How would you rate the general intelligence of people on this message board?

Question

First I want to say that there ARE intelligent and mature people here but I’ve found hardly any of them. People who answered my questions intelligently or asked their own questions intelligently have my appreciation and respect even if they don’t have my agreement. But intelligence is a rare quality here indeed. My six months on this message board have been a great look at the human psyche. I've learned from all the inaccurate answers here that it's natural for people to talk like they know what they're talking about when they don't know jack. I've learned from the abuse and narrow-mindedness of many people here that most people don't think for themselves but go with the flow and that flow is political correctness.

I've learned that people we assume are liberal, especially atheists and LGBTs, are actually as small-minded as their rightwing rivals because they don't tolerate other views (especially calling homosexuality immoral or preaching a religion) and use PC to fight them instead of debate. I've learned about the spirit of political correctness itself, keeping a compulsory harmony in an ideologically mixed society by policing minority views that cause tension not considering any of their merits. It’s like the rule of a single academic party; It doesn’t matter how intelligent your discussion is, how open your mind, or how well-mannered your protocol; If you’re not ideologically well-suited to the party, it burns you. I’ve learned that it’s possible for a majority view to be a wrong view because sometimes most of the people are just slow on the uptake if you know what I mean. The Romans didn’t call the people ‘the mob’ for nothing.

It’s made me reconsider the whole basis of democracy. If you’re going to treat everyone’s opinion as having equal worth, what happens when you consider idiots? Everyone’s certainly entitled to an opinion, but it doesn’t logically follow that every opinion is entitled to the same consideration because some opinions are just more fact-based than others. My opinions are very fact-based — it’s taken me a lot of research and time to arrive at them — but they’re controversial (i.e. against gay foster parenting and marriage, for Israel, and still believing in God) so people disagree with me. The problem isn’t that people disagree with me, of course, it’s that they do so stupidly, using circular reasoning, irrelevant evidence, personal attacks, and the report option for the Yahoo! Answers Team to come by and endorse academic censorship.

I realize this is just a message board and it serves as a fairly weak example of the dangers of political correctness, but the similarities between the censorship on Yahoo! and censorship in the real world are noticeable.

The experience of my freethinking taking me back to what used to be socially acceptable views (in most but not all cases) has taught me that a lot of society's old views have worth after all. The arrogance and ignorance of leftwingers and liberals and misguided people who think they have the enlightement to destroy the system amuses me. I can be considered traditional yet I'm very academic. And I'm happy just the way I am. :-)

So, yes, I am a rightwinger and traditionalist in many ways. Till the end of my life I will be critical of my former religion of Islam yet I will believe in God, I will defend Israel yet I will refuse to criminalize Holocaust denial, I will refuse to believe homosexuality is acceptable, yet I will not say so in a superstitious sense. I appreciate and respect my fellow intellectuals who disagree with me just that way, on an intellectual level, and to those of you who insist on attacking and censoring me instead of discussing with me, you are the ones who truly wallow in ignorance.

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Paul S

"In short, you're not willing to have your false beliefs questioned."

Why don't you prove my beliefs are false in a debate that's free of censorship and fallacy instead of speed reading beliefs I put a lot of thought into and tagging them as 'false' without any justification?

I just introduced you to my definition of 'slow on the uptake'.

"Oh, hey, did you know that complaining about 'political correctness' is a sorry substitute for actually being able to make a case for your beliefs?"

I don't complain about political correctness when I have a real debate and am proven wrong. But up to now, that's never happened to me because my way of thinking is as straight as an arrow. I do complain about narrow-mindedness when people who either lack my intelligence or who don't argue intelligently attack or tag me, and I do complain about political correctness when I'm censored by these people because my opinions are controversial not considering their merits.

Thank you for proving my point.

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Kate S

"If you're after statistics: SAT 1400 (800 verbal; I am not a math wiz); LSAT 163. I am at law school after graduating Phi Beta Kappa. In short, I'm intelligent enough to know that intelligence isn't what matters in the long run: It's how you treat people."
I got a 1420 on the new SAT (Critical Reading 750; Math 680; and Writing 730). I'm not a math whiz either. :P I have a full scholarship to college. I'm eighteen years old. So I have credentials too.
I think I treat people just fine. Show me where I bashed anyone in this question.

"Estimating that others aren't intelligent and that your own intelligence is a 'rare quality' indeed is bound to get you into trouble in the real world."

That did seem judgmental of me. Let me explain. When I state a controversial opinion using a clear and logical writing style with respect and someone bashes or reports me (like Sample Interview Question), I think that person is clearly less intelligent than I am without its needing to be said, and I won't apologize for thinking so.

I didn't say my own intelligence is a rare quality indeed. I said intelligence is a rare quality indeed. Feel free to call me intelligent or unintelligent, but back up your opinion with examples. But you're right, of course, having controversial opinions is bound to get me in trouble. What happened to Copernicus, Gandhi, Socrates?

I got a 2160/2400 on the new SAT, sorry.
1420/1600 would've been the old score.

This question is especially addressed to all my LGBT fans out there. : P I don’t think the North Korean police censor as much as you guys.

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Paul S

“Adding more childish insults doesn't make your case.”

What childish insults did I use in this question? Maybe you should quote from my question instead of making baseless accusations and trying to make me look bad. You need proof and you’ve given none. All you’re doing is pointing a finger at me.

“If you want people to think you're intelligent, act intelligently. That can be done here, if your writing skills are up to it.”

I think that's a test I've passed.

“Simply claiming to be more intelligent than others doesn't do what you seem to think it does.”

Again, I don’t have to be a brain surgeon to decide that people who attack and censor me without giving any intellectual justification whatsoever are less intelligent than me when I take all these measures to explain myself. And if they are as intelligent as I am, or more so, they’re sure not showing it.

And nor does claiming I'm unintelligent do what you think it does. It's just that, a claim.

The difference between an opinion and an informed opinion is backup.

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Amber

I agree with you. This is just a message board. Maybe I'm right to criticize the way things are done here but wrong to take it so seriously. But my, this site is such an intellectual desert that I wonder if they really should make us take IQ tests.

Answer 1

Scary thought when you think about it.
There are some young people on here who really would like a honest answer to their question(because they may feel scared to discuss it with a relative) but are willing to put their trust out for the world, and then are misguided, and really sad is if they do not look it up for them selves, which in reality most do not

Answer 2

If you're after statistics: SAT 1400 (800 verbal; I am not a math wiz); LSAT 163. I am at law school after graduating Phi Beta Kappa. In short, I'm intelligent enough to know that intelligence isn't what matters in the long run: It's how you treat people.

Estimating that others aren't intelligent and that your own intelligence is a 'rare quality' indeed is bound to get you into trouble in the real world.

Answer 3

In short, you're not willing to have your false beliefs questioned.

Got it.

Oh, hey, did you know that complaining about "political correctness" is a sorry substitute for actually being able to make a case for your beliefs?
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Er, as I said...
Adding more childish insults doesn't make your case.

If you want people to think you're intelligent, act intelligently. That can be done here, if your writing skills are up to it.

Simply claiming to be more intelligent than others doesn't do what you seem to think it does.

Answer 4

Considering the number of times I've seen "Noahs Ark is fact" and "If science says we came from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?", I'm afraid I have to agree with you on most points.

Its my hope that this is a rather poor representation of people out there given that it seems to be the mostly uneducated that feel the need to go on the internet to preach.

I've generally seen that most people on here can't debate a subject because they most often know nothing about what they're trying to say is wrong.

To be honest, if this is a true representation, I'd have to say that I find the intelligence of many on here to be extremely lacking. Most on here seem to think with their emotions and I've never been a fan of that behavior.

Answer 5

Well, Y!A DOES have incredibly high standards. That's why you take the IQ test before you're allowed in.
Good for you, you're smart. Are people of average intelligence not allowed to participate in your precious forum?
Not everyone wants to take the time out to write 10 paragraphs with a deep explanation, some of us just use this place as a last resort for boredom. And if we want to argue, fine, whatever. It's just yahoo, I'm not trying to use it to justify myself as a person.
I'm not here to prove I'm intelligent, I'm here to amuse myself. And maybe sometimes help someone who's looking for advice, not opinions.

Answer 6

this thing as rating is not important for a crowd in this forum, because majority of posts here are opinions it can be right or wrong. how can you tell a person is stupid if he's answers dont fit you and suits others. the others may tell the person intelligent but the other one is not.
but whats my point in arguing about this, I didn't even read the whole scripts. lolz.

Answer 7

People are less interested in public forums for reasoned and intelligent debate, rather than to have their opinions heard by those who would listen.

Answer 8

I'm intelligent enough to know that if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything :)
Have a good day!

Answer 9

I refuse to read your novel...that shows how intelligent I am

quit whining about people reporting you

this isn't real life

Answer 10

everyone cop's brick-bat's on this site dude.
from factory worker's to god's,...... and everyone in between.

you fire your question in,.... then sort through for relevant and informative answer's.

then following on from that,.... you simply dismiss the rest with a laugh.

it work's everytime!...