Do I think that you are intelligent?

Do I think you are intelligent? I can’t answer that. For starters, I really don’t know you. Also, there’s an outside chance that multiple people will actually read this. If I came up with an answer, it would have to apply to more than just you.

 

Even if I could focus on one reader, I still wouldn’t answer. In fact, it’s still unlikely that I would have known. Why is this? Because I learned years ago that it’s generally best not to evaluate people on an individual basis.

Part of the problem is that I have a bad habit of being honest. If I tell someone that I view him or her as unintelligent, that person will understandably resent me. If I tell a person that I view him or her as intelligent, I will have established that I am willing to answer in a positive manner. Any other response after that point would be the equivalent of telling people that I view them as unintelligent. Once again, this leads to resentment.

The only way to be honest and not offend anyone is to avoid responding regardless of the answer. Even then, there is always the possibility that people ask questions that make it difficult to hide the answer to such a question. For this reason, I try not to evaluate people on an individual level.

I can’t always help myself. I will admit that I view Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison as more intelligent than George Bush and Barack Obama. Overall, I still feel that I’m good at avoiding such evaluations. I may have no problems evaluating society as a whole (I view this as the most mindless era in history), but don’t expect me to have anything to say about you personally. That’s how I like to keep things.