Feb
1
Knowledge vs. Intelligence
Filed Under Uncategorized
We’ve read a few articles this semester that deal with new media and a underlying theme that I’ve noticed is that of collective knowledge. However, I’m a bit confused on what “knowledge” really is and how it differentiates from intelligence.
To make my point, if I take the IQ test which, theoretically, is supposed to measure my intelligence. Let’s say the test asks me a question like: “what is the capital of Egypt?” Now, this question would be all too easy for a Geography major, however, if the test asks a different question to a Geography major like, for example, something about a particular Sophoclean tragedy, it wouldn’t be as easy to answer for him as it would be for an English major.
So I would guess then, to that degree, every human is intelligent, but there are different degrees of knowledge that humans attain depending on your culture, and exposure to that culture. So what’s culture? Well, I’d define it as the overall amount of information that is provided to you in society, whether it be school, your job, religious institution, etc.
Something I believe is important to recognize in New Media Studies is that Computers are tools that transmit and share different cultures to people all around the world by virtue of the internet. A Kenyan who writes about his experiences about surviving ethnic cleansing can post his story online and an American can learn something more about that culture and perhaps research more about Kenya. Thus, if the researcher learns more about Kenya, then next time he gets an IQ test question that asks for the capital of that country, he’ll be more knowledgable, but I guess not more intelligent.