Knowledge and Intelligence

[Mister Mister]

 An essay I am working on.  Would love to hear your feedback.

 

 

When we talk about Knowledge, there are usually two mental processes that are being described. On the one hand, there is information which can be sensed or measured, remembered and repeated. On the other, there is the understanding of the causes or principles behind what we sense. I would suggest that we ought to use the word "Knowledge" only to describe the latter. Effective use of the Mind involves observing the world without judgment, determining rules which govern what we observe, and applying them to our future efforts. There are various words we can use to describe the distinction in these two aspects of the Mind.

Cause Effect

Idea Object

Truth Fact

Knowledge Memory

Understanding Sensing

Whole Part

Reason Evidence

Hypothesis Experiment

Induction Observation

Absolute Relative

Eternal Temporary

Transcendent Transient

Universal Situational

General Specific

Principle Detail

Abstract Concrete

Simple Complex

Stillness Motion

Intelligence is a name for the ability to exchange or alternate between these two conditions of thought. The effective thinker is one who can relax the mind to see a greater whole, and also focus the mind on finer details, than the average person. Consider some examples in Art, Business, Medicine and Science.

A painter or sculptor stands back to see the whole painting or sculpture, comparing it with the Idea in his mind, then approaches it to work on one specific part of it. He must do this many times in the course doing a single painting. A musician conceives an inspiring melody or progression or riff, and goes to work composing the details. Many times a whole song or opus can emerge effortlessly from just one part, like the 9th Symphony composed by a deaf and aging Beethoven, almost an hour long and requiring an orchestra of unprecedented size, yet all based off the simple melody of Ode to Joy. Often in writing songs, there are many choices one is faced, of harmony, instrumentation, form, texture, or lyrics, but only the composer can know which is ultimately best to convey his or her idea.

For any work of art, the idea is not in the details, not in the paint or the stone or the notes, but is nonetheless expressed by these fine points with varying degrees of success. The idea is in the mind of the artist, and the success of art depends on its connecting with the mind of others. An observer or listener can instantly understand the idea the artist is trying to convey, to the extent of the artist's skill, and to the extent the recipient already knows this idea. Often people's reaction to art is that it conveys thoughts and feelings they have felt frequently for a long time, but could not express.

An entrepeneur envisions a product or sevice that would improve people's lives, and sets about to devising and enacting a plan to produce and distribute it. Even something as simple as a whole pencil LINK is composed of many parts such that no one person can personally gather or assemble each part. Yet someone had to conceive of how to put those resources together in order for us to have a pencil. The successful businessman is the one who predicts people's desires, and organizes resources in the most efficient way to meet those desires.

A good doctor is one who records symptoms, takes necessary tests, asks relevant questions, and attempts to discover and treat the cause of the disease, rather than only prescribing treatment based on the effects. Often this involves helping the patient to understand self-destructive aspects of their lifestyle or habits of thinking, and counselling them on how to break these habits. Unfortunately it is easier and more conventional for many doctors to merely prescribe medication to temporarily alleviate symtpoms.

A scientist makes an observation, and seeks to understand the cause behind it. Then she designs and implements experiments to verify her hypothesis. Should observations in the future be inconsistent with this rule, she or other scientists must again use their inner faculties to determine a more appropriate principle which can apply to as many aspects of the world as possible. This process where we observe specific phenomena, then make general rules to explain them is called Inductive Reasoning and is considered the essence of Science. XXXXXX Without this process, "scientists" are merely lab technicians or engineers.

Induction is also the point in the Scientific Method where logic breaks down. Given certain information, there is no definitive logical process for choosing one explanation over another. Philosophers of science argue that theories are inevitably based on assumptions. For example, in observing the apparent motion of the stars and planets in the sky, the hypothesis that the Earth is the center of the system, and that planets move in epicycles, seemed to fit the information at the time. Now we have enough information as well as a more elegant and simple model, to see that it is not true. It was the result of religious beliefs of the time, and a lack of imagination to see the alternatives (the same could be argued of the still commonly accepted Big Bang Theory). This ability to discern a Cause or a general rule from limited information seems to be a unique quality of humanity and separates us from computers which can only process information according to already established rules.

Science is an attempt to observe the Natural world, and determine the cause of what we observe, by inductive reasoning, for the purpose of improving human Life. The wider the application of a principle, the greater its use. Isaac Newton is considered one of the greatest scientists ever because he attempted to unify both earthly physics and "heavenly" physics with a few simple laws of motion that could explain everything. Ultimately we have found his laws insufficient, and the quest for the Unified "laws" of the Universe continues.

Thus, real useful knowledge comes from a kind of unfocusing or decentration from the specific to the Universal. Today, unfortunately, there is again a fraction among different fields of Science, with uncountable and increasingly complex rules for different scales and aspects of the Universe. Specialization in Science or any other field is a wonderful attribute of humanity, and allows us to have a rich diversity of thought and productivity, and allows us many choices as students, consumers, and workers; however in today's education and public discussion there is a tragic lack of basic principles about how the Universe works, and what it is to be human. Thus, real useful knowledge comes from a kind of unfocusing or decentration from the specific to the Universal.

A simple concept of how effective thinking works, could then be invaluable to anyone wishing to understand their place in the world, as well as how to be successful in their efforts. This is my humble contribution to such a discussion.  Thank you so much for reading and please offer comments/questions/criticism. Love,

-Cody