"The intellect is the only thing people never argue about..."?

Question

"...everybody seems satisfied with how much they have of it."

Let's assume you had the possibility to become more intelligent (or less, if you like) for a special REASON.
When your wish is fulfilled, would that REASON still be valuable or relevant? Wouldn't you think different about being dumb or smart as soon as your intellect changed?

If yes, can that then be taken as proof of correctness for the statement above? What else are its implications?
If no, what then changes with the change of your intellect? And what would be better / worse if you were dumber / smarter than you are now? How would your life change? Is it really only a matter of "survival of the fittest"?

Julien, no, going back to the old state of intelligence was not part of the question.
Tony, the quote is only interesting, because most people would not choose "more intelligence" as one of three wishes granted by a fairy, but rather things like "peace on earth" or "$1billion".
So the actual question is: Is intelligence of any importance for survival at all? Beyond Evolution, what reason would one have to bother about their intellect, when any person, dumb or smart, is believed to have a place in the world today?
Religions rule the world, not science, right? Remember "In God We Trust" on the $-bill. "So far as I know, there is no word in the gospels in praise of intelligence." (Bertrand Russell) So what is intelligence worth anyway?

FYI, I am an atheist and monist, through and through. But since I'm quite lonely with that opinion, considering the "popularity" of religion(s), I was wondering if Nietzsche really was right:

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."

Guess I tried to come in through the back door...

Answer 1

You're saying that after the reason is accomplished, I go back to my original state of intelligence?
I'm not ecstatic about my intellectual level now, hate to throw a monkey-wrench into you're premise. I could be a great deal smarter, and I intend to be, and I do everything in my power to get more intelligent, quicker witted, and more well-read.
So subjectively, I would feel good about the improvement, and my original opinion on my intellect wouldn't change.
That might be different for others. I do, however, feel good about my intellect in relation to others.

Answer 2

This is just my opinion:
intellect is more or less, a persons knowledge of "some" things...
it does matter in the topic of survival...knowing something is poisonous or not, columbus "knew" that the world is round and to prove this, he sailed to china the opposite direction from w/c people his time normally went (people who thought they "knew" the world is flat)...
As stated in the proof...Yes intellect does change our lives...
the reason would still be valuable because your being more or less intelligent, you chose for that REASON...for example, have you seen die hard 4.0? that guy (i mean the computer hacker), if i were him i'd wish i was less intelligent...
And NO, survival does not imply on how strong you are...Nietzsche is a dumbass who wants to dominate the world...
I prefer sartre's "one is what one wills"...

you could correct me, i want to learn other sides of the argument..
God Bless!!

Answer 3

Intellect is the power of mind to think, to search, reason and acquire knowledge. Some are born intellectuals but intelligence shines with learning and study of great epics/books.
Just by reading books one cannot become intellectual. He may acquire some knowledge. For example there are many researchers who spend lot of time on reading and study but few are able to invent things. One can become intellectual by constant questioning, searching, and working in the direction of finding solutions.

Answer 4

its wrong to say people donot care about their intellect. infact if given the choice almost everybody will like to be more intelligent. they donot talk about it so much because everybody knows nothing could be done about it. it is very clever of you to note that as soon as your wish is fullfilled you will fell different towards it.but i believe everyone will like to be very intelligent but if such wish is indeed granted there could be some negative effects besides the obvious positives. if you are a kid still in school, if you choose to become too smart you might find it hard to fit in. and a grown up man may suddenly find that the friends or even his family members arent so cool he thought them to be. so it could have tragic consequences.

Answer 5

Just think about the times when you discoverr something new or search and find a correct solution to a problem or research something that makes you say 'aha'. You can change your intellect through daily discove " It's so easy a caveman can do it."

Answer 6

There is a finite amount of intelligence in the universe, the population of the earth is increasing.

Answer 7

Hi. There is no way of knowing beforehand which way you would think until you acquired the extra intelligence in the first place.

Answer 8

People can't argue about intellect as intellect is the very base where arguments grow.

Answer 9

intellect is an inquiring faculty that never stops which cause civilization to become better in unending process..

Answer 10

What is your Question?
Are you trying to give your own answer by asking more questions?

Please keep it simple, s