You’re Smarter Than You Think
– and unless you’re already a raging egomaniac, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In this brief podcast I share some recent findings from cognitive psychology and explain why your current and potential intelligence is greater than you think.
Subscribe
I’d like to think I’m pretty intelligent (I do a lot of math/engineering), but at the same time I’ve always believed almost anyone can do what I do (except maybe disabled people). Not because it’s easy, but because all you need is the motivation (interest). I saw a lot of my old classmates fall behind not because they were dumb, but because they were lazy or just not interested in higher level math (maybe because they thought it isn’t very useful). As time progresses the gap grows and ultimately the difference is so obvious people are inclined to start using words to differentiate how well we adapted to our surroundings (eg. ‘average’ and ‘intelligent’). In my case, my interest was peaked because of my dad, who told me when I was a little boy that scientists, engineers and mathematicians invent things like cars, tv’s, etc., which at the time seemed almost magical to me. My younger brother is another example of why this theory seems to make sense: at first he was scared because he didn’t know if he would be able to cope with 8h/math/week. His first few tests were dismal, and he was practically crying to allow him to be transferred to a class with less math. Instead, we pushed him and told him he would be able to do it. He tried a bit harder, and right now he’s been the first in his class consistently since christmas.
So, I just wanted to say that I wholeheartedly agree with you, and find it striking that you are essentialy claiming what I have suspected since I began college. On a side note: please excuse my rusty english.
Hey Anonymous - nice to hear your story. I’m not an engineer myself, but I have the utmost respect for that work. Hope it serves you well. -Michael