Vocabulary - a sign of intelligence?

Fishheadjoe · #1 11-04-2009, 01:45 PM

I am finding myself judging other people based on their ability to communicate, verbally. I find that I don't have the patience for people who speak slowly or can't keep a train of thought for a whole sentence.
I bring this up as I have been connecting with local musicians who are advertising for a bass player, but have found that in many cases, the folks I have spoken to, can't keep a coherent thought for more than a moment.
Does anyone else here equate intelligence with speaking ability... or am I being a butt hole?
Fishheadjoe

Phalex · #2 11-04-2009, 01:49 PM

I'm with ya man! Some reading ability is good as well.

Pilgrim · #3 11-04-2009, 01:53 PM

I definitely make judgments on people's ability to communicate. Even those who are bright but make it a point to be economical in what they say use phrasing that lets you in on what they're doing.

Speaking well, clearly and accurately - in addition to vocabulary - usually make it easy to get an idea of the intelligence of the person you're working with.

However - put another way, it doesn't matter how intelligent you are if you can't communicate what you know to others. If you're the only one who benefits from your intelligence, it provides no benefit to society - and has greatly reduced value.

**john turner** · #4 11-04-2009, 01:54 PM

i try to judge folks on what they say, and not how they say it. sometimes a bit harder that way, but it's a lot more accurate, ime.

SpamBot · #5 11-04-2009, 01:56 PM

My belief is that vocabulary and intelligence are only related to a certain degree, and not to the point where one can define the other.

UncleFluffy · #6 11-04-2009, 01:56 PM

I've found it a useful rule-of-thumb that sloppy grammar usually implies sloppy thinking.

LilRay · #7 11-04-2009, 01:57 PM

Fish, You cant relegate someone's intellegence to their speaking ability, however if someone can't keep their train of thought together long enough to complete a conversation, there's definately a problem. I'd believe a lot of the folks " in the business" that your possibly coming in contact with may be serious alcoholics/addicts.

IME personally, It took me a while to be able to be "outgoing" enough and my shyness led others to believing that I was slow.

Bottom line is you've got book intellegence which is easily attainable, and common sense which is a lot harder for some to grasp.

God Bless, Ray

EricF · #8 11-04-2009, 02:00 PM

For the most part, I tend to agree. However, I tend to be more turned off by bad writing than bad speaking. Getting my 6th-grade daughter to understand the importance of being able to communicate well has been a challenging process. She'll get it eventually, I hope.

EDIT: I've also found that speaking vocabulary alone isn't enough of an indicator. On more than one occasion, I've met a few people who use large and/or uncommon words regularly in a "look-how-smart-I-is!" kind of way, but they are otherwise idiots.

**baba** · #9 11-04-2009, 02:02 PM

Guilty.

kesslari · #10 11-04-2009, 02:04 PM

Generally a good correlation between ability to communicate and overall intelligence.
That said, some of the smarter folks I know speak very slowly, but when you listen to what they're saying, you definitely get that they're no dummies.

Fontaine · #11 11-04-2009, 02:20 PM

I generally find it hard to communicate with others.

However I am also in college studying petroleum, which takes some intelligence, or I like to believe it does! ha

But yeah, anyway, the reason for this is because I have a bit of a speaking problem which leads to being very difficult when meeting new people/interviews/public speaking.

becker4567 · #12 11-04-2009, 02:31 PM

Your absolutly right in equating vocabulary=intelligence, and I'll even go you one further. The guys (and girls) on TalkBass seem way above average in intelligence, but go to other web sites and the ability of alot of people to put together even a simple sentence, and spell correctly is, is awful. I'm not sure if it is because of a lack of education or if they are just lazy, but I get kinda embarassed when I read what some people write.

cynical-rabbit · #13 11-04-2009, 02:35 PM

What... you... try say?

But in all seriousness, I definitely agree with you. Maybe this is just me being judgemental, but do poorly typed posts (txt like ones) tend to have weaker content?

Hoover · #14 11-04-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishheadjoe

Does anyone else here equate intelligence with speaking ability... or am I being a butt hole?

Both.

I agree with your OP 100%...but I recognize to a certain extent that I'm being an elitist snob when I judge people that way.

I do however think it's important for other people to recognize that they will be judged based on their speaking (or writing). It's not even so much that people equate imperfect grammar with low intelligence (or with less valid ideas), but that imperfect grammar calls attention to itself -- and to its imperfectness -- whereas people in general won't even notice if a speech or letter is perfectly written. And when you're trying to get an idea across you want people to focus on the message, not the medium.

L-A · #15 11-04-2009, 02:47 PM

I definitely have a lot of respect for someone who can make himself or herself understood easily, especially if complex explanations or concepts are involved.

However, rich vocabulary is also the #1 shell for people who want to look intelligent. I believe it is the basis of much of the snobby lecture lifestyle, of distant people who will go speak cultivated gibberish together on Thursday nights, drinking martinis.

Getting complex ideas expressed through simple language will rate much higher in my books, although I understand that many concepts will require a common ground in knowledge, at which point precise words would be mandatory.

geeza · #16 11-04-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

...people in general won't even notice if a speech or letter is perfectly written. And when you're trying to get an idea across you want people to focus on the message, not the medium.

Yes, you want people to focus on the message, but if you are unable to communicate it clearly (i.e. you are inserting "noise" that obscures it), what does that say?
I think part of the problem here is that mediocrity has become too acceptable in our society, and it's now "okay" to write/speak however you want as long as "I can understand what you mean."

dullsilver_mike · #17 11-04-2009, 02:51 PM

We can't help but judge people's intelligence by how intelligent they sound when speaking. That sure doesn't mean the two are directly connected.

Someone with expertise will have a better vocabulary pertaining to what they're an expert on and be able to speak more fluidly about it than a layperson. Most intelligent people develop expertise in a few things, so indirectly vocabulary can be an indicator of intelligence--as long as it's thoughtful, applicable vocabulary and not a lot of jargon-ey buzzwords.

Quote:

Originally Posted by becker4567

Your absolutly right in equating vocabulary=intelligence, and I'll even go you one further. The guys (and girls) on TalkBass seem way above average in intelligence, but go to other web sites and the ability of alot of people to put together even a simple sentence, and spell correctly is, is awful. I'm not sure if it is because of a lack of education or if they are just lazy, but I get kinda embarassed when I read what some people write.

I don't think it's laziness or lack of education. People just understand the communicative demands of their community and don't move beyond them. When a user understands that no one will help or engage with them at TB unless they follow a certain set of rules for communication, they figure out and adhere to those rules pretty quickly. If they can function on another forum without being so clear and cohesive, then they don't bother.

It's like being a kid and not speaking to your grandmother the same way you spoke with your friends and vice versa. You adapt to the standards of that person because they won't interact with you the way you like if you don't.

Some people really can't assess the communicative rules of a community, but that's a very small minority. The majority of people that don't adapt fail to do so, IMO, because they don't see the community at all--ie thinking TB is like a wikipedia for bass info rather than a group of people interacting.

5StringBlues · #18 11-04-2009, 03:00 PM

BASS GOOD!!!!

Uh,I mean,subscribed.........................

L-A · #19 11-04-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeza

I think part of the problem here is that mediocrity has become too acceptable in our society, and it's now "okay" to write/speak however you want as long as "I can understand what you mean."

Which IMO sounds atrociously selfish.

"Here's a gibberish list of my unordered ideas for you to interpret."

Vocabulary and syntax are like traffic laws. Ignoring them will get you where you want faster, but you will PO everyone in the process, including anyone who agreed to follow you in the first time.

IconBasser · #20 11-04-2009, 03:08 PM

meh, I personally don't think it matters so much. In most cases, if somebody is dropping big words around everywhere, 9 cases outta ten they don't have a clue what exactly they're saying. If they do understand what they're saying, they are egomaniacal jerkwads who spend their time reading the dictionary and pontificating new annoying ways to impress openly unintelligent people, and are therefore not worth talking to.

to reiterate: avoid people with big words.