What is intelligence? There's the old cliche that "knowledge is power". Absolutely, knowledge is power. I've worked in manufacturing for the past six years. Before that, I lived in a dorm where the 3rd floor was the "engineering floor". Why am I pointing at engineers? Well, for one, they've gotta be friggin' intelligent. Engineering is such a unique thing that it requires knowledge and creativity. My boss' husband is an engineer and came up with a design for something unique for something so ordinary. Can't say what.
But, I have also known many engineers who were not wise. Smart? Yes. They probably had genius IQs, 4.0s in some of the most advanced engineering courses, and past their SATs and GREs with flying colors. But that didn't mean they were wise.
Now I point to reality TV. Now, when I say "reality TV" I am referring to Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, and the Apprentice. I could let any of the singing/dancing/performing competition shows that grace our small screens. I'll permit the "originals" in The Real World and Road Rules. I am NOT talking about a Kardashian, a 'desperate' housewife, a diva toddler, or a mother with a bunch of kids. Maybe I should specify "competitive reality TV".
Specifically, Survivor and Big Brother are two shows where wisdom outweighs intelligence. The premise of Survivor is "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". It is a show where the most intelligent people fall and the most wise people rise. Every season has seen a different type of winner.
This is Sandra Diaz-Twine. The picture on the left is from Survivor: Pearl Islands. On the right is Survivor: Heroes vs Villains. Sandra won both, the only contestant to ever win two seasons of Survivor. She is honestly one of my favorites from Survivor. Why? First, I like the sass. Sorry, if you're gonna argue, be sassy about it, at least it's entertaining. Second, she played a similar game both times, but she had different people to outwit.
Sandra is an unassuming mom. She's got the cliche loud Hispanic mama attitude and doesn't take crap from anybody. Her first time playing the game, she had an alliance, a rather good one at that. But then seen as the least threat, she kept staying, until she made her moves and won the game.The second time around, she didn't even have to make moves. She warned people about her "allies" and their deviousness. But no one listened. So she stuck with her unwanted alliance until they were too stupid to get rid of her and she won.
Sandra is someone who used a lot of wisdom to get to the end and to win.
And here's Rob Cesternino. Sadly, he didn't win. (He should have won Survivor: Amazon, in my mind.) Rob's someone who used his intelligence to his advantage. At the time, only 5 seasons of Survivor had been played and Rob knew them all like the smartest kid in the class knows a textbook. He did well to ride low enough at first. But then being a part of a plan to outwit a rocket scientist, getting rid of a cop, and then switching gears when he realized he'd be out of the game too early if he didn't switch plans got him to the final 3. Poor Rob just couldn't stand on a log as long as a beauty queen. But Rob played that season smart. He controlled everyone. (Yeah, I could point to a different Rob with this concept, but this one's my favorite, not the other one.)
In life, we can be the biggest brainiac. Nerds and geeks are not people to mess with these days. Guess what, they've got the money and the jobs, usually. But on the same token, it takes some wisdom to have friends and family that like you for who you are, not just what you do or how much you spend.
For me, the intelligent person considers success materialistically. The wise person looks at success from within. Knowledge is intelligence. Using that knowledge to society's advantage is wisdom.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that a new season of Survivor starts soon? Well, it does and I'm excited for it. Woot!
Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.
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