An intelligence test measures how facile you are with words, mathematics, and, to some extent, concepts.
It probably is a good measure of how well you have done in school and is a good predictor of your capability to continue your education. It may be a good indicator of your capability to perform well in certain, highly technical careers.
But intelligence is no indicator of how well you will do in living your life. It is far from an indicator of the type of person you will become.
Every corrupt dictator has thousands of highly intelligent people working behind the scenes, facilitating the regime. Someone has to design the gas chambers. Someone has to use the language to obfuscate the true purpose of the plans.
Without the wisdom to choose a proper purpose and a proper course, intelligence is foolish and can be dangerous. To be wise is to understand when, where, and how to use intelligence. Intelligent people are common...wise people are rare.
Without the courage to stand up for a proper purpose, intelligence is wasted. Without compassion, persistence, and drive, intelligence alone will not often win others to your side.
Ego and arrogance often go with high intelligence. Everyone has seen instances of extremely intelligent people making amazingly foolish decisions. Business, banking, and political scandals constantly occur, in spite of the intelligence of the people involved.
They weren't stupid (well, at least not all of them). They were just arrogant enough to think that they could get away with it, or they were too weak to stand up for what was right, or they just didn't care how many people got hurt, as long as they got theirs. Intelligence does not trump character flaws.
Actually, intelligence can be dangerous when applied towards improper, short-sighted, or selfish goals.
Don't get me wrong. We should all do as well in school as we can. We should all strive to do well enough on tests to pursue our education and careers as far as our minds will take us.
I just want you to put intelligence in perspective. How smart you are is not as important as the character you have.
The smarter you are, the more you should listen to others and learn from their perspective.
The smarter you are, the more you should consider the uses to which you are putting your talents, and the causes for which you are working.
The smarter you are, the more you should realize that you don't (and can't) have all the answers.
Intelligence is not what life is about. Intelligence is a tool you can use to help you discover what life is about. Just as a hammer can be used to build a house, or to crack a skull, intelligence is no better than the purpose to which it is put to use.
Beware the intelligent mind being put to a nefarious purpose.
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