Even an idiot will achieve greatness if they just think, and read, and write, and listen, and keep doing this year after year. Of course, getting an idiot to listen in the first place is usually the problem!

I want to write some more about the different between genius and genius, or between intelligence and intelligence, since it is important and I myself did not understand it when I was young. As I would have wished others to do unto me, so I should now do unto others.

I grew up thinking that intelligence was basically the raw processing power of the brain, as measured by modern multi-type IQ tests. There is indeed such a “general intelligence”, as well as a number of more specialized talents that may be called intelligence. And the upper end of the IQ scale is labeled “genius”, an already well known word.

A brain with a powerful processing ability can accomplish much, when assigned to a task suitable for it. (This varies somewhat with talents, but there are many tasks that are suitable for general intelligence.) Our modern “information society” depends to a large degree on the work of smart people, most of them specializing in fairly narrow fields. The more the minds adapt to that particular field, and the field adapts to the people who work there, the more effective they become.

It is really amazing what wonders we are surrounded by today. For instance, I have a computer in my shirt pocket that has higher screen resolution than the computer on which I used to play Daggerfall during the early years of this journal! And it also holds a library of books, all in my shirt pocket, while being able to play any of millions of songs stored elsewhere in the world. The combined might of genius is awe-inspiring. I want you to hear this from me.

Because what I will say next may seem (falsely) to contradict the above. I will talk about a different form of genius, a different form of intelligence. We could call it “cultural intelligence” as opposed to “neural intelligence”. While the neural intelligence becomes stronger by concentrating more and more into detail, the cultural intelligence grows by expanding into an ever broader view. While the first form of intelligence takes us deeper and deeper into matters, the second lifts us up to see ourselves and our world as if from a higher place.

By calling the first and commonly defined intelligence “neural” (not neutral!) I mean that it is defined by its limit which is the brain’s capacity for processing information at a certain speed, which varies from person to person. As the person becomes attuned to his work and the other way around, we come closer and closer to this limit, and the law of diminishing return sets in, never quite grinding to a halt but slowing ever more.

The other form of intelligence, however, presents the exact opposite kind of curve, the exponential curve (known in my generation from the population graph and more recently in the growth of computing power in the world, which rises faster and faster until nearly vertical). The speed at which the “cultural genius” of a person grows may be limited by their neural intelligence among other things, but it just follows the same curve at a more cautious pace from the start. Given enough time it will still reach its rapid climb. The one thing that stops it in the dedicated genius is the natural expiration date of the brain, or other vital organs should they fail first. If such a person lives to old age keeping their wits, there almost seem to be no bounds.

Again, while the neural genius is fed by specialization, the cultural genius is fed by expansion, by taking on ever new knowledge, new experiences, new modes of thinking. For the engineer, learning a new language in the middle of life is a distraction; for the philosopher, it is more like a necessity.

In reality, it is possible to some extent to combine these, to be a philosopher engineer. But this is rare and probably a constant battle. Such a person is extremely powerful (at least potentially), but also extremely rare. I would think the late Steve Jobs, for instance, would fall in this category. A fascinating life but not one free from conflict.

Now as for the ordinary person, we have more or less of the native, neural intelligence. I used to have quite a bit of it, although I am sure it has shrunk some over the last decade or two.  But if you don’t, there is no reason to give up and sit down in front of the TV with a sixpack of beer. The amazing thing is that the second form of intelligence is still available.

You may be a slow reader, and may need to read a book six times to really grasp it, while I usually get by with one. But like in the fable of the hare and the tortoise, steady does it. If you take care of your health and live to a decently old age, the knowledge that builds up inside you will start to gain “compound interest”, as everything you learn will raise the value of everything you already know. Eventually, almost everything will remind you of something else. Like the final phase of a jigsaw puzzle, the things that made no sense suddenly light up and find their place.

Let me stress this again: The path of “cultural intelligence” is open for even the most ordinary, as long as you have the will and the patience to pursue it. Hold on to it and don’t give up, and all you need is time. In ages gone by, these people were called “sages”, or “wise old men” and “wise women”, and highly respected. In our age, the blinding speed of progress driven by neural intelligence may seem to overshadow this. But the truth is that there will always be many who need the help of the sages. And let us not forget that this path is its own reward: The ever growing brightness and the astounding view as your mind rises higher, this is a joy that cannot be bought for gold or praises. Please, consider it.