Intelligence, Knowledge, and Self-Respect

Intelligence without ego-strength, a vibrant knowledge base containing various ideologies, and self-respect means little. It will largely mean you are a calculator, an emotional reactionary, or an eloquent parrot.

Everyone adopts poor ideas. We all overgeneralize our narratives and experience. These cognitive issues run through all of us, but it can be what defines you as a thinker and actor, or it can merely color our perspectives. Without the ego-strength to consider unpopular ideas, a knowledge base which can challenge your own premises, and and the integrity and conviction to stand by your own thoughts … you will retreat to the ideas that are most comforting. This means, you will parrot those around you, and/or you will justify and defend your own emotional experiences.