I Was Told I Was Very Smart

Re:I Was Told I Was Very Smart by roundsquare on Thursday October 22, 2009 @06:00AM (#896446)

First of all... thats not the point. That statement wasn't meant as an absolute truism as much as something most people should keep in mind lest they get too cocky.

Secondly, even for someone X who is maximally smart, the statement "Y is smarter than X" can be true if its in a particular context. E.g. take two people who are maximally smart... there no one smarter than X in math (or whatever) and no one smarter than Y in history. Then X is smarter than Y and Y is smarter than X... depending on how you use the word.

Edit: So long as no one is maximumly smart.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I Was Told I Was Very Smart by JoeAltmaier on Thursday October 22, 2009 @10:07AM (#896736)

Smarts, even in one subject, are multi-dimensional. High-school seniors that play football can test-score the same after a season of head-bashing as before, but they take longer to complete the test. Just as smart, but changed too. Timed intelligence tests look for only fast-smart for instance.

[ Parent | on HN ]