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Comparing Intelligence In Blue Collar Brilliance By David Foster Wallace And Mike Rose

1157 Words5 Pages

Allen Mangan
Section 11
Ms. Cara Dees
10-1-14
Explanatory Synthesis
What does it mean to be truly intelligent? Is intelligence simply book smarts, an understanding of facts, or the ability to graduate with honors from a prestigious university? Or is intelligence something much deeper and personal? Authors David Foster Wallace and Mike Rose both address the topic of intelligence in their writing, and they speak to this very question. In “Kenyon Commencement Speech,” Wallace addresses intelligence as more than making good grades in a prestigious liberal arts university, suggesting that the essence of learning is more than soaking in facts. In “Blue Collar Brilliance,” Rose writes about the significance of the “demands of both mind and body” …show more content…

For Wallace, intelligence is defined as having an awareness of the world that is not “limited by perception through a self-centered point of view” (202). Wallace suggests that well-adjusted intelligence is characterized by the ability to choose how one perceives the world and what is thought about in the midst of life’s day-to-day routines. Being able to choose what to think and having the ability to see the world without “oneself as the center of the universe” provides one with the awareness that Wallace calls intelligence. …show more content…

Is formal education necessary to achieve true intelligence, or is it even important? Wallace believes formal education is a great tool that can aid in expanding the mind and help change ones perception. He suggests that formal education can teach one how to think and help one obtain a worldview from a neutral, unselfish standpoint. To Wallace, this is key in terms of intellect. For Rose, formal education doesn’t carry the same weight as real-life experience when it comes to developing intelligence. He believes experience in any given field is enough to provide you with the tools necessary to acquire high levels of intellect and proficiency in that particular field. He provides examples such as his mother, who dropped out of school in the 7th grade but in good time, learned the skills necessary to be an excellent waitress, all due to the experiences she had been through in the field (Rose- 245). In conclusion, it is evidence such as this that supports Rose’s

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