Intelligence Definition and 198 Threads

How do you define 'smart' or intelligent? What makes someone smarter than another? Is it the ability to process information at a certain rate, then synthesize that information effectively towards an end, the ability to store it in memory quickly and effectively as well? What is your conception...

Hello everyone. So as the title suggests, I am really concerned about my intelligence and/or math(s) potential. I'll explain in just a minute, but first allow me to say that any response or advice from you guys will be greatly appreciated, as basically I started to question my whole life and...

It seems like it would be a huge advantage to their survival, so why haven't other organisms evolved such? Why are humans the only organisms capable of doing things like creating complex technology and using complex language?

I want to learn artificial intelligence, so I decided to learn maths. I began from one-variable calculus at MIT open course ware. And these lectures seemed to me very easy, especially compared with Apostol's or Spivak's calculus. So I want to ask is it enough MIT open course ware lectures for my...

Hello. I have a bachelor degree in physics and I'm an embedded programmer now. I would like to engage in scientific activities, but I can't choose the area: Laser Physics or Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition...). I heard opinion that artificial intelligence - the...

What is the real difference between computational and artificial intelligence?

This is a fairly taboo and controversial field. I've been hearing from many studies on intelligence, that it is highly heritable. Identical twins raised independent of each other have around a 0.75 relation in IQ tests. Siblings raised together have a .45 relation. What makes it worse is that...

In fact, why do we assume we are intelligent.. AT ALL? Relativity is a troubling thing for me imho. We are intelligent as a species in relation to other species. Species that make us look smart when we're next to them; animals, insects etc. But some people seem to think, regardless of...

Mind boggled in regards to how S.A.T correlates with "intelligence" I apologize for posting this here but i was hoping for an intelligent discussion regarding the SAT. Doesn't the SAT just prove how knowledgeable you are? Because I've solved quite a number of problems, but have also failed...

I know this might sound like a very, very peculiar question, with a very, very peculiar description. Anyway, I am currently going for the fourth and last year of my curriculum in Physics school and I want to be completely honest with you before I even ask: I do have a noticeable bunch of courses...

So Briane Greene, in his documentary describes the idea that the future is already pre-existing due to the different time planes observed by an alien light years away. That is my interpretation at least. In the event this is true- it would imply that my future must already exist. In a way- no...

It seems that for a machine to learn, it must have intelligence. :confused:

Is intelligence the ability to imagine new prospects, and then follow them through? Is it raw computing skill, or the ability to focus various brain centers at once so a strong mind can juggle multiple problems at once (characteristic of Aspergers)? With goal directed activity, with a finish...

i think i might possibly be the most confused person alive. i am not even sure if i enjoy math, let alone if i was smart enough to go that route. i was never in any sort of academic environment during my developmental elementary years. from high school to the every end of college i was bug...

Hi, what's the best double major for someone interested in succeeding in artificial intelligence research after college? Of course, Computer Science is primary. Or is it Computer Engineering? There's also mathematics and its subdivisions (like applied math or statistics), any of the cognitive...

I am starting this thread to discuss the ideas mentioned in 2 book I recently read called Wired and Amped. These books are based around what happened after a very gifted biologist used viral vectors, which are viruses bred and created to insert, fix, or alter genes in cells for a controlled...

Hello My question is for those who are interested in evolution and artificial intelligence: Can there be any kind of intelligence which is not based on an evolutionary selection process? I will try to explain why I ask this. With intelligence people usually mean devising an idea as...

I have watched next world'' Future Superhuman" and they shown what abilities and powers the human being will have in the future. They showned Telepathic communication and what it show is that we will speak to machines and make telepathic calls. Getting smarter was interesting. Digital eye...

Balance ! this is all an ecosystem is about ,balance between predator and prey ,balance between births and deaths but why would evolution lead to a species that can overpower it's own predators and disrupt the entire ecosystem and multiply without any constraints,limited only by resources and...

I've noticed an interesting observation about how the lives of all the people in my elementary AIG (academically intellectually gifted). Out of the 11 of us, the only two not to go to college came from very poor homes. (Even from the beginning, only 4 of us were the kids of a...

I don't know much about artificial intelligence and stuff but still a thought - If we are able to know completely about how our brain works we can design a chip that works like our brain right? Brain works through chemical and electrical signals so if are able to discover the functioning of...

At what point does perception enter the process of evolution. Are all the mechanisms of evolution 'blind'? In other words, it seems that a tremendous power is ignored - an organism can perceive their environment so why doesn't evolution capitalize on this instead of relying on random mutations...

I'm a freshmen Physics major interested in knowing whether I should continue on with my major. I've read enough to know that with an IQ of 120, basically anything is achievable given enough work. I am confident that I posses the drive to carry on with the major but I don't want to get half-way...

What does it mean to you? sorry if this seems silly, but- i don't understand how something like intelligence can be quantified by an IQ test. Or why people think they're unintelligent and they can't do anything about it. Is it being really well-read? Is it knowing lots of crap? Is it how...

I did not know where to put this so you can move accordingly. It seems like whenever people visualize aliens, we think of bug head big eyes, or some sort of nasty looking creature. My question is, is it possible for aliens to be ROBOTS? I don't mean robots as in, another race built them, but...

Hello everyone. We all know that conventional data computing technology is not sufficient to make complex mathematical calculations in some sense and we need to look at some other data computing technologies. I did some reading but could not deduce any answers for the following questions...

I know for a fact that all the relevant knowledge required to achieve this career, I will have to somehow get on my own. But I want to know which is the best "official" career path for me? Would it be electrical/computer engineering, neuroscience, or something else since my university does not...

Hey! This occurred to me in a conversation with a friend, so nothing overly serious. Suppose that through some means, for example a surgery, we could amplify the intelligence of people without altering the memories they accumulated throughout life, including how fast things proceed, like...

If you haven't seen the TIME article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html So what exactly would happen if AI became more intelligent than any human that could ever exist? What would stop such a machine from creating another machine more intelligent than itself ad...

Folks, I read an article in the Sunday Times as attached. How does this compare against the outcome of the autopsy performed on Einsteins brain? The article seems to be implying intelligence depends on only the miniaturisation of cells and the density of connections. Surely the evolution...

What programming language is used when creating artificial intelligence.

I've been wrestling with this idea that, beyond the context of today's society, knowledge, intelligence, wisdom,...etc are essentially worthless and just as mundane and trivial as say... hair color. I can't reason why there is any true, logical justification of society's perception of...

Hello world. I wanted to get the opinion of some intelligent people (by which I use the term intelligent in the most general, lay-person sense) about intelligence itself.This could easily spiral into a lengthy essay on my part, so I will keep it simple and just jot down a few points and respond...

Our planet is a microscopic particle amongst the cosmos. Most people don't consider were drifting in it on a daily either. It's bizarre to come into the full recognition of societys primitive mindset. Not trying to be demeaning, my point is we can't even fathom how big, or our place in the...

I recently read a book on the theory of intelligence by Jeff Hawkins aptly titled 'On Intelligence' which I highly recommend. In it, Hawkins posits that the basis of human intelligence lies in the hierarchical structure of the neocortex. Reading this book started me thinking about whether...

It's time to admit we haven't exactly been straightforwards with PFers. The user you know as jhae2.718 is not, in fact, a person at all, but rather an experiment in artificial intelligence that we have been running in our computer science department. One of our PhD students wrote her...

http://cbstrials.com/Open/Default.aspx?B_ID=279 They're calling it the "Ultimate Intelligence Test", it's actually twelve different tests designed to test varying aspects of memory and reasoning. It takes ~45 minutes to complete them all. Some of them were quite challenging. I'll post my...

IQ is supposed to be the measurement of your "natural intelligence." IQ is supposed to be the measurement of your "natural intelligence." However, can your IQ vary on how much brain activity you're doing? For instance, during the Summer a person is lazy and not doing any studying or anything...

What is the significance of intelligence in a universe with deterministic laws? Your performance on any IQ test is not due to your possessing some property called "intelligence", but rather is an inevitable outcome of the universe's initial conditions and governing causal laws. The...

could you apply this to humans who are 3 dimensions and discover a 4 dimensions?

Although there is over the years some significant progress in artificial intelligence (computer beating human chess player, etc.) here is a method of advancing the field of artificial intelligence very fast. The idea is just this: brain cells, the neurons, even when the person is already...

Hi, Do different shapes of forehead indicate different degrees of intelligence? Considering humans, Is there any relation between intelligence and forehead shape? Thanks...

I mean, several light years from here, is it possible to distinguish between the signals coming from Earth and the massive amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by our Sun? From a great distance, every solar system must appear dot-like. Is it possible that civilizations are actually...

Newbie...first post...apologies in advance. How soon after the big bang could intelligent, technological life evolve?

With respects to the concept "artificial intelligence" (AI) there are some fuzzy edges, to say the least. What is intelligence? Is it defined by cultural parameters? Being "smart" is very likely to mean something completely different for a machine (AI) than for a man. I would say that it follows...

When I was young I was told humans were intelligent. As I grew up i heard hwo other animals are intelligent (dolpins, elephants). But how do we define this word? Are single cell organisms intelligent? Are we to beelive there is some sort of line when things are not intelligent? By this...

Are those of higher intelligence less likely to believe in intelligent design?

Navy says gamers have improved "fluid intelligence" http://kotaku.com/5457590/us-navy-video-games-improve-brains-fluid-intelligence "We have discovered that video game players perform 10 to 20 percent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability than normal people that are non-game...

Dear Experts, I am fascinated how a cell phone battery charger knows when the battery is fully charged such that it cuts off the power to prevent further charging. If its based on sensing a particular voltage has been reached, i wonder how is that achieved? Or is it achieved by measuring...

the rule: how adult personalities/intelligence turn out is due to: 50% genetics 0% family environment (how they're raised) 50% other environment (peers, media?, etc.) the question: 1) how seriously is this taken? 2) how do you divide family environment from other environment? I...