Intelligent People

[Kuroikaze]

OK, this is just a general observation, but I live in a very religious area of the nation, churches on every corner and all that. This is something that always annoys me in my work environments (having to deal with fundies all the time and such)

 

Of course recently I got a much better job working for geek squad. so the people I work with tend to be higher than average intelligence...I noticed, after a conversation today, that none of the people who I work with are very religious. Most of them are agnostics...none of them are fundies by any stretch of the imagination.

 

This honestly struck me as odd, in a town with sooooo many religious people, the entire geek squad department is made up of very non-religous people, has anyone else noticied this trend in tech jobs, or other jobs that require a lot of inteligence? Oh well, I guess I shouldn't over anylize I'll just be thankful for the fact that my job is haven from the world of fundies I live in

[Lightbearer]

Oh yeah!

 

Alot of the most intelligient people in the world are non-religious.

 

Every test i've ever seen shows religions tend to attract less intelligient people. And from personal experience I can say most religious people i've met are not very bright. Although I have a really good friend who works at Best Buy too, he is a computer science major and is very Christian. But is not out-spoken about it either.

[jauggy]

Here are some studies on intelligence and religiosity:

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligen...%20religion.htm

[Kuroikaze]

Here are some studies on intelligence and religiosity:

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligen...%20religion.htm

 

great information, I just book marked it.

 

BTW I like your avatar

[Anakin]

Of course recently I got a much better job working for geek squad. so the people I work with tend to be higher than average intelligence...I noticed, after a conversation today, that none of the people who I work with are very religious. Most of them are agnostics...none of them are fundies by any stretch of the imagination.

 

This honestly struck me as odd, in a town with sooooo many religious people, the entire geek squad department is made up of very non-religous people, has anyone else noticied this trend in tech jobs, or other jobs that require a lot of inteligence? Oh well, I guess I shouldn't over anylize I'll just be thankful for the fact that my job is haven from the world of fundies I live in

I'm not sure intelligence is the main factor, although it certainly seems like it. I know people

like you describe who are very intelligent and are non-religious. I also know some people

who are very intelligent but still cling to their religion. I also know some people who are

not the sharpest tool in the shed but have no use for religion and vice versa. Who knows?

[MeiPassion]

Hmmmm..................Interesting.

 

Well, while I don't know for certian that being religious makes you less intelligent. I do believe it can limit different ways of thinking. The only example I can give is whenever I'm watching a Christian movie. I noticed that the plot lines are never all the complex. It's just the simply good vs. evil type of thing.

 

I also noticed, that alot of religious people have a black and white view of the world.

[Guest Shiva H. Vishnu]

I think you may be a bit too generous when broadly applying the term intelligent to tech nerds.

[scitsofreaky]

Here are some studies on intelligence and religiosity:

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligen...%20religion.htm

I know they don't go into detail on the site, but it makes it sound as if religiousness was the only factor. There are so many contributing factors to intelligence (which I'm not exactly sure what they mean by "intelligence" in those studies) it seems impossible to say that religion is a cause. Correlation does not mean causation.

For example, let's say that a study was done that showed that the top 10% of scientists were the ones that believe in God and are religious. Would that mean religion some how caused the scientists to be more initelligent? Of course not. I personally doubt there is much, if any, direct causation between religious belief and intelligence. People compartmenatlize so intelligence has little to do with what they believe. (I think someone here has said that before)

[♦ nivek ♦]

This is my favorite new thread - a topic on intelligence, where the title is spelled wrong and the first poster is the dimmest bulb in the factory.

 

rr..

 

This will be your only warning on this issue..

 

Not another unwarranted personal attack.

 

Be as crude, mean and officious as you care to be however the scant limits on speech here ends with intentional personal assbyting.

 

We may be the dull end of the Darwin Stick here, compared the mensa-level places you seem to want to inhabit.

 

Don't know what would keep you here unless tossing bannaners at the chimps in the various cages gives you thrills..

 

k, big fucking mankee, L

[Lorena Rodriguez]

I think you may be a bit too generous when broadly applying the term intelligent to tech nerds.

 

At first, my reaction was, what the bleep does he have against us? On a second thought, most tech geeks lack Emotional Intelligence--that ability to function properly in the outside world. I know I do lack it, though I am working on it, and I am also trying to get away from technology.

[♦ nivek ♦]

rr..

 

I could care less what you think..

 

Been told very worse by far better...

 

Am busy boy for the Boss and Boards with assorted little niggling problems.

 

If you care to act the villiage idiot, feel Free to do so, have zero problem with your posts save this one thing.

 

Asking when I can be tossing, trying to keep things on even keel here.

 

If you care to toss monkey shit feel Free again to do so. However Dave's Janitor is tired of the feces.

 

Very sure the MENSA boards let you excape somehow back out into the general populationof low and joined brows..

 

k, big fuckinMankee, L

[Guest Shiva H. Vishnu]

Sorry Kev, but it's hard to see how your words in this thread aren't a personal attack, but canna's are. I'm sure I said something similar about lightbearer being less than a bastion of freethought or any kind of thought on the board in the last 24 hrs. Maybe you just didn't see it.

 

I'm not trying to step on your toes, cause you's a mod and have bigger feet, but just viewing this thread you sound extremely antagonistic and personally offended. Is there a back story I'm unaware of?

[♦ nivek ♦]

Sorry Kev, but it's hard to see how your words in this thread aren't a personal attack, but canna's are. I'm sure I said something similar about lightbearer being less than a bastion of freethought or any kind of thought on the board in the last 24 hrs. Maybe you just didn't see it.

 

I'm not trying to step on your toes, cause you's a mod and have bigger feet, but just viewing this thread you sound extremely antagonistic and personally offended. Is there a back story I'm unaware of?

 

Don't now this cat from the stuffed scarecrow at end of town...

 

Remembering that ExC is a place to "Encourage Ex-christians", get tired of the persistant bullshit that adds litle to conversation(s) and then continues to get into a cyber version of "NYAH!! NYAHH!!!"

 

Man is far from unknowing and ignorant, however he wears his knowledge like a battering ram and beats anyone or thing that dares to not.think.his.way...

 

I am not the sharpest knife in camp drawer here at ExC and his wonderful wit and wisdom somehow has slipped by exciting me... Can't see where he wants to add anything to discussion but a contra-everything argument.

 

Nothing personal, I simply do not grok a cat who comes into *friendly territory* and starts tossing hi-ex for shits and giggles..

 

kFL

[Guest Shiva H. Vishnu]

Are you protecting lightbearer, Kev?

[♦ nivek ♦]

Are you protecting lightbearer, Kev?

 

Does lightbearer need protection?

 

If so, from what, and why? Give a fatman a bigger chunk of cluemeat wouldya?

 

kFL

[Guest Shiva H. Vishnu]

Are you protecting lightbearer, Kev?

 

Does lightbearer need protection?

 

If so, from what, and why? Give a fatman a bigger chunk of cluemeat wouldya?

 

kFL

 

 

I don't know. I was just surprised by your reaction. Was wondering if you thought that lightbearer was particularly delicate and needed your protection. He/she seems to be perfectly ready to shoot their mouth off, so I was wondering why you might have deemed them necessary of your protection.

 

I guess it had more to do with rcanna.

[garrisonjj]

OK, this is just a general observation, but I live in a very religious area of the nation, churches on every corner and all that. This is something that always annoys me in my work environments (having to deal with fundies all the time and such)

 

Of course recently I got a much better job working for geek squad. so the people I work with tend to be higher than average intelligence...I noticed, after a conversation today, that none of the people who I work with are very religious. Most of them are agnostics...none of them are fundies by any stretch of the imagination.

 

This honestly struck me as odd, in a town with sooooo many religious people, the entire geek squad department is made up of very non-religous people, has anyone else noticied this trend in tech jobs, or other jobs that require a lot of inteligence? Oh well, I guess I shouldn't over anylize I'll just be thankful for the fact that my job is haven from the world of fundies I live in

 

 

I addition to your observation, I am surrounded by professionals and those who do go to church do not take it seriously or regard it as a necessary social function. The main motivation for religion for me seems to be the fear of fuckin hell. People belong, "just to be sure"

[HadouKen24]

I've noticed that the more intelligent someone is, the more likely someone is to have their own ideas about religion, whether they stick to Christianity or not. More likely to look up the history of Christianity and learn the doctrines well. Of course, more often than not, I think that the investment of time and energy into Christianity already usually gets in the way of a proper interpretation.

[jauggy]

Here are some studies on intelligence and religiosity:

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligen...%20religion.htm

I know they don't go into detail on the site, but it makes it sound as if religiousness was the only factor. There are so many contributing factors to intelligence (which I'm not exactly sure what they mean by "intelligence" in those studies) it seems impossible to say that religion is a cause. Correlation does not mean causation.

For example, let's say that a study was done that showed that the top 10% of scientists were the ones that believe in God and are religious. Would that mean religion some how caused the scientists to be more initelligent? Of course not. I personally doubt there is much, if any, direct causation between religious belief and intelligence. People compartmenatlize so intelligence has little to do with what they believe. (I think someone here has said that before)

It's the other way around. The more intelligent you are the more likely you will find contradictions in the Bible. Religion doesn't lower your intelligence. But logically minded people are more likely to question their faith and challenge it.

[Kuroikaze]

I think you may be a bit too generous when broadly applying the term intelligent to tech nerds.

 

At first, my reaction was, what the bleep does he have against us? On a second thought, most tech geeks lack Emotional Intelligence--that ability to function properly in the outside world. I know I do lack it, though I am working on it, and I am also trying to get away from technology.

 

I think I generally agree on this, I'm certainly not exactly a social person, perhaps its not intelligence, but a desire to fit it? Being more of a social misfit can sometimes go with being more intelligent, I guess perhaps we aren't as afraid of rocking the boat or something.

 

So perhaps its just that we don't really feel the need to fit in to the culture around us.

 

This is my favorite new thread - a topic on intelligence, where the title is spelled wrong and the first poster is the dimmest bulb in the factory.

 

At first I was like "what the hell did I do to you" then I realized you were talking to someone else...so whatever...it's still a pretty cold thing to say.

 

Intelligent seems to be spelled correctly now, perhaps a mod corrected it for me, if so then thanks to that mod It was late and I wasn't paying attention I guess, I have been known to misspell things from time to time.

 

I personally try not to be the spelling nazi usually because everyone is going to mispell something sometimes.

[scitsofreaky]

 

It's the other way around. The more intelligent you are the more likely you will find contradictions in the Bible. Religion doesn't lower your intelligence. But logically minded people are more likely to question their faith and challenge it.

I agree that the more logically minded one is the more likely they are to see religion as illogical (it's only logical that the less logical wouldn't be able to understand how religion is illogical). But the studies, or atleast how they are portrayed by the site you linked, seem to imply some sort of causation. I don't doubt thereis some sort of correlation between intelligence and leaving one's religion for the reason stated above, but it seems that one becoming religious has more to do with chance than anything else.

Also, we have to look at what we mean by "intelligent." What we seem to mean is what we know about math and science (or atleast that is what the first few charts imply), so it makes sense that people who focus on learning about The Bible and not math and science would be considered less intelligent. But can we really say they are less intelligent because they are learning about what they feel is truely important instead of what we feel is truely important?

[The Sage Nabooru]

I doubt that there is any real, firm correlation between religiosity and intelligence. I simply think intelligent and well-informed people are more likely to have an open mind.

 

I've seen studies that go both ways - religious people are smarter, non-religious people are smarter - and in both cases, these "studies" are little more than one camp trying to prove themselves better than the other. Skeptics and atheists will always rate themselves as being more intelligent, and believers do likewise.

 

Christianity is merely one of many religious expressions. In my experience Jews, Hindus and Buddhists are some of the most intelligent people I could ever have the fortune to meet.

 

There are simply too many factors that feed into one's religiosity - even into one's particular religion - and intelligence to make it a cut-and-dry answer. I will admit that Christianity personally is to me a religion that discourages personal intelligence and scholarly endeavor. But there are too many other expressions of faith and too many measures and forms of intelligence for the simple statement "religious people are stupider than non-religious people" true.

[Kuroikaze]

very true, I wasn't necessarily trying to suggest that being intelligent made people less likely to have any kind of religious thoughts.

 

It just seemed interesting to me that, in a town full of mostly evangelical/fundamentalist Christians I happened to be working in an environment that had none.

[AgnosticBob AtheistPants]

Yes, it's the truth. The more intelligent you are, the less likely you are to be religious...at least not to the extreme like fundamentalists. I work in the Aerospace Engineering industry and am surrounded by engineers on a daily basis. Of those who claim any religious belief, none are fundamentalist. If they claim belief in a god, they tend to be very liberal and flexible in their beliefs.

 

Of course we all know the fundies' response...

 

1 Cor. 3:19 "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight..."

 

Of course they take it entirely out of context (one of the pitfalls of being so damned stupid). This doesn't mean that our intelligence is folly. It means that god is supposedly so much more intelligent than his creation that it makes us (all, not just the smart ones) look stupid. Those that think they can outsmart god should think again, ie., the architects of the Tower of Babel. Of course, we don't think we're smarter than god...we KNOW we are. How can you be less intelligent than a non-existent entity? Well...I guess you could be a fundy...

[Ouroboros]

This honestly struck me as odd, in a town with sooooo many religious people, the entire geek squad department is made up of very non-religous people, has anyone else noticied this trend in tech jobs, or other jobs that require a lot of inteligence?

I'm thinking...

 

Of all programmers I've met over the years, I think probably I only met a handful Christians. Most of them were agnostic, atheists, buddhists, maybe some deists, but extremely few Christians.