Are we as intelligent as we think we are? Okay, I know you’re pretty smart. After all, you are reading this post, and smart people like to read and learn or explore various other vehicles of learning. So, I know that you are among the learned. Let me just say that first of all, this is not an IQ test of some sort. This post is not a tool to test your skill sets, or to measure your general knowledge of things like some game show or aptitude test. This article is about principles that, if you open your mind to them, will put you on the path to obtaining wisdom. The moment you embrace these principles, you begin to gauge your intelligence. I know, I know. That sounds like an aptitude test. And yes, I know those tests are fun, I enjoy them myself. However, I assure you that this is not the journey I am taking you on. What I will speak to you are simple, but unconventional words of wisdom through four principles to promote thought and put you on a path towards universal intelligence. Okay, now with that out of the way, let me get to the part of gauging your intelligence.
Principle #1. I Am Not Intelligent
The first principle is foundational. We must, first of all, agree with Socrates, who once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” We would do well, therefore, to acknowledge:
The more intelligent I think am, the dumber I become. The more I conclude my smartness, the more I decline to idiocy. Uh-oh, those are some strong words. Hang in there. This path we're on is going to be good.
I say that I am an intellectual because I am an intellectual; however, declaring this is a dangerous thing. It is because the moment I do, and the more that I do; I subconsciously begin closing myself off to the infinite wisdom available. The well of infinite wisdom remains wide open to those vessels that are empty enough and thirsty enough to drink it.
When I say, I am smart, I subconsciously say that I have arrived at superior levels of knowledge, which fosters a level of (false) security that I have obtained enough knowledge to ward off certain amounts of challenging wisdom and perceptions. This claimed state of intelligence may very well be true, but it is yet a dangerous and ignorant state to be in. This statement may also sound like a paradox.
When I say that I am intelligent, I send a subliminal message to myself that I have reached an above average level of intelligence sufficient enough to be above those perceived to be of limited intelligence. I then, therefore, limit myself to wisdom and perspectives coming from those vessels of perceived lower intelligence than mine, which are often too valuable to miss.
Therefore, the moment I say that I am smart, and then that perception makes me dumber, it also decreases my ability to become more intelligent, or more knowledgeable than I was previously.
Therefore, I will not acknowledge, or say that I am smart.
Principle #2. I Am A Learner
I will say rather, that I am more learned than I was previously. I will say that I am a learner, which means that I am always searching and learning, and open to further depths of knowledge and perceptions, to be able to understand more.
I will say that I am in the learning lane, which means that I stay on the road that leads to learning more, that I may keep learning and understanding more views, perceptions and knowledge.
Principle #3. Knowledge Of Any One Subject Or Item Can Never Be Complete
No knowledge of any one thing is infinite.
If God is infinite, if the universe is infinite, then the knowledge of the two can only be finite.
How can you ever say that your knowledge of anything is infinite, or complete? You contradict yourself!
To say that my knowledge of the infinite, that I have thorough or complete knowledge of that which is infinite is to say that I am infinite.
Doesn’t life teach us the allegory of completion? Once any living thing reaches maturity, at that moment, it begins to die or degenerate. Science has noted that the human body starts to decrease at stages of maturity. The Brain and lungs start declining at age 20 while the heart begins its decline by the age of 40.
This observation brings us to the fourth principle.
Principle #4. A Balanced Life Is The Embrace Of Incompletion And Deficits
The human quest for completion is an endless road of vanity. The human obsession with the ultimate achievement is an endless scramble akin to filling a lightweight bag of holes with water. Can it ever be filled? For every hole that has been plugged, another will appear. The quest for solutions is perpetual; the universal attainment is forever elusive. Life is only balanced when there are deficits. Deficits bring equilibrium. Doesn’t the wisdom of the scale teach us?
The two, three, or four sides of the scale(whichever is the case) is the only whole. There can be no balance unless each side has a deficit. Neither side can have the whole, or else the scale is severely imbalanced and causes discomfort for both sides and the universe of the scale. The further away from the balancing, the more discomfort to each and the scales universe. The closer to the balancing, the less discomfort for the common purpose of the scale. In the universe, a scale is only just when it is balanced. An unjust scale is an abomination to the master of the scale, who always seeks its balance.
This is why we see that when we raze through forests, pollute waters and our atmosphere, we see a perversion of ecosystems. It is because each living thing directly, or indirectly, supports the existence of another living thing. No living thing, including mankind, can live equitably without the life, functions, and wisdom of another living thing or force of nature. It would cause substantial and sometimes severe imbalances to the scale of existence that God has put in place. The scale always seeks balance which is all about harmonious existence within ourselves first, to be able to achieve harmony with outside beings and forces.
This is why we see that when we raze through forests, pollute waters and our atmosphere, we see a perversion of ecosystems. It is because each living thing directly, or indirectly, supports the existence of another living thing. No living thing, including mankind, can live equitably without the life, functions, and wisdom of another living thing or force of nature. It would cause substantial and sometimes severe imbalances to the scale of existence that God has put in place. The scale always seeks balance which is all about harmonious existence within ourselves first, to be able to achieve harmony with outside beings and forces.
Another example is the pie. Grab a pizza and have four devourers cut their own size piece to satisfy their varying degrees of hunger. Each devourer has an incomplete piece of the pie, because the pie itself is the only whole, and the whole is divided.
Wisdom also has made herself accessible to all beings in the universe. This accessibility doesn’t mean that all beings access wisdom simultaneously, or in the same manner as their other counterparts, or at the same speed or intervals, or have the same amounts. It only means that all beings have access, yet no being has complete control, nor monopoly capabilities. Besides, it would only piss off the master of the scales to see attempted violation of equilibrium. Therefore, no one being or compilation of beings is capable of having completion of wisdom. Every intelligent person will still need the assistance of others of diverse bits of intelligence in order to succeed in any one project. So, why be boastful of having more than another in an area or two? You can never reach completion anyway.
The moment you reach a supposed completion, you start to decrease. (to make an end of anything, you must decrease somewhere else.)
The more you decrease, the more you increase; the more you increase, the more you decrease.
Does this sound strange? Yes, I know it does. Let me explain.
The more I increase in knowledge in any one thing, the more I decrease in ignorance of it. The more I decrease the perception of how much knowledge I have, the more I increase my capacity to obtain more knowledge. The more I increase my perception of how much knowledge I have, the more I decrease my capacity to learn more. There must be a deficit somewhere, to produce increase somewhere else.
The universal law of sacrifice is that nothing is obtained without a sacrifice. To achieve an increase in one area, one must experience a decrease somewhere, in some field. There must be an offering somewhere.
Whoever will increase, must yield to a deficit on behalf of the other side(s) of the scale. It is the circle of life. Monopolies in any area and severely unbalanced scales are a violation of the universe and are a freak of the natural order. It is a representation of disorder in the universe.
We will never reach completion of wisdom in any area under this limitless universe. To be wise, we must embrace our insignificance in the vast ocean of boundless universe to walk in the balance of our purpose. If there was completion in the universe, then knowledge of the universe can be finite, and knowledge of any one thing in the universe can be finite, and be completed. However, once again, we know this is not the case. We can realize that we can only know partial and can only see partial.
I conclude by stating that to be wise, we must embrace our ignorance and become a perpetual learning machine, to passionately achieve balance on behalf of the universe. I encourage you to join this journey, as I advise you that your path to wisdom is paved by your continual acknowledgment of your ignorance, your passion for learning, and the realization of your perpetual inability to fulfill your quest for completion.
Once again, I ask you, How intelligent are you?
