call someone a genius. I'd probably wait on any button pushing until I'm old enough to have some cognitive decline.

I'm no genius. I'm a bit above average intelligence. And I have to say, I'm not sure it's done much to improve my overall happiness.

Like many gifts, it's a double-edged sword. Having a higher capacity for language, problem solving, and memorization has done a lot to ostracize me for my peers over the years.

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dope@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Call it a general intelligence then. Not purely intellectual but physical, emotional, etc too. A totally comprehensive expansion of awareness. Nothing to lose but shackles.

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- ivanafterall@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  You can still find yourself ostracized. The world's smartest man has far fewer potential conversational partners than the world's averagest man or many of its dumber men. If he's also the world's most emotionally intelligent, he has neither conversation partners, nor people who can understand and connect on the level he can, etc...
  
  It just gets more and more isolating, at some point.
  
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  - dope@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I think that if you are smart about talking-to-people stuff, then you can talk to anybody. Intelligence isn’t necessarily this isolating brainiac trip. I think it can actually make you BETTER at everything.
    
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