MESSAGE FOR WEEK BEGINNING 4th December 2000

..too intelligent.....

Is it possible to be too intelligent? I am beginning to suspect that the answer may be 'yes'. If the rate of transmission along the neurones is very fast then judgement may be improved at the expense of 'possibility' activity (sub-threshold activations). This means a hurry to identify and to recognise standard situations. This means 'what is' thinking at the expense of 'what can be' thinking.

Research has shown that intelligence and creativity go together up to a point and then separate. I had thought that this was due to intelligent people seeking the 'right answer' rather than possibilities - a strategy process. But it may be more fundamental and a matter of brain mechanics.

It is certainly odd that very intelligent people seem to find it more difficult to design a way forward out of disputes.

Edward de Bono nmt
3rd December 2000
London