What is intelligence? It’s the ability to solve problems, right?

We observe, we learn, we reason — and then we find the solution

 

But what if someone found the solution WITHOUT going through this process?

Is that person intelligent?

Is that intelligent?

 

It’s obviously not unintelligent — someone solving a problem

Even if it was done by randomly throwing shit at the fucking wall — the fact of having acquired a solution is the fact of having solved the problem — which is obviously not stupid.

Solved problem is solved, that’s smart, not stupid

 

And of course we value intelligence predominantly for its result — which is the finding of the solution to our problems

The process itself can be quite fascinating — but is not the main point

And this would almost lend itself to the idea that it’s PROBLEM SOLVING that defines INTELLIGENCE — and not the motion of learning and reasoning that is usually associated with intelligence, and which usually is the means of solving that problem

 

This slight redefinition is interesting

It makes cats very intelligent, what a supremely fit creature

It makes plants very intelligent, how enduring they are

It makes bacteria supremely intelligent, how well adapted to survive

 

There’s arguably no new reasoning involved

The “computation” is but the result of evolutionary trial and error — or more precisely — elimination

The program is developed and installed

Cat adapts it flawlessly to meet its ends

Still the algorithm is very adaptable

The cat cognition is extremely impressive, the movement is rapid, the mouse is caught

 

Indeed be the fucking LION, if you will

BRUTE STRENGTH is INTELLIGENCE if it succeeds at accomplishing one’s goals

And when you think of it — there’s nothing unintelligent about strength — it’s just another asset, tool — that could be appropriate for the situation — therefore intelligent (in how it furthers solving the problem)

 

Thus I prefer the results-oriented definition of intelligence,

As with all things: we get caught in the motions, the symbols of a thing — and forget what that thing actually was, in the first place,

So we get caught in the trappings of intelligence — forgetting what it was supposed to accomplish

 

And perhaps the greatest folly of that attitude is confusing the LOGICAL with the PROBABLE, ACTUAL, EFFECTIVE

Infinitely many propositions are logical — that merely requires consistency

It’s what survives the unending assault of the reality, and is still capable to logically accommodate the myriad new details and exceptions — that is REAL

And in that truth-seeking is brutally asymmetric

Your perfectly cogent theory can nevertheless be destroyed with but a single exception

And a new truth is born merely by virtue of random trial and error, random observation — without yet any comprehension of how it works and how it came to be

 

We can get lost in our ideas and theories,

if we get serious then also books and dissertations,

and yet someone who’s merely closer to the frontier — may be the first to receive the gift of new knowledge

someone whose running simulations not in his head or in his equations or in his computer — but in REAL world,

and thus receives outputs which are not only innately logical (even if that logic is not yet known) — but are themselves factual inputs in the further experiments

 

Focus on reality, when you can

Focus on what works, when you can

Focus on wild experimentation, when you can

 

All that is quite known

I’d say more than that — TRY to be “STUPID” sometimes,

more NAIVE sometimes

i.e. GO against your INSTINCT to be so CLEVER,

and OVERTHINK,

or THINK where you should be ACTING and EXPERIMENTING and BLOWING SHIT UP,

or THEORISE when you should be OBSERVING KEENLY, gathering DATA,

 

Obviously it’s foolish to ponder if you have little data,

It’s foolish to have opinions and “ideas” when you have little knowledge,

But MORE than that,

Maybe you can BRUTE-FORCE more DATA, MORE EXPERIENCE, more practice, into the system,

Maybe what you think is deserving of so much reflection and thoughtfulness — should just be powered through,

 

Also maybe what you think is such a deep problem — really is not,

You’re just ignoring what’s OBVIOUS before your eyes

Again: if it WORKS in real world, if you OBSERVE it — it’s FAR more important than your involved little theory,

Observation is by definition REAL, and its LINK to some other observation is by definition LOGICAL (even if the relationship is unknown) (i.e. two genuine observations aka facts about a given system — must both logically cohere with that system),

“Intellectualisation“ is one bias in which we hide behind our own ideas and reflections — in order to not confront reality, NOT SEE what’s obvious before our eyes (and thus not see the SOLUTION, therefore be UNINTELLIGENT)

 

I would recommend sometimes ASSUMING that you are already at this stage of:

–theory-ladenness, einstellung effect, overreliance on your knowledge and your theories

-BLIND to what is obvious

-ignorant of solutions available not through reason but through brute force exploration, experimentation

 

…and that some “FOOL” is being FAR SMARTER THAN YOU,

because he happens to be trying to tackle that problem in a hands-on way,

and couldn’t be bothered thinking deeply about it or researching it forever,

he “JUST GETS IT DONE”, instead

A lot of the magic of “just getting it done” is not only boldness — but just allowing the REALITY to REVEAL the solution by itself

 

And indeed that’s the final tip,

REALITY IS SUPER-INTELLIGENT

In that that which you observe in the real world is already factual AND logical and coherent

And if it by chance is useful, and could help you SOLVE some hard problem — you look like a genius

Maybe there was no other way to solve it but to stumble upon the solution

You’re now smarter than the smartest man having tried and failed to solve it

REALITY IS SUPER-INTELLIGENT

It’s like a thread leading you through the maze of endless logical possibilities, that nevertheless mostly lead to nowhere

Misguided reasoning is you being lost in the maze, while patting yourself on the fucking back how you’re such a great thinker,

Keen sample of reality is the thread that leads you right to the prize