Thread: Are some people better conductors than others?

I know the title of this thread may be a bit confusing on what the topic actually is and so I apologize for that in advance.

As always I am looking for constructive criticism and logical answers to my thread.

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.
I am better than most when it comes to thinking of inventions or should I say possible inventions. Is it possible that I am just a better conductor for invention ideas than others are? Was it that Albert Einstein was a better conductor of intelligence than most people are, which in turn gave him his great intelligence? Or is it all based upon the capabilities/abilities that we were born with?

You're right, it is confusing, especially after your explanation. What do you mean by conductor?

What makes you think you are good at thinking of "possible" inventions?

As you mentioned there are different kinds of intelligence. Does it seem to you that people specialize?

Let's take Albert Einstein for example. Intelligence/knowledge is out there and we all can conduct a little bit of it with our brains and bring it to every ones attention.. But Albert Einstein's brain was a better conductor than most, and therefore he tapped into the source of knowledge/information (that surrounds us) more firmly, giving him his great intelligence.

I am constantly thinking of inventions and a lot of which have been invented. Such as an inflatable jacuzzi. At any rate I think more than the people around me and all of a sudden an invention idea will pop into my head.

Originally Posted by Pong

As you mentioned there are different kinds of intelligence. Does it seem to you that people specialize?

Yes I can't help but feel that people can be better conductors than others in different areas of intelligence.

Almost as if it comes easily without trying really hard.

You haven't defined the difference between being a "conductor" and being born with capabilities/abilities.

Maybe other people are thinking of inflatable jucuzzis but just don't think it's worth mentioning.

Just a couple of mistakes I've noted.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Intelligence/knowledge is out there...

Intelligence neither equals to nor is interchangeable with knowledge.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Albert Einstein's brain was a better conductor than most, and therefore he tapped into the source of knowledge/information (that surrounds us) more firmly, giving him his great intelligence.

Gaining knowledge neither gives nor denotes greater intelligence.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

I am constantly thinking of inventions and a lot of which have been invented. Such as an inflatable jacuzzi. At any rate I think more than the people around me and all of a sudden an invention idea will pop into my head.

Inventions require actual physical work to create the items. Inventors are people that strive to and eventually bring about their ideas into reality. Daydreaming only opens up difference avenues of possible but not necessarily feasible and worthwhile ideas that simply reside in the realm of imagination alone.

Originally Posted by Harold14370

You haven't defined the difference between being a "conductor" and being born with capabilities/abilities.

Maybe other people are thinking of inflatable jucuzzis but just don't think it's worth mentioning.

I see. Good point and that is what I am wondering. Are people born with capabilities/abilities or are they just better conductors in certain areas. I am just wondering if it is even anything physical.

Originally Posted by scoobydoo1

Just a couple of mistakes I've noted.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Intelligence/knowledge is out there...

Intelligence neither equals to nor is interchangeable with knowledge.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Albert Einstein's brain was a better conductor than most, and therefore he tapped into the source of knowledge/information (that surrounds us) more firmly, giving him his great intelligence.

Gaining knowledge neither gives nor denotes greater intelligence.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

I am constantly thinking of inventions and a lot of which have been invented. Such as an inflatable jacuzzi. At any rate I think more than the people around me and all of a sudden an invention idea will pop into my head.

Inventions require actual physical work to create the items. Inventors are people that strive to and eventually bring about their ideas into reality. Daydreaming only opens up difference avenues of possible but not necessarily feasible and worthwhile ideas that simply reside in the realm of imagination alone.

So I have a strong imagination? That is fine and thank you for your comments and corrections. This is why I love this site. and it is apparent that I am not as confused as you guys I am more.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Albert Einstein's brain was a better conductor than most, and therefore he tapped into the source of knowledge/information (that surrounds us) more firmly, giving him his great intelligence.

Gaining knowledge neither gives nor denotes greater intelligence.

So how then is intelligence measured? Is gaining knowledge that others have failed to gain not a form of intelligence?

Thank you all for your information. I am going to go ahead and end this thread. Thanks again.

End thread

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Is gaining knowledge that others have failed to gain not a form of intelligence?

As an exercise, I will ask you to look up the definitions of the words intelligence and knowledge under the OED here.

Originally Posted by scoobydoo1

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Is gaining knowledge that others have failed to gain not a form of intelligence?

As an exercise, I will ask you to look up the definitions of the words intelligence and knowledge under the OED here.

Thank you for that.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.
I am better than most when it comes to thinking of inventions or should I say possible inventions. Is it possible that I am just a better conductor for invention ideas than others are? Was it that Albert Einstein was a better conductor of intelligence than most people are, which in turn gave him his great intelligence? Or is it all based upon the capabilities/abilities that we were born with?

There are certainly some 'real' barriers that are inherited that can work against desired human outcomes, but IMO in general, without such obstacles, the human mind is open to some wondrous achievements. While many achievements have a dose of luck about them such as being in the right place with the right idea at the time, a focussed mind can achieve great heights.

This focus however is a hard thing to come by and requires significant motivation to achieve. Some find the motivation through personal tragedy, others through moments of clarity achieved during long periods of severe forms of depression. I am hoping that these moments can also be assisted by forms of meditation yet this certainly is beyond me at present. I am sure there are many others motivators to achieve this desire. Once this level of motivation is achieved there is virtually nothing stopping the momentum of the mind. Previous 'difficult tasks or perceived barriers' fade away to non-existence and it is hard to quench the mind's voraciousness. Once this motivational spark is achieved it is easy to block out noise and distractions to achieve a form of brute force mental state in which great things can be achieved. Unfortunately however during these moments of clarity, other important requirements such as maintaining social relationships suffer as a consequence. Many individuals in this state are perceived to be incredibly selfish and self-absorbed.

Without this motivational drive however an individual is easily distracted and their creative efforts are then only thinly spread over an infinite agenda. Many wander through life along a progressive linear slope of intellectual pursuit but rarely do these people achieve those blinding flashes of inspiration. This however can be a real plus to those seeking more stability and all-roundeness in life.

For some, however the bursts of insight are severe but only fleeting which can lead to great achievements that rarely can be repeated. Also the reverse can be true, as there are risks associated with these moments. For example, similar symptoms are experienced by those that choose the 'born again ideological path'. Unfortunately during the periods of weakness prior to giving rise to such events, people are prone to the actions of predators who 'prey' on this weakness recognising the potential for 'blinding' conversion. Other risks of these severe disruptive events can simply be too blinding for the mind to handle which leads to extended and perhaps even permanent mental dusruption. A truly shattering disease.

What can be said for those that experience these creative moments is that when these times subside, often those individuals that benefit from these powerful moments try to desperately resurrect the conditions that they perceive were responsible for this burst of motivation. This can be a severely dangerous pastime however as often the situation which led to this motivational desire was from trying to crawl out of a bottomless pit of despair. This spark in those times was simply created from the will and desire to escape that black hole.

Note that this is only one perspective of some possible causes that lead to moments of inspiration and many other people will have different viewpoints and perspectives on this matter. For instance, we observe moments of intense bravery in periods of confict that we may never have guessed would have been possible under normal conditions. There are so many possible causes. In my opinion, everyone has this potential but specific conditions are required for the individual to generate these inspirational moments. The problem however is identifying what these specific conditions for each individual may be.

Einstein is a rare event in that his creative spark clearly lasted over 20 years or so. It may have been punctuated however by a series of creative events as these momets can re-occur (though seldomly). Some musicians who create their masterpiece also may go through these creative phases of their life.

What is clearly evident however is that the mind is capable of great things but the majority of our lives is wasted through an under-utilisation of this capacity. The mind is bombarded by competing stimuli, the trick I believe is how you train the mind to filter out the noise. :-))

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Let's take Albert Einstein for example. Intelligence/knowledge is out there and we all can conduct a little bit of it with our brains and bring it to every ones attention.

Let's not take Albert Einstein for example, because he was unique for being amazingly gifted in some ways, while at least competent in every other way. More often strengths coexist with weaknesses. E.g. Bobby Fischer.

Anyway regarding your statement. Well, here's an anecdote that maybe fits your meaning. Few days ago I was in a passenger seat, observing the driver fumble at some dashboard controls. I noticed that she had to keep glancing down. So while ..conducting?.. her problem it occurred to me some dashboard features would be better located on the blindspot pillar at eye level, so a driver needn't look down away from the road. I feel that little invention a result of have several trains of thought converging.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.

This way of phrasing it gives the impression that you think "ideas" and "intelligence" etc exist independently "somewhere out there" and is accessed by individuals.
Why do you hold this view?

I am better than most when it comes to thinking of inventions or should I say possible inventions.

Citation needed.

Was it that Albert Einstein was a better conductor of intelligence than most people are, which in turn gave him his great intelligence? Or is it all based upon the capabilities/abilities that we were born with?

Absent any evidence that "ideas" and "intelligence" etc exist independently "somewhere out there" to be accessed then the best "guess" we have is that it's the ability of the individual.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

So how then is intelligence measured?

It is not really measured.
For example, the IQ test is very limited in its scope and accuracy.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Is gaining knowledge that others have failed to gain not a form of intelligence?

It is a form of intelligence - but it is not the only measure of intelligence.

The definition of intelligence (much like the definition of life) is very difficult to pin down.
"Intelligence has been defined in many different ways including logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, having emotional knowledge, retaining, planning, and problem solving."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence

Originally Posted by Dywyddyr

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.

This way of phrasing it gives the impression that you think "ideas" and "intelligence" etc exist independently "somewhere out there" and is accessed by individuals.
Why do you hold this view?

I am better than most when it comes to thinking of inventions or should I say possible inventions.

Citation needed.

Was it that Albert Einstein was a better conductor of intelligence than most people are, which in turn gave him his great intelligence? Or is it all based upon the capabilities/abilities that we were born with?

Absent any evidence that "ideas" and "intelligence" etc exist independently "somewhere out there" to be accessed then the best "guess" we have is that it's the ability of the individual.

As usual thanks for your insight. I am not sure on a lot of things. I only went to the 9th grade. Then I joined the military for five years and got out. So a lot of my knowledge or thoughts are based upon the little information I can gather from mere observation. This 'conductor' thought is not an observation at all but merely just a thought. Again thanks for your reply.

That is a very interesting bit that you wrote and I cant say that I disagree with it either (not that it really matters). You have a way of describing things really well and so I thank you for your post to this thread.


The longer I stay on this site, the more I realize I don"t know as much as I thought I did.

Thank you everyone for your replies to this thread. As usual you guys collectively helped me out and gave me both constructive criticism and logical answers. I will be ending this thread now. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

The longer I stay on this site, the more I realize I don"t know as much as I thought I did.

Learning is considered a key factor to intelligence as well.

Remember the 4th commandment of conducting.... "Never look at the trombones, it only encourages them"
Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors - YouTube

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.

You are asking two completely different questions here:

1. Does intelligence, knowledge, etc exist "out there" and we just receive it, or is it a creation of our brains?

A. There seems to be no reason not the think that consciousness, intelligence, knowledge, etc. are anything other than a creation of our brains.

2. Are some people better at this than others?

A. yes. But this is a combination of genes, environment, upbringing, interest, hard work, ...

Originally Posted by Strange

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

My thought was on whether or not some people are better conductors than others for things such as intelligence, invention ideas, etc.

You are asking two completely different questions here:

1. Does intelligence, knowledge, etc exist "out there" and we just receive it, or is it a creation of our brains?

A. There seems to be no reason not the think that consciousness, intelligence, knowledge, etc. are anything other than a creation of our brains.

2. Are some people better at this than others?

A. yes. But this is a combination of genes, environment, upbringing, interest, hard work, ...

Well then my next thoughts would be as follows. Why don't we take these individuals who are better than the rest, mate them, and create a group of superhumans who are above what we call normal? Would this even work and have we even started this process?

Originally Posted by confusedasyou

Well then my next thoughts would be as follows. Why don't we take these individuals who are better than the rest, mate them, and create a group of superhumans who are above what we call normal? Would this even work and have we even started this process?

Partly because "eugenics" is a very dirty word.

But more importantly, genetics is only a small factor. It would be better to put the money and effort into teacher training, for example.

I see, well thanks for your input as always.