Fluid Intelligence

[Diogenes]

Me: There is, and has always been, on these pages an arrogance that supersedes anything I could possibility display and one day I may give evidence of that taken from my private messages.
 We are a society not made up of only those who would favour intellectual elitism to be the standard but also of many like myself who may slaughter English spelling, syntax and punctuation and none-the-less are people with much to contribute when not shutout by intellectual snobbery: sans nobility.
The author of what you are about to read has identified what I am speaking of and those who would behave like power junkies with threats would do well to learn and guide themselves by what follows. Dio     

Hidden Knowledge Course: Foreword

Fluid Intelligence and Transparency



Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

   ~   Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, in 2005 commencement address at Stanford University

Fluid Intelligence
As you prepare for your journey through the though-provoking lessons of the Hidden Knowledge Course, it is important first to talk about the concept of fluid intelligence in relation to the ability to expand our awareness and understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Fluid intelligence has little to do with IQ or "book" intelligence. It is rather the ability to step outside of our beliefs and consider information which does not fit into our previously accepted view of reality.
Our deepest beliefs and conceptions about life and the world are to some degree conditioned by our childhood experiences, our education, the mass media, and various other external influences. An individual's level of fluid intelligence can be determined based on the degree to which he or she is able to let go of previously held conceptions on encountering reliable information or experiences which show these conceptions to be mistaken or overly simplistic.
At the other end of the spectrum from fluid intelligence is static intelligence. If an individual is rarely willing to reconsider or challenge their established beliefs, they are said to have a high degree of static intelligence. They aren't much interested in thinking outside of the box.

Science and Fluid Intelligence
When scientists on the static intelligence end of the spectrum encounter evidence which seriously questions the established paradigm, they attempt to discredit the new information using laws and principles previously agreed upon under the old paradigm. If they fail at this, the new evidence is then deemed not worthy of study and discarded. At worst, the evidence is actively attacked as being irrational or unscientific, even though it may be easily tested and verified.
Scientists with a high degree of fluid intelligence who are attracted to study matters outside the current paradigm are often labeled kooks or wacky by those operating with static intelligence.
Yet history shows that it is often these "kooky" scientists who go on to make the most astonishing discoveries which pave the way for entire new areas of study which were once considered nonsense. Einstein, Galileo, and Pasteur were all ridiculed by many respected scientists of their day for their amazing discoveries which
ushered in entire new branches of knowledge.
All of us are sometimes resistant to letting go of old beliefs, while at other times we are excited to explore new ways of thinking and being. Static intelligence and fluid intelligence are but two ends of a continuum, and each of us shifts to varying points on that continuum over time. To demonstrate this, visit the link below to take a short test on the sharpness of your perceptual abilities: