Political views, religious beliefs and intelligence
 

Can you get an idea of someone's general intellectual ability from their political views or religious beliefs?

oh hell fuck yeah

oh jeez

Couldn't have said it better.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The problem here is that sometimes intelligent people are put into situations that tend to color their beliefs in areas such as politics, religon, even bigotry. I'm highly educated and often feel guilty for expressing a non-pc view that my intellect tells me is wrong, but the evidence before my eyes suggets is right. It's just another ethical deliema we face as the world becomes a smaller and smaller place. I think all of us are equal, seperate with different skills, but essentially equal. As long as you can realize that, the stupidity of others can be overlooked... everyone has their moments, me, you, everyone. It's called being human. Some are smarter, some are stronger, some are saintlier, but if we were all the same, if we all were truly equal, the world would be a pretty damn boring place! We are all different, no better, no worse than our fellow man (with some noteable exceptions.) I'm a cynic, but an optimistic one. I have a friend who is naive, but a pessimist... the differences that seperate us will also pull us together at times, so the point is moot. There will always be conflict, when there's no drama, humans will create it for their own amusement. That's what makes us human machines so damn interesting!

me think yes

I don't always agree with you [Labret], but you are a prime example. Shining intellect with no illusions about your fellow man. I like that, the honesty. That impresses me much more, you express your opinion with no concern for who it pisses off. Honesty for the sake of honesty is always entertaining.... and arousing.... I think we could have some interesting conversations in "real life". You don't pull your punches and that turns me on... there's nothing that pisses me off more than a man who says only what others want to hear. Someone kisses my ass, they've not got a chance in hell of ever "REALLY" kissing it.:1orglaugh

Yep. 100%. Christian = douche. Muslum = more douche-y. Hindu = cow worshipping douche.

Leftwing = I want to live off the work of other people douche.
Rightwing = I want to use the military to kill you douche

Seems everyone is a douche so what does it matter?

Not really, although most people will say yes.

Most people think that people who agree with them are smart, and people who disagree with them are idiots.

So if I'm a christian and you're not, I think you're an idiot who's going to hell.

If I'm a conservative and you're a liberal, I think you're an idiot who's looking for a government handout.

The list goes on and on......but I personally think that 2 highly intelligent people can disagree on any number of issues and it doesn't make either one more or less intelligent.

:thumbsup Can we be friends?

Lenny, I agree with you. I'm not wise enough to know if I'm correct though.

I belive in "format c:" - does that make me smart?

oh my.

No, what if they are just repeating some shit they heard from some other jackass...just like most you clones. GFY

general intelligence? ofcourse not... since im sure there's some very intelligent Republicans.. much more intelligent than alot of democrats for exemple (even if it sounds unbelievable):1orglaugh
And vice-versa...

However, your views can be a sign of less than perfect intelligence (how less than perfect? it depends on how extreme the person's views are), lack of intellectual rigour/lack of intellectual objectivity, flawed logic/judgement... But with all of that, one can still be more intelligent than most who have opposite views (political or religious for exemple, whatever the views are)

:thumbsup

Democrats suck.

Republicans suck less than democrats, but only by the smallest of margins.

There is a God, although he has never spoken to man. Nor has he instructed man to write any books in his name, build places of worship, to not pay taxes, to molest children, or to fill the heads of little children and weak minded adults with fairy tales of eternal damnation in very hot places if they violate a certain set of rules.


What does that say?

That you have a very negative view of people in general

Oh, thank goodness. Someone else writing russian novels. I can scale down to three sentences now, the position has been filled.

That you're Jewish and have read Spinoza.

That you ripped off George Carlin.

God tells me to smoke more weed.

Guess the answere to your question then, is no.

I'm a catholic by default, made my first communion, but not confirmation, first communion being my last appearance in a church for worship purposes. (Funerals and weddings being the exceptions)

And, I've never even heard of Spinoza.

Nope, I do not worship Joe Pesci.

How does that make the answer to my question "no"?

we must have the same god :thumbsup

It doesn't.. lol
I forgot what the question was.
Turned 30 yesterday, and today the alzheimer's is kicking in already.

:1orglaugh

You like Cock Sparrer, that rules.

I'm not sure Colin. What do you say about someone who's obviously well educated who believes in creationism? Have their religious beliefs clouded their ability to reason? Are they truly intelligent? I think not.

i laughed HARD at this one!

Yes...you can "get an idea" but it does not mean that your "idea" is accurate...because it would be a subjective "idea"...based upon your own biases.

It would also depend upon which definition of intellectual you are looking at...the "rational" definition or the "capacity" definition.

George Carlin...:thumbsup

for the most part I agree with you...

however I would answer 'YES" with this reasoning...

it's not so much about what brand politics or religion someone chooses that would allow me to discern their potential intelligence but RATHER the reasons WHY they choose those brands that would give me some clues...

...also their flexibility within their choices would let me know a little about their decision making abilities, etc...

...the list goes on but sure, those 2 things (politics and religion) would lend some clues....

Why do you say they are not? Many great thinkers over the years were religious and creationists. Is it that the evidence against such a creation is NOW so overwhelming you would have to be a fool to believe it? Why was, say, Isaac Newton not an idiot for believing in a creation? Product of his times? Scientific fashionism?

I say they are not because of what you said "the evidence against such a creation is NOW so overwhelming you would have to be a fool to believe it..." Isaac Newton was indeed a product of his time as were all the great thinkers of their eras. The point is for someone who otherwise seems to be intelligent to believe that TODAY makes them not so intelligent. When there was no knowledge or proof of anything other than creationism then one can't be blamed for believing it. I didn't know your question was geared to all time; I perhaps wrongly assumed we were alking about the present.

That is a subjective and apparently biased viewpoint...and does not make your "idea" a fact...just an opinion.

Perhaps you have a point, but the question was limited to discerning one's intellectual ability from their chosen political or religious beliefs.
If you dig deeper to find out WHY one believes what they believe, then you'll have alot more information to base your judgement on.

touche'

if it was solely based on choice of brand name without the underlying questions being answered I'd have to say "No"

Fuck, I can just look at a mothafucker and get a general idea of his or her intellectual ability. By the way, Colin, you used a singular pronoun and a plural antecedent.

-- Mark Mateo, ChatRoom Romeo since June, 2003

No Russian novels here, just a bored southern belle this morning, bemoaning the fact that the rednecks here just think I'm cute, insane and are dying to shove a cock in my mouth to shut me up cus' I talk too much.... and think too much, in general.

Bored this morning, waiting for UPS to come and trying to take a day off for me, but the damn phone keeps ringing. I think I'm going to turn it off, go down to the basement and shoot a game of pool on my new table (:stoned ), burn a fatty and then go rape my boyfriend before all my friends cram into Club Tyger tonight.

Maybe while I'm raping him, I'll be thinking about [Labret] or then again, maybe not.... :1orglaugh

Of course you can't. If you sampled the top 1% of intelligent people in the world at this very moment, you'd have a rainbow of religious and political views. If their intellectual abilities had anything to do with either subject, then I suppose they'd all have to think/believe relatively the same thing, now wouldn't they? A better indicator would be how they justify, rationalize, support, and debate their beliefs. And if they're smart enough to recognize when there's no point in doing so. :)

Oh- and try to get a writing sample and see if they know the difference between your/you're, to/too, their/there/they're, and then/than. That's a pretty good one, too. :2 cents:

Not their general intellect, no. But you can make generalizations that fit your own personal experiences with these different types of people.

Just because a person's parents made them grow up in a strict Christian household means nothing to how (potentially) smart they are. Just that it is more likely that person will have a Christian mindset and world view.

You can probably get an idea from how beliefs are expressed and from the extent to which a person can explain why he or she holds a particular point of view. But you cannot reach any conclusions about intellectual ability from views and beliefs themselves.

My father and I are good examples. He has a high IQ and two law degrees: he is very right wing and a religious moderate. My IQ is supposedly a few points higher and I had a rather better education: my political views are predominantly left of center and I have no religious beliefs at all.

Since we have had in common an active interest in politics, debate and writing, I suspect our differences are primarily a matter of generation. At one time I would have added teenage rebellion, but unless that can be sustained for over 30 years...

I believe that the intelligence lies not in what you belief or what you practice, but rather on the ability to acknoledge that you know nothing and the only way out of it is to learn.

Nothing is absolute... it's a matter of analyzing all you can analyze and live your life according to what makes more sense to YOU.


just my two cents ;)

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

certainly a great deal can be told by the way in which they explain their reasoning for their beliefs.

I don't need to know their views to form a pretty decent and most of the time accurate opinion. I can do that from their grammar, sentence structure and how they feel about counters and conversions.

That's nothing. I performed a comma splice at the GFY party with one hand tied behind my back, you should have seen it!

I believe in your god!