Wednesday, February 10, 2010

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Let us begin with clearly understanding each of the two intelligentsia (INNATE & SOCIAL) integrated into our “MIND-BODY ORGANISM”.
As the very name suggests INNATE is innate or inherent to our system, that is, it is a part of standard or original “MIND-BODY ORGANISM” equipment. On the other hand SOCIAL intelligence is an accessory implanted onto the standard “MIND-BODY ORGANISM” equipment. The INNATE intelligence is universal, inclusive, accommodating and adaptive in nature. SOCIAL on the other hand is culturally confined, exclusive and rigid.
These stark differences can be easily exemplified by a comparison between a child and an adult. A child (less than seven years of age, without a MENTAL SETUP, as previously discussed) is a “MIND-BODY ORGANISM” equipped only with INNATE intelligence and hence he is a global citizen. That is, if it were to be adopted by parents belonging to any corner of the globe, no matter how distant, (for example, an African child by Australian parents or an American child by Indian parents etc..) it would accept them as his parents (universal), it would automatically learn the language and pick up the customs and traditions of that particular part of the globe (inclusive and accommodating) and even when repeatedly reminded by people around him about physical differences between him and his parents he would question the same to his parents and adapt according to the answers given.
An adult with a fully functional SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE implanted into his “MIND-BODY ORGANISM” struggles to spend even a month or a week in a different socio-cultural milieu leave alone adapting to it for life. An adult is culturally confined, that is, we find it difficult to open up and mix up with people from differing socio-cultural backgrounds. An adult is, exclusive, that is, we are always busy sticking the “EXCLUDED” label on people. Somehow we find reasons to exclude most of the people around us and then surround ourselves with a handful we call our core group or near and dear ones and then we subject them also to our continuous (though subconscious) scrutiny. And if on any occasion or event they to do not match up with our “MENTAL CROSS-REFERENCE RECORD SYSTEM” of DO’S and DONT’S even they (the members of core group) are liable to being labeled “EXCLUDED”. An adult is rigid, that is, no matter how obviously wrong we may be we find it extremely hard to accept our mistake (we always have an explanation for the same) and it is exceedingly difficult for us to adapt to anything totally new (be it language, culture, ideas, people or for that matter even the climate).
At this point we must understand that SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE is not the villain we are looking out for, as the sole cause of all the miseries in our lives, upon whom we can lay down the entire burden of responsibility for anything and everything that can and has gone wrong in our lives. There are more pleasing and functional aspects to it too.

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