What is important to know?

This general idea has probably been done before but hey all of these posts are probably reruns by now.

So the question I want to ask is what do you think is the most important thing that you have learned? I want to break it down into a few subcategories based on Howard Gardner’s nine types of intelligences. I’ll define them first. The point is going to be to rank them 1-9. But I’m also curious to see in what way you have chosen to explore those areas if you’d like to comment. By that I mean what exposure have you had to the different subtopics and what do you think is the best way to learn in each subtopic? This is pretty long… hopefully someone will have the stomach to read through the bullshit. It’s really a simple question at the heart of it. I’m asking in reference to education. Schools generally focus primarily on logic and language. I think it is interesting because I don’t value those things as much as I value others. Maybe you’re different?

Just a quick note. Usually it is only listed as 7 types of intelligence where 1 and 4 are left out but I like 4 (even though I don’t care about 1) and 4 is pertinent to this forum so I’m leaving it.

  1. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
    This one I really don’t get and I don’t care about. If you want to answer check the site at the bottom.
  2. Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”)
    Pretty self explanitory.
  3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart)
    Also pretty self explanitory
  4. Existential Intelligence
    Answering lifes big questions… philosophical or spiritual understanding of life.
  5. Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”)
    Pretty much social intelligence.
  6. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
    The type of intelligence an athlete or a gymnist has over someone who never ran in their life.
  7. Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)
    An understanding of languages
  8. Intra-personal Intelligence (Self Smart”)
    Pretty much emotional intelligence. Understanding yourself.
  9. Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”)
    The type of intelligence someone must possess to navigate using a map for example. Could be artistic or industrious.

For more detailed descriptions go here.
skyview.vansd.org/lschmidt/Proje … igence.htm

For me I would rank them this way…

  1. Existential Intelligence
  2. Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”)
  3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart)
  4. Intra-personal Intelligence (Self Smart”)
  5. Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)
  6. Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”)
  7. Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”)
  8. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
  9. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)

I think possessing an understanding of life is the most important thing someone can hope to achieve because it leads to a moral understanding. There is no logic in morality or defining a purpose in your life and I leave those two features up to an existential intelligence. I figure it to be the major motivator also and I think self motivation is key in education and living a successful and fulfilling life.

Interpersonal second because networking and communicating is the key to happiness. Plus it is usually the difference between a successful career and an unsucessful one.

Logic next only because it is necessary to understand the more complex systems that we have defining our lives.

Intra personal because it is the difference between an impulsive person who can’t get over their anxiety and someone who can navigate lifes difficulties and control their emotions.

The rest… not that valued to me. I don’t think they attribute that much to creativity I think existential does more for that. Language would be the next one and I value the fact that it opens up doors to communicate with others and can add a degree of depth to your expressions but I think interpersonal intelligence trumps that…

I pretty much try all the above equally except music. I have no leanings nor talent in that. All the rest are equall in importance for growth and survival.

What is important is subjective and up to the individual.

Hence a survey… to judge averages. Or you know for a fact that a study has been conducted and there is absolutely no pattern or system that humans follow? I really doubt it is subjective though. Schools refute that claim entirely. The job market refutes that claim. You’re saying the study of carrots is as important as the study of people. I don’t think many people would agree.

Ok, got ya. Whats important for me to know is everything possible. Since thats not possible, then… of course it will vary depending on whatever situation I’m in. Thus, I think its good to be well rounded.

Hah… It’s like pulling teeth with you man… How about this. If you were to build a curriculum for your kids what would it look like? Would it touch on all of those areas or would you cut some off to save time for others?

Well I would think that depends on what my child would be interested in the most.

Children are interested in toys and boogers. They can’t all be professionals in those fields. If you were to guide your children what would you guide them into?

logic :slight_smile:

MY GOD! A response!

What is ‘important’, a personal value judgement, is obviously up to the individual making that judgement, and the context of the moment that judgement is made. What is considered by the individual Perspective as ‘important’ one moment, might be trivia the next.
‘Important’ to a particular group of people? At a certain time? In a certain context?
There is no one-size-fits-all-times-contexts and Perspectives notion of ‘important’. It’s like ‘beauty’ or ‘good/evil’, etc…
What I might consider important can easily change beytween the time of conception and the time that I place my fingers on these keys… So, the context of the moment defines ‘importance’.

Exactly, but that response is actually due to the lack of education on logic and reasoning throughout grade school and high school, not necessarily because of importance over other matters.

You have no children, do you…

You can tell that by a joke? Wow… let me give you another one maybe you can tell me what my future holds.

Why does every resign to the subjective nature of everything? There are norms and there are standards of value. Christ not everyone thinks Angelina Jolie is perfect but no one is saying Eleanor Roosevelt is better looking. There are averages to beauty, there are standards to good and evil and there are definitely values and priorities in education. A ball is not a ball in all languages but it is still a sphere shape.

Or have we developed to a point in our history where nothing matters anymore? Do we need further progress? Do we want to optimize potential or is it all irrelevant? Maybe we should all be painters…

I kinda wondering had I included random shit into that list if people would view those categories as equally important. Can I restructure the list to include farting or something? There is definitely a certain art to it.

If analyzing farting leads to the cure for cancer, maybe it is more important than all of the above.

Sorry, you have no future.

Because everything of this nature is subjective.

Only to individuals and small like minded groups of individuals, for certain times and locations.

You haven’t asked Franklin Roosevelt (her husband), have you? Perhaps he has a deeper view of beauty than your superficial and commercialized notions?

All are subjective. Sorry, there are no universals to this no matter your ‘need’.

Don’t play football, do you…

Yeah you want to attempt explaining away all the research that has normed and standardized beauty and stress and every other human condition? The only thing that I haven’t seen normed that I find interesting is this and fun, both topics I unsuccessfully attempted to investigate on this forum. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem that I’ll get any hints of data from a group of people who would rather believe outdated proverbs (“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” etc.) than fucking science. I might be superficial but at least I’m not naive and ignorant.

The sad thing is that when scientists choose to investigate shit like this they have to trick the fools into answering questions with cleverly devised tests. I stupidly expected a capacity for intelligent discourse and I have been pretty disapointed. Maybe I’ll return with fun questionaires with pictures and shit to keep you entertained. I got like two good posts out of about 10… what a waste of time.