Essay on diagnosis as a hallmark of intelligence with references to Miss South Carolina and Palin interviewees

Defining Intelligence 149 Does the ability to do diagnosis serve as a hallmark of intelligence? Certainly doctors do diagnosis on a daily basis and doctors are highly respected in our society. Most people think that if you are a doctor, then you must be smart, but if you push on this belief, you find that what people actually think is that a doctor had to go to school for a really long time, learn of lot of complicated material, and then work really hard as an intern and then as a resident. People re- spect doctors and may well think that the doctor is the smartest per- son in their small town, but that is typically because she is likely the most educated person in that town. They easily may not consider her to have “common sense,” which is one way that ordinary people de- scribe their perception of intelligent behavior. Diagnosis is done by plumbers, detectives, engineers, and beau- ty care professionals as well. Diagnosis is a very important cognitive process to learn. Learning to do it well often means the difference between success and failure on the job and personally. Can the inter- viewees do diagnosis? Miss South Carolina can. She asserts that her friends can locate the United States on a map of the world. She can find contradictory evidence for the proposition presented to her, which is certainly part of diagnosis. The Palin inter- viewees have done diagnosis as well. They have determined what is wrong with the country. They may not have done much more than listen to someone on talk radio, but they came to a conclusion based on the evidence presented to them. But they have done it badly. That is why they seem stupid. Coming up with an accurate diagnosis requires intelligence. Ev- eryone does diagnosis, but we seek counsel from those who do it bet- ter than others. Diagnostic ability is a hallmark of intelligence. What about causation? Let’s consider Miss South Carolina’s revised remarks again: “Personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on a map,” she said. “I don’t know anyone else who doesn’t. If the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography in our education so people will learn how to read maps better.” Miss South Carolina thinks “there should be more emphasis on ge- ography in our education so people will learn to read maps better.” HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023895