Am I Smart?

In my high school yearbook, one of my childhood friends who graduated with me wrote: "To An Extremely Overrated Young Man." I found it funny then, and I find it even funnier now. Thanks, Art.

Although I went to a high school that is now rated among the bottom 3 in New Jersey, I managed to get into a prestige college - Johns Hopkins University. I struggled there my first year, getting a 2.7 GPA as opposed to the 4.0 I had enjoyed my four years in high school. I managed to graduate with a 3.3 or 3.4 (a smarter guy would remember which), getting 3 A's, a B, and a D in my last semester. The D is a great story to be told at a later time, but there was a chance I might have to go to summer school to graduate even though I had already been accepted to law school.

Apparently, seven out of nine law schools I applied to were unimpressed with my credentials at JHU. I was wait-listed at 2 and rejected by 5. Syracuse was my 8th choice but the highest choice among my acceptances. I was a little concerned when I got to Syracuse that I might not be as smart as I needed to be to succeed. I ended my first year in the top 10% and made Law Review, and I found law school easier than college. But when I applied for summer jobs after my second year in law school, I did not get interviews in Philadelphia or New York City, and I had only two interviews in Baltimore. Maybe I was an extremely overrated young man.

Both firms in Baltimore were large and made me offers; I accepted my first choice. At the end of the summer, they offered me a full time job, which I accepted. Maybe I was just an overrated young man. Long story short - I am near the end of my career at a firm I founded 35 years ago that has supported a great number of families during that time, including my own. While the success of my firm may not be proof of my intelligence, it is proof of courage and to a lesser extent wisdom.

Intelligence takes many forms. It is sometimes unaccompanied by commonsense or wisdom, and it can lead to bad consequences that dumber people would likely avoid. There is some truth in the notion of someone being too smart for his own good. There is even more truth in Dirty Harry's observation that "a man has to know his limitations." I think I know mine, which may suggest I am more knowledgeable than smart.

What follows is what Chat GPT answered when I asked it "What is Intelligence."

Intelligence is a multifaceted concept that encompasses various abilities such as learning, understanding, reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, adapting to new situations, and the capacity to apply knowledge effectively in diverse contexts. It is often seen as a combination of cognitive skills and the ability to acquire and apply knowledge.

There are several theories and models of intelligence that offer different perspectives:

1. **Spearman's General Intelligence (g-factor)**: This theory proposes that intelligence is a single, general ability that influences performance in all cognitive tasks.

2. **Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences**: Gardner suggested that intelligence is not a single general ability but a collection of distinct types of intelligences, like linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic intelligences.

3. **Robert Sternberg's Triarchic Theory**: Sternberg proposed that intelligence consists of three parts – analytical intelligence (problem-solving abilities), creative intelligence (ability to deal with new situations using past experiences and current skills), and practical intelligence (ability to adapt to a changing environment).

4. **Emotional Intelligence**: Daniel Goleman popularized the idea of emotional intelligence, which includes skills such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

5. **Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence**: Proposed by Raymond Cattell, this theory differentiates between fluid intelligence (the ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns) and crystallized intelligence (the ability to use learned knowledge and experience).

Intelligence is typically measured through IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests, though these tests have their limitations and controversies, particularly regarding cultural bias and the narrow range of abilities they assess.

The understanding of intelligence is continuously evolving with advances in psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science, acknowledging its complexity and the various forms it can take.

Me again. This sounds about right, unless I do not understand it as well as I think I do. Duh!