When do we need cleverness, and when intelligence?

In this article: The dance of intelligence and cleverness -- both needed -- and although symbiotic, a prolonged imbalance leads to either systemic collapse and/or frustratingly unrealised potential.

Cleverness is the capacity we use to develop the technologies, systems and theories of a given level of intelligence.

Intelligence on the other hand is the emergence of new more embracing core assumptions and world-views, upon which all cleverness rests and develops.

Capacities of cleverness are required to harness and utilise advances in intelligence, but only to a point. Thereafter it has the adverse tendency of obstructing the emergence of new levels of intelligence, which are needed to solve the inevitable complexity created by the execution of cleverness.

Our financial and monetary systems and dependence on fossil fuels are two, of many, such examples.

Very complex and sophisticated systems, but dependent upon the assumptions and world-views of a level of intelligence incapable of grasping the complexity we face, and the consequences of maintaining the systems themselves.

The core assumptions of indefinite [exponential] industrial and trade growth, money creating money as opposed to value, in the form of goods and services, creating money, and the idea that status [power and wealth] equals intelligence, sustainable leadership, skill and mastery, being a few.

But changing or transforming the core assumptions and world-views upon which systems and technologies are build, shifts the very need for most of the expressions of those systems. And as always no matter how dysfunctional or psychotic a system may be, some invested party always benefits.

The questions we need to asking ourselves are: Can we clearly identify the core assumptions driving our systems, how useful are they and what are the consequences of staying with them?

Intelligent discussion around new assumptions, and clever discussion articulating system design and application could follow.