Is imagination a sign of intelligence?

[Philosophy Explorer]

For example Kekule, a French chemist, dreamed up the structure of benzene (dreaming is imagining while you're sleeping).

What do you think?

PhilX

[EchoesOfTheHorizon]

If you have a tendency to imagine wrongly, like, as a inept engineer or strategist, but do so in every other way in terms of excellence.... was a vivid imagination, nice colors, great dialogue, unique ideals and systems popping up, mechanical and logical connections abuzz way past normal par average population of your peers..... but none the less, the results just sucked, are you more or less intelligent than someone just sticking to basic engineering and Research and Development procedures, finding 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb, until they strike at seemingly pure randomness at a solution?

I'm guessing you gotta look less at how hot and excited the brain gets, how it can coordinate ideas.... and more at the goals and results. Someone who is just crap but systematically successful in the mechanics shop, on the engineering boards, or spearing groundhogs or foraging for fruit may be well more "intelligent" than someone pondering for long hours like a medicine man about esoteric ideas, trying them out and flopping consistently. Great way to die of hunger. Our species seems to favor both kinds of people, and luckily they tend more often than not to cooperate. I suppose the advancement of civilization is all ultimately figuring out how to tie both strengths together to make leaps foreward, no single way to do it.

I myself traditionally leaned towards the icy medicine man approach. Vivid imagination, but slow of mechanical application. Took a long time to gain it, though of course I knew that would be the case. Still took time, and is, and will continue to do so.

So it can be a sign of intelligence, but not all signs are good indicators for what really is.

[surreptitious57]

Einstein thought that imagination was more important than knowledge and in his case it very definitely was a sign of intelligence
More generally it depends on what exactly is being imagined and whether its application would have negative or positive benefits
Although it does not have to be anything practical but could instead be a great work of art that has beauty but no actual function

[duszek]

Writers of fiction imagine chains of events.

Liers also imagine chains of events.

If these chains of events are convincing then the minds which concieved them are creative and intelligent.

[Eodnhoj7]

Well lets look at the word imagination. Its root is in "image". Imagination can be comfortably inferred as an image process. This imaging process crystalizes all abstract thought and emotion into a "form".

In these respects to image something is fundamentally to synthesize a reality into another dimension.

Considering it is a creative force by nature, I would argue that imagination and intelligence go "hand in hand".

[RustyBert]

What counts as intelligence? A janitor who never made it out of the 5th grade, who we might say is dumb as dirt, might imagine a great way to save time cleaning a school, or a way to make the cafeteria cleaner and safer for the kids. Something I doubt Einstein would ever think of.

[Eodnhoj7]

What counts as intelligence? A janitor who never made it out of the 5th grade, who we might say is dumb as dirt, might imagine a great way to save time cleaning a school, or a way to make the cafeteria cleaner and safer for the kids. Something I doubt Einstein would ever think of.

Intelligence, what we call it at leasts, exists if someone says the "person is intelligent" and in these respects is determined through belief. This would make sense considering that the traditional understanding of knowledge is "justified-belief" and most understanding of "stupidity" and "brilliance" occur as reflections of what a person(s) deem as axiomatic.

[RustyBert]

What counts as intelligence? A janitor who never made it out of the 5th grade, who we might say is dumb as dirt, might imagine a great way to save time cleaning a school, or a way to make the cafeteria cleaner and safer for the kids. Something I doubt Einstein would ever think of.

Intelligence, what we call it at leasts, exists if someone says the "person is intelligent" and in these respects is determined through belief. This would make sense considering that the traditional understanding of knowledge is "justified-belief" and most understanding of "stupidity" and "brilliance" occur as reflections of what a person(s) deem as axiomatic.

Ah you've made me flash back to my philosophy days when students vied to sound philosophical without actually saying much at all. Sounds like you're saying someone is intelligent if they are called intelligent by someone who believes that person is intelligent. And that to me is saying nothing at all. But explain a little more. I fully admit I might not understand what you're trying to say.

[Eodnhoj7]

What counts as intelligence? A janitor who never made it out of the 5th grade, who we might say is dumb as dirt, might imagine a great way to save time cleaning a school, or a way to make the cafeteria cleaner and safer for the kids. Something I doubt Einstein would ever think of.

Intelligence, what we call it at leasts, exists if someone says the "person is intelligent" and in these respects is determined through belief. This would make sense considering that the traditional understanding of knowledge is "justified-belief" and most understanding of "stupidity" and "brilliance" occur as reflections of what a person(s) deem as axiomatic.

Ah you've made me flash back to my philosophy days when students vied to sound philosophical without actually saying much at all.

Sounds like you're saying someone is intelligent if they are called intelligent by someone who believes that person is intelligent.

Yes.

And that to me is saying nothing at all.

And that is true also.


But explain a little more. I fully admit I might not understand what you're trying to say.

Actually you understand it perfectly well.

[bahman]

For example Kekule, a French chemist, dreamed up the structure of benzene (dreaming is imagining while you're sleeping).

What do you think?

PhilX

Thoughts are the result of subconscious activities. Imagination is an conscious activity. I think both of them are important when it comes to intelligence.