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Spirituality
The
Mind 'Intel'
The unnamable is the
eternally real
Naming is the origin
of all particular things. — Tao Te Ching
Nature is the incarnation of a thought,
and turns to thought again…
The world is thought precipitated. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Despite all the technological
advances, intelligence has still not been fully explained. All we know is
that it is the outcome of a variety of aspects of an individual’s brain
organization, a combination of behavioral, neuro-physiological and
evolutionary processes that operate in mere, or nano, seconds. As Bill
Calvin, a theoretical neuro-physiologist, put it so aptly: “The big issue
for understanding intelligence isn’t who has more, but what intelligence
is, when it’s needed, and how it operates. Some of what intelligence
encompasses are cleverness, foresight, speed, creativity, and how many
things you can juggle, at once.”
Intelligence, according to one theory, is a patchwork of know-how and
know-what areas in the brain. It doesn’t, for instance, visualize the
formulation of extending consciousness, like plant life. For Juan Huarte,
a Spanish physician, intelligence was the ability to learn, exercise
judgment, and be imaginative — a case of neural Darwinism, lyrical and
evolving.
Jean Piaget, another great mind, emphasized that intelligence is what you
use when you know what to do. His perception was based on insight. Insight
is, after all, intelligent behavior. Piaget’s observation captures the
essence of what maybe called intelligent improvising — the coping and
grouping ability which is needed when there’s no right answer, like the
musical improvisation of a composition in a concert.
Raising a coffee cup to one’s lips also requires improvisation. Writes
Calvin: “If the cup is lighter than you remembered, you can correct its
trajectory before it hits your nose. Thus, a complete advance plan isn’t
needed: a goal and periodic piecewise elaboration will suffice.”
But, what’s most important for intelligence to sprout is a base of
existing knowledge. Example: if you want to be a good writer, you ought to
have a good vocabulary. Of a way with words — and, know how to spell them,
or choose from among identical words with diverse meanings; how to
interpose, and how to put the parts of a sentence together in a way that
makes good sense.
In the middle of all these definitions, one major facet of intelligence
can be summarized: that it is all about improvising, creating a wide
repertoire of behaviors and good moves for a glut of situations — despite
the fact that not much emphasis is being given to language as a basis of
intelligence, today, for whatever reason. But, syntax is one of the strong
foundations of intelligence. It is a tree-like structure of relative
relationship that goes far beyond conventional word order. It is what you
use. It augments intelligence.
Intelligence is now on a race with its by-products: artificial
intelligence, computer intelligence, and robotics. The peril posed by them
is subtle. What is important today is foresight, which is essential for
intelligent stewardship. It holds the key for our longer-term survival. As
evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once explained: “We have become,
by the power of a glorious evolutionary accident called intelligence, the
stewards of life’s continuity on earth. We did not ask for this role, but
we cannot abjure it. We may not be suited to it, but here we are.”
It gives rise to one ubiquitous thought: that, perhaps, we are doing all
right — not through Jack-of-all-trades versatility, but by evolving
intelligence on a non-biological track. We are augmenting human
intelligence and building intelligent machines. If this isn’t a tribute to
our own sense of intelligence, and everyone’s intellect too, what is?
–
Rajgopal Nidamboor
December 29, 2002
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