Saying you want "intelligence" in a partner is shallow.
Here's the thing, when someone says they value "good looks" in a partner, they are called shallow. Why? Because you can't control your looks. You were born with them and they have nothing to do with the character underneath, which is why I think it's weird that most people see nothing wrong with saying they value "intelligence" in a partner. That's not shallow, right?Just like your appearance, you can't change the intelligence you were born with. Some people naturally pop out of the womb basically doing calculus and others come out struggling through Pre-K. This is because we are born with a predetermined amount of intelligence. We have two different types of intelligence, this innate intelligence that we are all born with is called "static intelligence" (shout out to Mr. Fernandez and AP Psych senior year.) Static intelligence cannot be changed. Now, there is "dynamic intelligence" which can be changed and molded over time via education and experiences, but a good chunk of your intelligence is set in stone. I'll explain this by using two beloved cartoon characters, Bart and Lisa Simpson. Bart and Lisa are brother and sister, they are raised by the same two parents, they grow up in the same household in the same neighborhood, and they go to the same school. Here, you could say that they both have the same opportunity to increase their dynamic intelligence. However, Lisa is much smarter. Why is this? Boom. Static intelligence. Now you may be saying "But Shannon! People can grow their intelligence! They can choose to be smarter if they want to, so it's not shallow!"
Well hold onto your socks, because yes it still is. Do you know why the literacy rate in America is over 99% and its only 28.7%* in Niger? Its not because Nigeriens "just don't feel like learning," its because in their situation, they can't. There is not enough money in the country to provide adequate schooling. Niger is the 4th poorest country in the entire world**, when you live like that you don't have time to worry about reading, writing, and IQ score, you need to worry about health and survival. Even within America there are enormous differences in the quality and quantity of schooling depending on the area of the country. If you took identical twins (meaning, they have the same static intelligence) and sent one to school in Beverly Hills (where schools are well funded because property taxes are high) and the other to school on the Southside of Chicago (where crime is rampant and funding is scarce), they are going to graduate high school with vastly different intelligence.
So stop saying you want to date someone who’s “intelligent” and act like you’re all deep and holier than thou for valuing intelligence over looks, because you're just as bad as people who value looks the most.
*Statistic from abs biblioburr*
**Statistic from gazettereview.com
