The question of whether someone can be too intelligent in any sense is entirely hypothetical in my own case. And lack of intelligence is a much more serious and common problem than too much of it. Nonetheless, it’s worth remembering that even intelligence can be excessive, as a reminder that just because something is good, that does not mean more of it is always better.
ReadIt can take an exceptional mind to come up with a real insight but the processing part of thinking well usually requires no mental gymnastics. All you need to do is make no mistakes. To do that for even a single day requires exceptional mental rigour.
ReadPsychologists and risk experts are always telling us that we fixate far too much on unusual dangers and not enough on the hazards that we confront every day. The Glasgow helicopter crash will no doubt provide another opportunity to highlight our supposed irrationality as people demand inquiries to avoid a repeat of an accident that killed at least eight people, while five people die every day on the UK’s roads. But is it really illogical to worry about unusual causes of death and serious injury? I’m not convinced it is…
ReadIt’s not just the improbability, if not impossibility, of reaching a conclusion that makes many dismissive of theoretical questions. There’s also a sense of vanity about the whole enterprise. Isn’t the very definition of hubris unduly solemn adults pretending that they can even begin to fathom the deepest mysteries of existence? From this perspective, much theology looks like blasphemy – “For who has known the mind of the Lord?” as the Bible puts it…
ReadThinking for ourselves is largely a matter of working out how we use and interpret the opinions of others. Our ability to think for ourselves rests largely on how well we think about what others think.
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