http://matt.blogs.it/ RSS feed for topic intelligence Copyright 2008 Matt Mower. Some rights reserved. Squib/0.5.0.382 self@mattmower.com self@mattmower.com en-gb http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002849.html Fri, 23 May 2008 09:20:27 +0100 <p>I just <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/General-Systems-Theory-Ideas-Applications/dp/9810241763/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1211530684&amp;sr=8-3">read</a> an interesting definition of intelligence:</p> <ul> <li>the ability of an organism to use experience to override instinct</li> </ul> <p>It resonated with me (perhaps mostly in terms of my own, inner, conflicts). It also made me think about what it means for society.</p> <p>It seems to me that major crises in society often reflect a victory of instinct over experience. It's a short road from our current griping about immigrant minorities to the machete wielding ignorance we're seeing in South Africa right now.</p> <p>I wonder what variables we might use to measure societal intelligence and how it has changed over time.</p> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002849.html