Academic but lacking common sense

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Reply 20

tehforum

Did it for the lolz

Reply 21

Martyn*

Original post by Wallflower..

Story of my life. Even when I was little, I was ahead of the game with reading and writing but I just couldn't figure out how to tie my shoes or ride a bike until I was like 9/10 (after years of people trying to show me). I just don't get it!

Both of those things have little to do with common sense. It takes neurological and mechanical learning to ride a bike with proficiency.

Reply 22

CantThinkOfaUsername

Original post by maskofsanity

I think people who are good academically but lack real intelligence, i.e. common sense, just have good memories.

This is exactly like me- people say I'm intelligent and I'm not. I'm rubbish socially for example, but just have a good memory which is why I've done well in exams so far.

Reply 23

tehforum

I dunno, you should join us on the A level thread, its way more active.

:frown:

Reply 24

lovetc

Original post by CourierOfCurry

You're classified as retarded by many people in my year at my school though for actually wanting to achieve, since they think it's normal to be illiterate and that all they need to succeed are their dreams, their Jack Wills rags and an iphone 4.

They're doing pretty well if they can afford those things...

Reply 25

Maker

I think you can pass exams and look clever without being able to apply the knowledge to practical things which would require a leap between the theory and real world application.

I think really clever people would be able to use the knowledge they learned and see where it could be applied. Clever people can see the underlying principles of something and know when to analyse and when there has been sufficient analysis.

Over analysis is not a sign of intelligence because its symptomatic of not understanding the underlying principles.

Reply 26

Ripper

You can pass a vast amount of the exams simply by memorising what the examiner wants to hear, you sadly seem to get more marks for being able to name drop and regurgitate facts rather than actually showing a keen understanding of the concepts for example in A level psychology you can get good marks on a question about on experiment about autism.

if you can remember who conducted the study and the exact number of participants ect without actually having an understanding of what autism actually is. I fail to see how memorising names and numbers makes you a good psychologist.

Reply 27

FudgeMonkeys

So it seems like a few of you are saying that people who are academic aren't necessarily smart. That doesn't sound right to me :s-smilie:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 28

crazycake93

As you don't have to be a genius to memorise course content, and regurgitate facts... required for GCSE's and to some extent A levels.

But then you get a better picture of a persons intellect if they do well in both GCSE's and A levels (depending on subject choices).

Reply 29

Chief Wiggum

I just think there are lots of people without common sense, and some of them happen to be academic.

Reply 30

Picnic1

If you're academic and passing exams you ARE displaying common sense because you are putting in the time and effort to improve your eventual CV which will have a practical purpose of trying to get a job that interests you and that might pay quite a bit.

Sadly, reading many books without studying for a particular exam is , relatively speaking, probably regarded as lacking common sense because practically nobody employs anyone for having a great general knowledge unless it has beeen formally divided and tested.

There is nothing more enchanting than someone who appears to be very naive but is actually really clever. They can watch people fall in to the trap of trying to belittle them and then make a quick retort that puts them in their place or just act like it all brushes off them like water off a duck's back.

Reply 31

noobynoo

Probably because if you're really clever you might have spent a lot of time in doors as a child reading etc. without mixing a lot outdoors in society and learning how to deal with interactions in the real world.

Reply 32

JordanR

My auntie has a first in Marine Biology and a PhD in zoology, and she walked straight off a bridge when she was daydreaming once. Impressive stuff.

Reply 33

Genocidal

Original post by JordanR

My auntie has a first in Marine Biology and a PhD in zoology, and she walked straight off a bridge when she was daydreaming once. Impressive stuff.

Maybe she wanted to join the creatures of the water as part of her studies? :tongue:

Reply 34

emi_sarb

Of course being academic doesn't mean you have common sense. Just look at ISA.

Reply 35

CallieCat

My cousins like this. Couldn't tell left from right until he was about 18, but he's doing a Classics degree at Oxford.

Reply 36

JordanR

Original post by Genocidal

Maybe she wanted to join the creatures of the water as part of her studies? :tongue:

Hahaha, well that'd certainly make sense. She's just so... I have no idea how she can hold a doctorate.

Reply 37

humidex7

Oh God, this is me ALLOVER. I always ask the dumbest questions.. I just have my academic skills.. aswell as being streetsmart and computer literate :wink: