What is intelligence actually?

[Candle]

When I see a higher level of intelligence than I'm currently at, I say, "that's intelligent". 

But when I actually reach that level, I say, "there's nothing intelligent about it, it's so easy and simple ". 

So : 

is intelligence nothing? What is it actually? 

No matter what level we are at, we never appreciate it. We only appreciate the higher levels. 

Every level becomes easy and simple when we get there. 

It's hard (today) for me to be Leo. But it's easy for Leo to be Leo. I don't think getting there is a big deal, if you have common sense and basic intelligence. 

Edited Monday at 11:36 AM by Candle

[Rishabh R]

Understanding,loving, absorbing.

[Sugarcoat]

I bet it isn’t easy to be Leo , a lot of hard work to get there.

[Princess Arabia]

4 hours ago, Sugarcoat said:

I bet it isn’t easy to be Leo , a lot of hard work to get there.

It ain't easy being human, PERIOD. There was no effort for Leo to be Leo. He's an intellectual and loves to study. He knows a lot and can articulate wonderfully. Those things took no effort. The effort is trying to apply that knowledge and turning them into a masterpiece, which he has done with his videos and also this forum. He couldn't have done it without the necessary equipment and that's where you and i come in and the rest of the community. Leo is nothing without us (in that sense), just as a leader is nothing without his followers. So, IOW, you are also a piece of that puzzle.

[gambler]

37 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

It ain't easy being human, PERIOD. There was no effort for Leo to be Leo. He's an intellectual and loves to study. He knows a lot and can articulate wonderfully. Those things took no effort. The effort is trying to apply that knowledge and turning them into a masterpiece, which he has done with his videos and also this forum. He couldn't have done it without the necessary equipment and that's where you and i come in and the rest of the community. Leo is nothing without us (in that sense), just as a leader is nothing without his followers. So, IOW, you are also a piece of that puzzle.

I agree that his verbal intelligence probably required little to no effort, some people are naturally gifted at articulating themselves.

While he does love to study, it’s still a lot of effort being spent. Him applying his knowledge required him to first acquire the knowledge. Apart from studying, he spends a lot of mental effort into thinking about things, which requires a lot of obsessive-like thinking, if not outright obsessive. For years on end. 

Edited Monday at 04:34 PM by gambler

[Princess Arabia]

7 minutes ago, gambler said:

Apart from studying, he spends a lot of mental effort into thinking about things, which requires a lot of obsessive-like thinking, if not outright obsessive. For years on end. 

Try thinking right now and tell me how much effort was put into that. Thinking, obsessively or not, requires no effort. You could be in a wheelchair or just ran a marathon and still think. Thinking just happens.

Edited Monday at 04:37 PM by Princess Arabia

[Hojo]

Living the dream without resistance. You are intelligence, I would almost say its the same thing as consciousness. Flow state is intelligence. It has nothing to do with thinking its the end result of thinking and the beginning result of thinking.

Edited Monday at 04:42 PM by Hojo

[gambler]

10 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

Try thinking right now and tell me how much effort was put into that. Thinking, obsessively or not, requires no effort. You could be in a wheelchair or just ran a marathon and still think. Thinking just happens.

Well I would think you have to really think hard when it comes to complex topics. At least that’s true for most people. 
 

Also thinking at a near obsessive or a completely obsessive level is mentally strenuous and draining. 
 

But I’ll be surprised and damned if it’s really that easy for him. 

Edited Monday at 04:48 PM by gambler

[LastThursday]

8 hours ago, Candle said:

is intelligence nothing? What is it actually? 

That's a deep question and contemplating it will make you more intelligent.

Joking aside. There's several different strands of intelligence:

Memory and logic. This is knowing stuff (memory) and applying that knowledge (logic).

Kinaesthetic. This is everything your body does without thinking including speaking, walking, playing sports and so on.

Pattern recognition. This the ability to recognise similarities and connections between different experiences or ideas, then using logic to generalise the patterns.

Creativity. The ability to come up with new stuff from existing knowledge.

I'm sure there's more, like the intelligence of the universe or of nature, or intuition.