Does it enlighten you, does it make you intelligent? I wonder.
Or does knowledge really come down to experience.
I read psychology for dummies and I basically just learned one thing, the meaning of ID, ego and superego. But the rest was boring and pretty pointless. Is there any point to studying psychology or do you just learn on the job or by experience and by thinking for yourself.
Is psychology the subject just drivel and pointless meanderings or is there something enlightening in it. Is it worth the hassle of studying the subject.
My question is will the studying of psychology enlighten me or make me intelligent?
if you want enlightenment go to a buddhist retreat speaking for myself personaly i would want to study something like science my head coundlt handle learning phycology i dont think. my sister is doing this however and has learned a lot from it.
I think many people have vast amounts of intelligence. As far as enlightenment, many people seek that in different facets of life.
I forgot what wise man said it, but there was a Zen story that ended with
“Do not tell me of the many words you have read, tell me of the places you have traveled and the days you have lived.”
We have all met people who have vast amounts of knowledge from books and are yet still disconnected from others and have no way to apply their words.
We have all met people who have boundless empathy and patience yet have no Ph.D. behind their name. I think intelligence is gained through life experience. If you love psychology, and you enjoy it, then it will bring you contentment. That makes it a very worthy pursuit.
For me, intellect is not gained ONLY through books.
I can read 100 books on many topics, but if I don’t look both ways before crossing the street, it’s not going to do me much good.
I agree @kidsister…Books in my opinion are a waste of time…they take so long to read and when done I feel Ive learnt nothing. Like when I read Psychology for dummies I felt I learned nothing really except the definition of ID, ego and superego. Like that’s not much considering it probably took me 5 weeks to read the bloody book.
Is psychology just one of those subjects that sound interesting but really is a bore when you get down to it.
I do like books and they aren’t all a waste of time, I feel they need to be mixed with application. Art theory books are the ones that kill me in pontificating lingo.
I’ve met a a few P.H.D art critics who can’t draw a matchstick man. Meanwhile some of the most inspiring artist of our time didn’t go to college.
I think it depends on what you really want to do. I Really want to be a nurse. I better love my books as well as my physical application.
Sometimes I think psychologists are just those who love to sit around and brain pick each other like it’s a form of entertainment. The real problems, like suicidal and dependency, they don’t feel quite so good about.
I see a psychologist. I like to talk to her, she is a nice lady - but many times I honestly think that she sits there and studies me. Psychologists like to study and observe. If you ask me meds are more important to schizophrenics than therapy. After a while psychology becomes a series of mumbo jumbo - she does not employ CBT - DBT or any kind of real therapy. We basically sit down and discuss TV shows, and life in general. I continue with her, because I feel comfortable with her, and it is a good excuse for me to get out of the house and socialize with someone
Intelligence is innate…people have IQ’s. Psychology for dummies sucks. I own it and tons of actual psych textbooks and it sucks. Studying psychology will make you have insight into yourself, how you think and how you behave, you will have much more self awareness.
It’s laughable how some people have no self awareness because they havent read anything about social psychology, for example- things like the gambler’s fallacy (mistaking 50/50 chances for anything else) make psych majors and people who read about psychology laugh.
would you rather live in an educated society or a society where the average person is dragging their knuckles and saying " uuggghhh ! ".( often ! )
knowledge is worthy of the pursuit, but one also has to apply it.
take care
To me the only reasons to read are 1. Because you enjoy facts like how being a man-beast will help you gain and keep power (The Prince). 2. You just plain like to read. 3. You want to write better.
I used to read all the time, but now it seems that I don’t care as much about fiction books as when I was younger.
I think intelligence is something that comes naturally through life experience. As kidsis says; something you enjoy and find interesting will make you content.
I have been studying psychology for three years at degree level and despite the fact I’ve got good grades it’s my knowledge of history, art and politics that my parents say make me stand out and therefore intelligent! I’m changing me degree path at the moment I’m changing to a degree where I choose my own modules which I’ve looked through and it will be in those areas. With psychology it’s interesting but I’m tired of it at the moment, I found biological psychology fascinating it gave me a bio view of metal illness and information on schizophrenia I didn’t know!
I feel I haven’t necessarily been educated with the books I’ve read but I’m not alone in thinking this, sure I know things but it was a bit self explanatory but then again psychology is a new field really, it’s very young.
I think you should search for what you find interesting and go with that and through that you will be educated, books aren’t a waste of time they’re full with so much so just because of the psychology for dummies book (well done on reading it but it’s not a very good book as I have it and have flipped through it but rarely use it) what interests you? What does your mind wonder to (not mental illness way) when you’re pondering, history, study of those around you (which can be sociology as well as psychology), how things work etc there’s so many venues for education go with what interests you and through that you will find knowledge and experience which makes you intelligent.
But remember intelligence isn’t everything so many great minds didn’t go through the typical education systems and many failed when they tried to. It doesn’t take intelligence to make a wonderful, beautiful mind!
I studied psychology for many years. Actually, studying psychology is more about learning to do research. You will learn to formulate research questions and design your own way to answer them scientifically. A lot of the research designs are clever and handsome. They allow us to understand something in ways we could never imagine. After taking a course in psychology, it is often the time to generate a new set of questions to ask. But no one is going to take you step by step. You need a lot of critical thinking. And I expect no one to study a psychology text book like everything is there. These are only a summary of some of the more famous findings and point of views.
Some people define intelligent as problem solving. Studying of psychology has a potential to increase your ability to problem solving. Some people proceed to generate new useful knowledge. But obviously not every one who study psychology do that.
I guess it depends on what you mean by intelligent. All the knowledge in the world in my opinion does not guarantee intelligence. I want my son to finish school in part because I want him to have what I call book knowledge so that he can form more solid views and opinions of his own thoughts and experiences. In my opinion, it’s how he applies this knowledge that is important.
These quotes!
However that does not mean that reading and learning is not important. If you are reading something that doesn’t interest you then retaining it will not be easy. Give a doctor a set of architect plans or weekly payroll to process…
We can’t all be psychologist and certainly not all psychologists are good ones, same in any field. Don’t judge yourself by others. Read and learn what interests you. I used to feel insecure about my intelligence… Not anymore. I did some research on IQ tests and they have changed them for a reason. I used to basically run an office of 30-40 people. I graduated from college to be a legal secretary however I have never practiced in this field. Instead I ended up being Manager of Finance/Office Manager responsible for paying 30-40 staff plus 1000+ contractors while dealing with almost every other financial aspect of the company and keeping the office running smoothly. I didn’t learn this job through books. I started as a temporary worker, less then 6 months clean, doing data entry and over time I proved myself by my ability to take on responsibility and solve problems. I gained respect by my actions as much as my words, probably less so by my words since sometimes my emotions got in the way and all this with an average 100 IQ
We are all needed. The person who builds an empire needs the contractor to first break the dirt and construct his towers. That high paying corporate position needs the minimum wage employer to process their taxes and payroll. Even those who life in mansions needs someone to pick up their garbage… Where would one be without the other? Standing on a pile of dirt, owing the government while surrounded by garbage
