NationStates Jolt Archive

What job do you think of when you think "smart"? Here are my thoughts on a few of the options.

Business people. Includes entrepreneurs and business owners, but also accountants, marketers, managers etc. It takes a lot of brain power to succeed in business, and not just book smarts either. Business people have to be quick, cunning, creative and versatile. They’re not necessarily artistic or cultured though, and a lot of people think of them as being evil, which will probably hurt them in this poll

Military folk. Military men and women have had experiences that civilians never had. They know what battle is like; they know what it is like to have to kill a fellow human being; they know what it’s like to be in a situation where one wrong move could mean death for them. This, in addition to the fact that they were able to be pushed to their limits in many ways and yet survive puts them in a cerebral class of their own. Of course, some may say that simply wanting to be in the military makes you less intelligent than most and that military intelligence is an oxymoron. You decide.

Educators. Teachers of all sorts, whether they be Kindergarten teachers or University profs. This group obviously has a good deal of book smarts, but has constant contact with children and/or college students made them lose touch with the real world?

Politicians. Well, I consider them slime, but I guess it takes some brains to do what they do. Go ahead and vote for them, just don’t expect me to give you any reason for doing so.

Stay at home parents. Why should a job that requires no training, education or experience be on the list? Because at the end of the day, one of the most wonderful things a person can do is raise a child. It’s quite possible that the people staying home to nurture their children are smarter than all the members of the other professions who waste their time running after money.

College students. Really guys, if you vote for this one, you are obviously deluded, and quite likely in college yourself. (I’m in college too, but I seriously doubt that we’re the smartest group). I guess we have a fair bit of book smarts, but that’s about it.

Menial laborers. These are the people who really know what’s going on. Far from the ivory towers, far from the naval gazing intellectuals, out in the real world, with its grime and pain and joy. Seriously lacking in the book smarts division though.

Medical professionals. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, faith healers. Well okay, maybe not the last one. Medical professionals are smart enough to know the workings of the human body and practical enough to be able to help you with whatever ails you.

Super Heroes. Of all the groups, these guys have the most fun; they get to wear costumes, do cool stuff like fly and lift heavy objects, and they are the envy of every twelve year old boy. How could you be smart and not choose a career in Super Herory?

I've had to leave out a lot of groups. If you've got one that you think is deserving, post it.

I gotta go with the docs and scientists. Except Dr. Dre. He's a quack. :D

The superheroes. They use their powers to help people, and they're not afraid to wear tights. Why should they be? They're hot.

*cough*

The superheroes. They use their powers to help people, and they're not afraid to wear tights. Why should they be? They're hot.


Quite true. Wonder Woman was a hot tamale.

I voted businessmen purely because I will be one in a few years, when I leave school.

I would have said educators, but I was put off purely because my old teacher thought Switzerland was a US state. Fortuanatly there were no dumbasses like that when I moved into private education.

Professional sportspeople. They get paid extremely large amounts of money, to do something that many of us actually pay to do as recreation.

this poll is flawed.

I am in the military and I'm here to tell you that we encompass all the other options.

We have medical proffesionals, menial laborers, college students (the navy often puts people through college so they can become officers), politicians educators, and even businesspeople.

The only one I guess we don't have is stay at home parents, although most new mothers are given several months off after they have a child.

So the military has smart people and morons. you can't lump us into one category of intelligence. But that goes for most of the other options too.

Even superheroes. Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four is a genius. The Hulk on the other hand isn't exactly a scholar.

Batman!
Business and Super Hero and a Cad. :)

Those that have the drive to teach themselves about as much as possible.

I would have chosen engineers and physical scientists if I had that option or at least I would think so. Because it did not exist I decided that medical workers were also very smart because they have to learn about how to deal with the body.

Librarians and Secretaries/Office Managers--they are the gatekeepers of information. They may not know the answers to questions immediately, but they can find the answers quickly, and that makes them the smartest people in the world in my book.

Well, I've had experience with all of those groups (except superheros - only know what I read in comic books there), and there are geniuses and idiots in all of them. There are probably fewer idiots in the medical and scientific professions, but only because it takes a certain amount of intelligence to make it through the training.

And of course, there are extremely wise people and utter fools in all of those groups as well, because wisdom is not correlated with intelligence.

Me? I'm a stay-at-home dad. My six-month-old son is sitting on my lap right now. Anybody want to claim I'm not a genius? :D

researchers especially those in theoretical fields.

theoretical physics is smartest in my book.

Me? I'm a stay-at-home dad. My six-month-old son is sitting on my lap right now. Anybody want to claim I'm not a genius? :D
Sure if you do not mind. You are not a genius. How does that work? :D

in terms of required body of knowledge, it might be

business people

must have knowledge of:

-calculus
-statistics
-accounting (at least basic financial/managerial accounting)
-corporate finance
-human resources (basic)
-operations (queueing systems, process flow charts, etc.)
-system management
-IT (at least enough to understand day-to-day changes in tech)
-Marketing strategies
-Negotiations
-Overall business strategy (how to be different and remain effective)
-Organizational behavior (basic concepts, at least)
-Economics (at least basic micro-/macro- concepts)
-price/cost relationship
-international business issues/theory

That's a good all-around body of knowledge for a business professional... what we were taught in my MBA program (core courses)

That doesn't necessarily mean they're the smartest... for that we could issue them IQ tests.

To get an MBA, you need to have first been a college student (and graduated with a degree).

Sure if you do not mind. You are not a genius. How does that work? :D

Simple. I get to stay home and see my son grow up, which I'd rather be doing than anything else I can think of. It's the most enjoyable and rewarding thing I've ever done. Yes, it's a lot of work, much of it menial, and the pay is, well, nonexistent (my wife brings in a pretty good salary, though). The rewards are in the experience. When my son laughed for the first time, I was there to hear it (in fact, I caused it.) When my son crawled for the first time (yesterday!), I was there to see it. When he starts to walk, and talk, and do any number of other things, I'll be there - I won't have to settle for someone at a day-care center telling me about it, which has happened to too many of my friends with their kids. Besides, my son is a pretty cool guy to hang out with.

Bottom line, I'm happier doing this than I ever was in the corporate world. And who is smarter than someone who is doing what they love?

Simple. I get to stay home and see my son grow up, which I'd rather be doing than anything else I can think of. It's the most enjoyable and rewarding thing I've ever done. Yes, it's a lot of work, much of it menial, and the pay is, well, nonexistent (my wife brings in a pretty good salary, though). The rewards are in the experience. When my son laughed for the first time, I was there to hear it (in fact, I caused it.) When my son crawled for the first time (yesterday!), I was there to see it. When he starts to walk, and talk, and do any number of other things, I'll be there - I won't have to settle for someone at a day-care center telling me about it, which has happened to too many of my friends with their kids. Besides, my son is a pretty cool guy to hang out with.

Bottom line, I'm happier doing this than I ever was in the corporate world. And who is smarter than someone who is doing what they love?
Someone who is pretty freakin' rich. :D

Doing what you love is no sign of intelligence. You can be a genius and loathe life for the fact that you are not doing anything that you want to do. You can be a moron and say that everyday is bliss. Given the fact that you had no claim to genius such as any form of success that is unknown to the average person. You pretty much opened yourself up to the comment that you were not a genius by asking if anyone wanted to claim that you weren't. Genius is shown by exceptional ability not by "happiness" or anything else, unless you have shown exceptional ability in some form or fashion your choice as a stay at home dad is not a sign of genius because many people are physically able enough to do that job. But I have twisted a joking comment completely out of proportion, sorry about this :)

Educators. Teachers of all sorts, whether they be Kindergarten teachers or University profs. This group obviously has a good deal of book smarts, but has constant contact with children and/or college students made them lose touch with the real world?

Stay at home parents. Why should a job that requires no training, education or experience be on the list? Because at the end of the day, one of the most wonderful things a person can do is raise a child. It’s quite possible that the people staying home to nurture their children are smarter than all the members of the other professions who waste their time running after money.

Would being a stay at home parent also not be out of touch with the "real world" if near constant with children and young adults causes it too?

Also, wonderful =/= smart ;)

College students. ... I guess we have a fair bit of book smarts, but that’s about it.

How are you categorising the types of smarts?

Menial laborers. These are the people who really know what’s going on. Far from the ivory towers, far from the naval gazing intellectuals, out in the real world, with its grime and pain and joy.

You have to be a manual labourer to understand grime, pain and joy? :confused:


Medical professionals. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, faith healers. Well okay, maybe not the last one.

Be fair. They are very smart at thinking up new ways to take others peoples money legally ;)


Personally I neither know nor care which is the smartest group. It is hardly the be all and end all of life now is it?

Yeah, I regret not having a scientist/engineer option. I had considered it when I first got the idea for this thread but then kind of forgot about it, and I'm limited to ten options anyway, so it got left out. Kind of funny, since I myself am studying Engineering. I guess if you think scientists are smart you should vote medical professional, since medicine is a branch of science, or educator, since many research scientists also teach undergrad classes.

The fact that being arround children all day might have just as much of an effect on parents as on educators did occur to me, but it seems to me that educators are already seen as being intelligent, whereas stay at home parents are often overlooked. I was just trying to level the playing field by suggesting teachers might be out of touch with the real world.

I would have said educators, but I was put off purely because my old teacher thought Switzerland was a US state. Fortuanatly there were no dumbasses like that when I moved into private education.

Are you serious? That's bizarre. That teacher is a black mark against the whole profession, to be sure.

I would say that superheroes are absolutely the stupidest. They use their powers to help ungrateful people for free. If I could see into the future, I wouldn't use it to prevent monster attacks, I would use it to get the right lotto numbers.

I'd say politicians are the stupidest, especially the POTUS. Not just the current moron, but any future President. You would have to be really stupid to want to be the leader of the free world in these times. Some politicians, however, are quite smart. The "smartest" job would probably be writers. Take Tom Clancy for example, he needs to be an exceptional writer, know vast amounts of history, and know vast amounts about the government. Of course he has help in those areas, but he still has to know about it, then have those people fill in the details.

Sorry, but IMO, this is one of the more stupid questions I've seen here. It's quite akin to asking which of those groups is the tallest...
:headbang:

Sorry, but IMO, this is one of the more stupid questions I've seen here. It's quite akin to asking which of those groups is the tallest...
:headbang:
Not exactly true. Intelligent people tend to be drawn to certain careers or at least in the minds of many people. If we see someone who seems to be a genius we often would think that they are going to end up as a Bill Gates character that is a rich business man or we think that they are going to be some brilliant scientist or something else of that nature. This poll is about perception, some people think that certain groups are either more likely to attract certain types of people or are more likely to reject others.

If the question was about tall people and one of the options was basketball players the poll would make sense.

why did you use super heroes as an option?

Eh. I'm low class, so I voted for the proletariat.

I'd say politicians are the stupidest, especially the POTUS. Not just the current moron, but any future President. You would have to be really stupid to want to be the leader of the free world in these times. Some politicians, however, are quite smart. The "smartest" job would probably be writers. Take Tom Clancy for example, he needs to be an exceptional writer, know vast amounts of history, and know vast amounts about the government. Of course he has help in those areas, but he still has to know about it, then have those people fill in the details.

If you think Tom Clancy is a great writer, you obviously haven't read enough Hemingway. Try To Have and Have Not; it's got lots of action. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is good too and is much shorter. But I digress . . .

Two things that surprise me about this poll: 1) so far, College Students and Educators are tied and 2) so far, Business People and Super Heroes are tied. I guess that means people think professors are about as bright as the twits they are lecturing at and that if you're smart enough to succeed in business, you're smart enough to fight crime vigilante style. Or whatever.

If you think Tom Clancy is a great writer, you obviously haven't read enough Hemingway. Try To Have and Have Not; it's got lots of action. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is good too and is much shorter. But I digress . . .

To Have and Have Not was indeed a great book. I read it at least three or four times. I've also read the Old Man and the Sea, which was just more of the same, I also read several of his collections of short stories, as well as For Whom the Bell Tolls, I also read A Farewell to Arms. It wasn't as great as I was expecting, but his writing did inspire virtually every other 20th century writer and he changed the style from the elegant, redundant, overly descriptive styles such evident in Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby (Trimalchio in West Egg) to a more concise and implied action type of style evident in most every book today. I've done more research on Hemingway than you'll ever hope to do! :p I just picked Clancy becuase he is a modern author who's writing is familiar to most people.

To Have and Have Not was indeed a great book. I read it at least three or four times. I've also read the Old Man and the Sea, which was just more of the same, I also read several of his collections of short stories, as well as For Whom the Bell Tolls, I also read A Farewell to Arms. It wasn't as great as I was expecting, but his writing did inspire virtually every other 20th century writer and he changed the style from the elegant, redundant, overly descriptive styles such evident in Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby (Trimalchio in West Egg) to a more concise and implied action type of style evident in most every book today. I've done more research on Hemingway than you'll ever hope to do! :p I just picked Clancy becuase he is a modern author who's writing is familiar to most people.

Oh. Sorry. Didn't realize you knew what you were talking about. Thanks for not flaming me (as that's what I deserved).

I once tried reading Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, but I couldn't get into it, mainly because I found the prose boring. I love Hemingway because he had such an unusual way of writing. To me, a book that is not written with interesting prose is like a movie where the actors show no facial expression and talk in monotone. Sure, the plot might be good, but who wants to sit through 2+ hours of monotony?

I wouldn't say business, because success in that field is more related to charisma.

As for :

business people

must have knowledge of:

-calculus
-statistics
-accounting (at least basic financial/managerial accounting)
-corporate finance
-human resources (basic)
-operations (queueing systems, process flow charts, etc.)
-system management
-IT (at least enough to understand day-to-day changes in tech)
-Marketing strategies
-Negotiations
-Overall business strategy (how to be different and remain effective)
-Organizational behavior (basic concepts, at least)
-Economics (at least basic micro-/macro- concepts)
-price/cost relationship
-international business issues/theory


You haev to learn most of that to get INTO Medical school. Medical schools today are only accepting the very best and outstanding students; business school ... doesn't (I know. I've gone over some of my dad's MBA students. They are stupid.) You can graduate top of the class at Princeton, but not make it into any medical schools.

So I think they're the smartest because that's just simply what it takes.

And my mother is the smartest person in the world (haha. yeah right ;) ... don't tell her I said that.)

Not exactly true. Intelligent people tend to be drawn to certain careers or at least in the minds of many people. If we see someone who seems to be a genius we often would think that they are going to end up as a Bill Gates character that is a rich business man or we think that they are going to be some brilliant scientist or something else of that nature. This poll is about perception, some people think that certain groups are either more likely to attract certain types of people or are more likely to reject others.

If the question was about tall people and one of the options was basketball players the poll would make sense.

And that's exactly my point. It is the OP's perception (and yours as well, it appears) that intelliegent people would be drawn to one particular career.
My contention is that this is no more the case than people of some other physical dimension (yes intelliegence is compatable with that) would be drawn to any particular career.

It would be entierly unreasonable to assume that most tall people would make good basketball players. It is even more unreasonable to assume that inteligent people would congregate in one particular career of those choices. This is doubely so when you consider the vast overlap in the careers listed in the poll, not to mention the particular skill sets used in those careers.

I'd say politicians are the stupidest, especially the POTUS. Not just the current moron, but any future President. You would have to be really stupid to want to be the leader of the free world in these times. Some politicians, however, are quite smart. The "smartest" job would probably be writers. Take Tom Clancy for example, he needs to be an exceptional writer, know vast amounts of history, and know vast amounts about the government. Of course he has help in those areas, but he still has to know about it, then have those people fill in the details.

so he's a good researcher and organizer of gleaned information

ah.

to go back on what I said.

Medical DOTORS are the smartest people, not professionals.

You can have those medical assistants who are practically programmed to do only one thing. Now those... hmm...

And that's exactly my point. It is the OP's perception (and yours as well, it appears) that intelliegent people would be drawn to one particular career.
My contention is that this is no more the case than people of some other physical dimension (yes intelliegence is compatable with that) would be drawn to any particular career.

It would be entierly unreasonable to assume that most tall people would make good basketball players. It is even more unreasonable to assume that inteligent people would congregate in one particular career of those choices. This is doubely so when you consider the vast overlap in the careers listed in the poll, not to mention the particular skill sets used in those careers.

Not all tall people are great basketball players, but height does give them an advantage, and tall people would tend to be drawn to basketball. If someone was really, really tall (say, upwards of nine feet), they would be a shoe in for basketball. They could dunk the ball with out even having to jump.

Likewise, if someone has an IQ of a couple hundred and a brain that causes their skull to visibly throb when thinking, you wouldn't expect them to be collecting garbage or flipping burgers. Or would you? Maybe the menial laborers are brighter than all those idiot CEOs working themselves into an early grave due to stress. That's why I made this poll: to see if anyone had any unusual ideas about the relationship between occupation and intelligence. I wouldn't expect all the intelligent people to congregate in one particular career.

And for crying out loud! A poll can only have ten options. Did you really expect me to list off all possible careers and make scientifically precise distinctions between them?

Smart is a hard word to define.

Successful business people have one kind of smarts, being the ability to read a real world situation and make it come out in their favor.

As far as pure intelligence, I am utterly fascinated with the way a good mathemetician's brain works.

I picked other, because I feel that advanced, cutting-edge research jobs require the highest ability to collate and extrapolate perceptions and theories. It doesn't matter which field the research is in - astrophysics, philosophy, pharmacology, etc. - I just think you'd need to be a whole other level of smart to pioneer new theories and technologies.

I can't believe how many votes have gone to educators. Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. In all the classes I've taken, I've met two truly intelligent teachers. That's it - and they both had real jobs beforehand. That's a pretty low fucking percentage, considering how many teachers I've had. That rules out college students, because most teachers were college students at one point, and I've seen the amazing output on that investment. Not to say that there aren't a great many brilliant college students, but the percentage of these doesn't compare with, say, smart doctors. Doctors are almost always highly intelligent people. Granted, I haven't met as many doctors as I have teachers and fellow college students, but I haven't met a stupid one yet, so I'm going with that category until someone proves me wrong.

A lot of buisness people are not actually what you would call intelligent, but have got where they did through charm, confidence, ruthlessness and luck.

A lot of buisness people are not actually what you would call intelligent, but have got where they did through charm, confidence, ruthlessness and luck.

Ah, here comes the anti-capitalist. What took you so long?

A lot of buisness people are not actually what you would call intelligent, but have got where they did through charm, confidence, ruthlessness and luck.

You mean they are socially intelligent? There are many types of intelligence, being smart (as far as professions are concerned) just entails using the one you're best suited for to succeed.

Oh no, I voted for doctors by accident. I meant teachers, teeeeeeaaaaachers! They taught everyone else, so they're brightest.

It doesnt matter what your actual profession is... what matters is if you are doing what you want and are happy doing it. I think the people that enjoy their job the most and make a livable wage are smart because they aren't wasting their life away doing something they dislike day after day after day...

Like those in successful bands, painters, snowboarders, sports players, and it coudl also include business people and medical professionals or whomever.

Oh no, I voted for doctors by accident. I meant teachers, teeeeeeaaaaachers! They taught everyone else, so they're brightest.

Wouldn't that also make them responsible for all the idiot things people do?

I would say Educators - mainly because they must know and understand what they are teaching...even if sometimes we say they don't; and also because they're just so damned informed about everything. My Geog teacher - Mrs Sarah Maude (google her name - she writes papers on all sorts of stuff) - is actually a Geographical Wonder of the World...she just knows everything, she's out trekking in China right now to bring us up-to-date information on that part of the syllabus next year!

Plus, I must say, I want to be an educator myself one day - heh - so I have to say "we're" smarter than the average bear!

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

Is it skill or luck that means you can be both trite and offensive at the same time?

Ah, here comes the anti-capitalist.

You say that like it is a bad thing.

hey taught everyone else, so they're brightest.

Autodidacts?

(A bit of an off-topic, but I just realised most of the historical figures I admire had no or little formal education.)

Wouldn't that also make them responsible for all the idiot things people do?

Personal responsibility?

Is it skill or luck that means you can be both trite and offensive at the same time?

Skill via lots of practice. :D

Skill via lots of practice. :D

And a sense of humour :)

(Thank God, I was about to delete it because I though it might appear a bit harsh of me)

Sure, the plot might be good, but who wants to sit through 2+ hours of monotony?

a wonderful example of that would be The Ill-Made Mute (sorry I've been reading a lot of fantasy lately) its plot was different than a lot of other fantasy ones, but for hundreds of pages, nothing happened.

I would say Educators - mainly because they must know and understand what they are teaching...even if sometimes we say they don't; and also because they're just so damned informed about everything. My Geog teacher - Mrs Sarah Maude (google her name - she writes papers on all sorts of stuff) - is actually a Geographical Wonder of the World...she just knows everything, she's out trekking in China right now to bring us up-to-date information on that part of the syllabus next year!

Just wondering: are you a "special" kid? That would explain a lot. Most teachers don't know and understand everything they teach, unfortunately.

Plus, I must say, I want to be an educator myself one day - heh - so I have to say "we're" smarter than the average bear!

Being smarter than a bear doesn't say much.

(Thank God, I was about to delete it because I though it might appear a bit harsh of me)

You're welcome. ;)