Describe the smartest people you've personally known in real life

[Bliss]

Hyperbole

I'm not exaggerating, fractal. If he had the parts that go inside the computer to make it work then he could build it. I wasn't suggesting he could make those parts but if he had them he can build the computer.
He is a complete nerd and he wouldn't mind me saying that.

 

[fractal]

I'm not exaggerating, fractal. If he had the parts that go inside the computer to make it work then he could build it. I wasn't suggesting he could make those parts but if he had them he can build the computer.
He is a complete nerd and he wouldn't mind me saying that.

It depends on what level of abstraction of computer parts you're talking about. Since you said from scratch, I was inclined to think it went below the level of assembling a computer from the components i.e. construction of the parts itself. Hence my skepticism. Making one part of a computer itself will usually be a detailed process requiring specialization in that branch for probably a considerable amount of time, depending on one's skill. Assembly of a computer from its components (hard disk, motherboard, video card etc.) on the other hand is fairly easy to do, and anyone can learn how to do that within half an hour. When you used that to justify his skill with computers, I assumed that you weren't talking about computer assembly. But we get the picture: very good at computers as well.

 

[Bliss]

I'm not sure why you have to be rude and dismissive of everything I say. You don't even know my boyfriend. In my original post I said give him the parts and he can build it.
And the whole "we get the picture thing" is really not needed. In your OP you asked us to describe why we think they are intelligent. You also asked Dabs to justify her answer so it sounds as though you want a lot of detail.

I'm allowed to be proud of him and I don't need to have you try and make me feel as though I am bragging.

 

[Iris]

I don't think that is what he is doing, Amy. If you have the components, like Fractal said, it's supposed to be really easy. It's just like a big puzzle, that's color coded and everything. I don't think he is dismissing it, just bringing it up because it looked like he needed clarification. Anyways, I'm not an expert on computers but everyone I have talked to about building them has said it's super easy and anyone can do it. cum grano salis haha

But yeah, i would say my Latin teacher in high school. She got her degree from Harvard, and I have no idea why she is even teaching at my school when she could probably get a job at a private school and get paid twice as much.

She is so open minded, and to me that definitely equates to intelligence. She knows everything about the Roman and Greek cultures, to their leaders, philosophers, the language, and mythology.

She can speak Spanish, French, and she is currently learning Italian, and the obvious being Latin. Though she doesn't "speak" Latin. You catch my drift.

 

[fractal]

I'm not sure why you have to be rude and dismissive of everything I say.

I understand why you're feeling this way, but try to understand that I simply want to extract information with accuracy. Why should I be rude or dismissive of your posts? I like you as much as I like any other girl on this forum.

You don't even know my boyfriend. In my original post I said give him the parts and he can build it.

Well if I knew him, I wouldn't ask his girlfriend, would I?

I mentioned that computer assembly is trivial. I did it when I was eight years old, but you mentioned that as one of the possible ways of demonstrating his intelligence. I just wanted to know if there was more to it than that, because relative differences in knowledge might lead to an inflated assumption of intelligence. I just wanted to know what he knew, that's it.

And the whole "we get the picture thing" is really not needed.

This was for your convenience so you didn't have to explain further. But judging by your emotional state, it might have appeared as sarcasm, but that was never my intent. Normally I would apologize, but I'll make an exception and not apologize this time, because that would imply that I made a mistake.

You also asked Dabs to justify her answer so it sounds as though you want a lot of detail.

Yes, I like detail very much. I was very satisfied when she took some time off to give me the detail that I relish so much. It makes me very happy to read about such a loving mother. Thank you Dabs, if you're reading this.

I'm allowed to be proud of him and I don't need to have you try and make me feel as though I am bragging.

Please recognize that it is your own opinion of my thought process and has nothing to do with what's really going on in my mind. Personally I would be very proud of knowing someone like that in real life. Most people I know are not smart, and are usually good at exactly one thing because they don't care to learn anything apart from what is required for their job.

She can speak Spanish, French, and she is currently learning Italian, and the obvious being Latin. Though she doesn't "speak" Latin. You catch my drift.

Hi Iris Thanks for seeing my point.

I don't know about how intelligence contributes to languages (it's not the same as verbal intelligence imo), but it's a cognitive skill as well. I completely forgot about my polyglot friend who can speak 14 languages! It's very impressive, but considering that we live in India where most states have their own language; the languages naturally have similarities; and there's a wide mixture of people in any area, I believe that a person can learn many languages more easily in such an environment.

 

[Wade8813]

I know lots of smart people. Most of my family is smart, and a lot of my friends are as well. One of my uncles has multiple degrees, including an MBA from Harvard (and he didn't have a lot of connections to get in). One of my cousins was doing Calculus in like 7th grade. A couple of my cousins (one's 10 and one's 8) are both learning Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, American Sign Language, and my uncle's mentioned teaching them Russian (on top of knowing English).

My mentor is one of those people who's pretty knowledgeable in a huge variety of topics. He's not an expert in anything, but he knows a lot about a lot of fields. Psychology, theology, physics, math, philosophy, biology, etc

 

[ysabel]

I'd say my grandfather (rip+). For one thing, he was head of the Intelligence division of the military at some point, so yeah, he must be intelligent. :lol: I haven't asked him about his IQ (and can't ask him now). Aside from his work, I also haven't seen him failed in any aspect of his life. He's a composer, a poet, a novelist, he's published articles and training manulas...he's won many golf tournaments...he's crafty and built a lot of things at home...he's excellent in gardening...and he gets along well with everyone. He's my idol. I don't know if he can cook though coz he had a cook. But yeah, it seems like he could do anything and everyone went to him for advise.

 

[Unity]

If I had to pick one that immediately comes to mind, it would be my oldest brother. I can think of some professors I've had over the years, too, but he always is the smartest in my book.

He's a Jesuit Priest (a Catholic order, just a kind of priest that has a certain tradition, prayer techniques, and focuses on things like missionary work and education) and has been in school since I was born until May of 2009 when he got his Doctoral degree in Medieval History.

His Dissertation is bigger than a damn phone-book, he wrote about a particular Papal garment; focusing on its tradition and how it was sometimes used as a political tool during those times.

He's a history professor at a university now, I always love to pick his brain about history and about how his classes are going.

I might almost have a Master's Degree, but this guy is s-m-r-t I mean s-m-a-r-t!