Educated vs. Smart

[Ronin13]

I just want some clarity, I want to gather opinions on this matter so I can see where people stand on this. The question is- Is education directly correlated to intelligence? Now, the quote I'm about to post does contain foul language and offensive ebonic terms- you've been warned:

The government is a system doesn't matter if your for Obama or not. Either way your gonna get fucked but if you chose Obama atleast you got to choose what condom you got fucked with. Those niggas be like hey imma get fucked with that ribbed condom or dat glow in the dark one and they be swingin it around like heeeyyyyyy nigga.

This was posted by a "friend" (but she's rather stupid). I told her flat out that people who talk like this appear to be ignorant. She thought it was funny, but that just further shows where our future is headed. The instructor, according to her, has a PhD and teaches a class titled "Problems in Hip Hop." WHAT!?

This is my response and stance on higher education these days:
"it's commonly known that when people use swear words they appear less intelligent. When black people use the N word they also appear ignorant. Considering this person teaches a class titled as such just goes to show that they'll let any hack put whatever idiotic subject matter on the books. It also further proves what a failure our educational system is, and how the virtue of higher education has become nullified by subject matter that does little or nothing to further the value of a higher education. Furthermore, I didn't find it funny at all- I find it sad that a supposedly "educated" man would resort to speaking in a lower form of communication such as ebonics in a collegiate setting, it shows that they cannot take themselves, their subject, or education in general seriously. Whoever is paying for you college education is not getting their monies worth by you taking this class- pointless subjects and degrees such as this undermines our educational system and give me little hope for the future."

Your thoughts? Does anyone here have a child enrolled in college? Have you seen some of the classes they try to pass off as legitimate? Is it me, or has college become more and more of a joke these days? And finally, does being educated mean one is "smart"?

[Chad4000]

being educated has nothing to do with being smart imo. I am seeing more and more on job applications and such, "requirements: college degree or equivalent experience".

My brother went to Metro and he had an American history teacher that said the Russians were the real winners in WW2....

and my brother paid to be told that...............

[jackthewall81]

I attend CU and am a socy and anth major. I assume that this course is for ethnic studies degree and is not a required course. None the less, I am sure one quote from a teacher does not qualify the course as useless or as a "free" A class. I believe being educated is directly related to being smart, they are interconnected. Experience and information allows one to be smart. Point of views and different ideologies are where people are becoming separated.

[flan7211]

being educated has nothing to do with being smart imo. I am seeing more and more on job applications and such, "requirements: college degree or equivalent experience".

My brother went to Metro and he had an American history teacher that said the Russians were the real winners in WW2....

and my brother paid to be told that...............

Did they mean in Europe? The prof would be nearly correct. 9 out of every 10 germans killed were killed by Russians. Either way I agree educated doesn't mean smart.

[Teufelhund]

I know some serious idiots with graduate degrees. I also know some brilliant people with just a GED. Higher education is a boon to the intelligent, but I think a degree is primarily indicative of commitment to show up and do the work; it doesn't create intelligence in a vacuum.

That said, I don't have a degree. I was accepted to an engineering program at A&M while still in HS, but couldn't afford it so I chose the military instead. I've gained some professional certifications since and make a pretty good living by coupling those with experience and the ability to learn quickly on the job. I do sometimes regret not having that higher education though, as I feel it limits what I can lend to a conversation when others can bring up specific cases in history or known theories to support their point; things I may not necessarily have even heard of before.

Regarding the degradation of language by the allegedly educated, I think it's disgraceful. One should have enough dignity to master one's language. Expletives and slang used in lieu of real words are just indicative of one who lacks the intelligence to maintain a reasonable vocabulary. The best way to combat a lack of vocabulary is to pick up a book now and then. I used to listen to Dave Ramsey a lot when I was on the road for a different job, and he would say all the time, "Poor people have big TVs. Rich people have big libraries." I'd contest that rich people have big TVs too, but the point is well taken.

I was actually talking about this very subject last night with Mrs. Teufelhund, who has a Master's in human development and early childhood disorders. She was quoting a statistic that the number and variety of words heard at home by children in a poorer household is a fraction of that heard by children in more wealthy families. I think this is a very telling statistic.

[Aloha_Shooter]

No brainer here -- there is very little correlation between education and intelligence.

One of the problems I have with today's higher education system is that many of the classes offered have dubious intellectual value. Unfortunately, there appears to be some kind of feedback mechanism that creates more and more ways to get "educated" while producing more and more unintelligent "educators".

[jackthewall81]

No brainer here -- there is very little correlation between education and intelligence.

One of the problems I have with today's higher education system is that many of the classes offered have dubious intellectual value. Unfortunately, there appears to be some kind of feedback mechanism that creates more and more ways to get "educated" while producing more and more unintelligent "educators".

Liberal education. Accept it, or not.

[TFOGGER]

My wife works for the University of Colorado. After observing some of her coworkers and supervisors, I can tell you without question there is no shortage of absolute idiots that can barely cross the street unassisted that hold multiple PhDs. These morons move from being professional students to professional "investigators" in the realm of Academia, because they would never be able to make a living if they actually had to DO something to earn a paycheck.

On the other hand, some of the most brilliant, sharpest people I know never went to college, or even graduated high school.

[Ronin13]

I attend CU and am a socy and anth major. I assume that this course is for ethnic studies degree and is not a required course. None the less, I am sure one quote from a teacher does not qualify the course as useless or as a "free" A class. I believe being educated is directly related to being smart, they are interconnected. Experience and information allows one to be smart. Point of views and different ideologies are where people are becoming separated.

Not just one quote, and Teufelhund hit the nail on the head- look at the title of the class! Obviously no self-respecting educator worth anything would dream up a class like that and present it as a legitimate subject, it's a freaking joke. Thankfully I don't attend and have no plans whatsoever to attend CU. My fear though is that our higher education is a joke and that whenever I have children I'll be forced to decide how they would best be educated without having to wade through BS classes to get to a real degree that will actually prove somewhat useful. I still don't understand why they even offer degrees in Philosophy- what kind of work are you going to do in that field? Be the next Plato?

[BPTactical]

I see engineers every day that are nothing more than educated idiots.
They may have a mathematical formula for just about everything but they don't have enough "smart" to figure out how to change a flat ot jump-start a car.

Intelligence and smart are two entirely different concepts.

Question is, which one do you want in your back pocket?
Ideally there should be a balance between the two, intelligence is what it takes to design the contraption but it takes somebody with some smarts to build it and correct the engineers f-ups.

Intelligence may make you money but smart will keep you alive.

JMHO