Intelligence and survival
Knowledge acquisition evolved originally as a survival mechanism: the organism needed to arrange its experiences — who is the predator, what is my food, where is the water, what happens when I touch hot rocks. These interrelations govern behaviour and are vital for survival. In humans this ability has become very refined, and we now pursue knowledge not only for survival but for understanding.The reward of knowledge
Mother nature produces a reward when the organism knows something and puts it to use. This reward is seen as the pleasure you get when you know something — a human tendency found in many animals also. Curiosity and the joy of knowing are the fingerprints of intelligence.Knowledge refines action
Actions result in experiences; experiences result in knowledge; and knowledge refines action — and the loop continues. Those who lack knowledge act blindly and do not know the outcome; the intelligent act with foresight. Knowledge also builds on the past: from what we already know we can infer and deduce new things, which gives us the very important ability to predict outcomes.A warning: information reduces intelligence
Counter-intuitively, a lot of information without any solid foundation — without direct experience and logical treatment — makes you more stupid, not intelligent. People who hoard ungrounded information, calling themselves students, end up confused and mentally unstable; cross-question them once or twice and the garbage appears. Intelligence is not the same as accumulated information; it is the living capacity to know.The highest intelligence
The most intelligent use of intelligence is to turn it upon the knower itself — to investigate the experiencer, the source of all knowing. The brilliant seeker does their own research and discovers the truth; the rest of us listen to a teacher and then verify with our own intellect and direct experience.See also: intellect, logic, knowledge, curiosity, survival, experiencer, information.