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You are intelligent; you cannot think

Published: 18 April 2007 by CA

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS). Note: We have moved the blog to a new domain to better reflect this blog's objectives.

You are bright. You can look at a complex problem, cut through the clutter and reach a solution in no time. Your peers cannot do it quickly. Your superiors accept your solution. Everyone thinks it is the right solution. It may be, but it may also “not-be”. But everyone follows it for lack of a better alternative. It is not that no one is questioning the solution. But even they cannot think. This reinforces your opinion about your ability to think. But you cannot. You are intelligent, quick on your feet and are regarded as a problem solver. But you cannot think.

Your reaction

If you have read this far, then:
1. You are offended that I am questioning your intelligence and want to prove me wrong, and
2. You want to defend yourself (if you think you are intelligent)

These are the two most common reactions I expect when I challenge someone. You are not alone. I have been observing this reaction for a long time from people every time I have disputed their opinion. Sometimes, even I exhibit this behavior and fall into this trap. This is the “intelligence trap” – as postulated by Edward de Bono. It kills the thinking process. They must teach this in school.

It is all about perception

In all seriousness, have you ever stopped to ponder how you think? An intelligent person like you can take a view depending on your perspective. This happens in seconds. You may have heard this: “Most hiring decisions are made within the first 30 seconds. The rest of the time is spent on reinforcing that decision.” We all make similar judgments in value in the blink of an eye. The next time you meet a stranger, make an effort to observe your thought process. You may have already made your decision if you like the person or not within seconds of the first contact.

There was a beautiful article (a very long one if you decide to click on the link) in the Washington Post recently about Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed musician, who almost went unnoticed when he played at the L’enfant Plaza metro station. He played for 43 minutes for a total collection of $32.17 and only one person recognized Bell. When you hear that music quality, not many people stopped to think – even for a second – that this might not be any musician. I am not sure if I would have recognized Bell either.

Our perceptions drive our logic. But if our perceptions were flawed to begin with, how good is our logic. We do not expect to see a maestro playing at a metro station. So we just walk by or spare some change for him. Similarly, when presented with a problem, perception clouds the problem and an intelligent person quickly takes a stance. Once this happens, this individual will use his or her intelligence to defend that view. So when I said earlier, “You are intelligent, you cannot think”, your perception about yourself would force you to defend that point of view. You know you are right – you can think. Who am I to tell you wrong?

If you are used to people around you complimenting you on your intelligence or even have that notion about yourself; a.k.a. intelligent, then you are not the one the back off easily. The quickest and the easiest way then to defend yourself is to prove me wrong. If you do, then you are not alone. I fall back to my old habits sometimes. It is easy. Thinking takes effort.

So the next time you are faced with a problem – think. “I think, therefore I am”, said Renè Descartes. Are you?

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8 Comments »

  • Matt said:

    That was interesting. What was most fun was that you did not ist the third possible reaction:

    3. You clicked read more because you were wondering WTF?

    but it was a good point never-the-less.

    # 20 April 2007 at 11:30 am
  • Charan Atreya said:

    Lol Matt. I try to keep expletives out of my blog ;)

    # 20 April 2007 at 1:15 pm
  • Steli Efti said:

    Nice post - but you know that generalization ( perception), deletion and distortion are essential parts of our unconscious thinking processes.

    Without generalization you would have to stop, “think” and try out how every new door in the world opens. You wouldn´t assume that they all open in the same way.
    Our brain knows that - that´s the reason why we are generalization masters. It is designed to make our life easier.

    But it causes alot of trouble too - I agree. To be aware of the beast is important - but still…it´s thinking. Don´t you think?

    Much power to you!
    Steli

    # 20 April 2007 at 5:19 pm
  • Charan Atreya said:

    It is quite refreshing to read such thoughtful comments. Thanks, Steli, for dropping by. And in response to your comment …

    True. If our mind did not have the ability to form generalizations (I would call it “patterns”), we would be lost. I am in total agreement.

    But once the mind has the pattern, any information that is remotely similar will be treated as if it was the pattern. And therein lies the problem. We stop thinking.

    When we encounter something new, we try to match it to existing patterns in our mind. We are constantly searching for clues in the “something new” so that we fit it to our pattern. Once we see a trigger, we immediately group it to the pattern. In short, we judge immediately and form an opinion. The more intelligent a person is, the more easy it is for him/her to defend that view than, say, a less intelligent person.

    I am not sure if I would be inclined to call such a defense of one’s judgment thinking.

    # 20 April 2007 at 9:19 pm
  • Steli Efti said:

    I agree with almost everything you said.

    But I really disliked the following statement:

    …”the more intelligent a person is, the more easy it is for him/her to defend that view than, say, a less intelligent person.”

    Nope. I mean Yes. It all depends on how you define whos intelligent. But if we agree with what the majority of our society labels as “intelligent” I would go so far to say…

    …the more intelligent a person is, the HARDER it is for him/her to think outside of patterns.

    Think about it.

    P.S. I would love to explain my point in more detail but I have to go. The good news is that you´ll have to think more this way :)

    I´m out. Much power to you!

    # 21 April 2007 at 2:32 pm
  • Charan Atreya said:

    Gee Steli, I am honored. The thinking blogger award! Now I really have to start thinking ;)

    I totally agree with your statement. Cannot refute that at all. It is so true.

    I also think we both are saying the same thing, but with different lenses on. It would be interesting to see what a PMI on the two statements would yield:

    1. The more intelligent a person is, the more easy it is for him/her to defend that view than, say, a less intelligent person., AND

    2. the more intelligent a person is, the HARDER it is for him/her to think outside of patterns.

    Cheers

    # 22 April 2007 at 12:54 pm
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    # 28 April 2007 at 8:25 pm
  • Simply Successful Secrets | Today is that Day said:

    [...]This Water Pipe Story May start off Boring, but It’s Worth Reading because of the Ending. 14) In an interesting analysis of whether or not we are actually engaging the right mental processes in any given situation, check out You are intelligent; you cannot think over at Atlantic Canada’s Small Business Blog. 15) Have you ever wondered if there is a better way to deal with the IRS than filling in all of those little blocks in exactly the way you are supposed to? Anthony over at [...]

    # 2 May 2007 at 12:39 am

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