Brothers Campfire Anchors, Intelligence, And Failure To Research.

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Hello, Benjamin from Brother’s Campfire here!

Two days ago, I completed reading the Bible through for 2021 and looking forward to reading it again soon. The Bible is the guidebook for life and keeps me anchored when the storms of life rage.

I read other books as well, but they are measured against what has been learned from the scriptures.

Yesterday, I used all the book learning and studying from the last couple of months and taught an emotional intelligence class.

It was exhausting for reasons other than the curriculum that I may or may not describe down the road. There are many aspects of a classroom setting and it is not my intention to embarrass anyone right now.

With several included tests, I discovered I am a little more sociable than I thought, so that was cool. Tying a pork chop around my neck so the dog is willing to play with me is still a necessary part of my week, so there is a little work to be done.

There is a lot of talk of Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient in business meetings, classes, and all the feel good motivational books in one form or another.

Intelligence Quotient

Math has never been my strength, but I am aware that 0 is undefinable. 4/0, 3/0, 2/0 and 1/0 equal zero in some classrooms, but it simply is not true; 4,3,2, and 1 are not equal. For the math experts at the Campfire, I am willing to stand corrected. My point is, IQ is based on pattern recognition to some extent and we cannot define 0 adequately. It is neither positive or negative and both positive and negative, infinite.

Emotional Quotient

EQ is a typically broken down into

  • Self-awareness
  • Self-regulation
  • Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Social skills

I have searched and searched, and I cannot find contained in EQ a yardstick or definition of right and wrong, but rather social tools to enhance your standing with others for success. There is no limit to how far you can travel in emotional intelligence, much like 0, which is undefined.

Something is missing that I call SQ or Spiritual Quotient.

I guarantee there is more to the measure of a man than IQ and EQ.

In a world of almost infinite possible combinations of numbers, patterns, emotional connections, manipulation and influence, there are so many things that can go wrong with imbalance. Some folks are walking encyclopedias and others wear thier heart on a sleeve.

Wherever someone is in these areas, an anchor point of values, morals, and ethics is necessary; something bigger than yourself.

With a guidebook for life, these qualities can be clearly defined, providing clear focus on the utilization of IQ/EQ.

But silly me. I forgot there was Google.

Mid writing, I discovered this has already been explored before. I guess I should have researched first. There are all kinds of studys and tests on this sort of thing. It is just not considered in my line of work.

Oh well. Nothing new today!

Author: Benjamin

Benjamin Thiel is a community leader, urban farmer, and author of The Ongoing Tale at Brothers Campfire. He might know a guy...

30 thoughts on “Brothers Campfire Anchors, Intelligence, And Failure To Research.”

    1. Benjamin says:

      Indeed. I had to write them out of my mind so I could relax. How is your day?

  2. kagould17 says:

    That is a definitley complex thought process for a nothing new today post. Have a great weekend Benjamin. Allan

  3. Terveen Gill says:

    The realisation and acceptance of these human aspects is a big step in the right direction. Many people just go through life oblivious of any quotient of any type. Now that’s a serious IQ issue.
    Emotional and spiritual drive comes somewhat naturally but a lot of it is life conditioning.
    Hope you have a good weekend and great week ahead. 🙂

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thanks for the insight, Terveen! I always appreciate when you stop by.

  4. Pingback: Anchors, Intelligence, And Failure To Research.
  5. Joy says:

    I agree that IQ and EQ are not nearly enough to define a human. I would posit that human beings should not be viewed as quantifiable in the first place. IQ and EQ are just good ways to figure out one’s strengths and areas where one should seek to improve, but do little to define us.

    I am no math expert, but I did learn how to teach it at an elementary level, so I’m going to attempt to edit your metaphor a little bit. 0 actually is defined. We experience 0 in our daily lives all the time because it is just the lack of something. If you had 3 apples and give all of them away, you now have 0 apples because you lack apples. You don’t owe anyone an apple, so you are not in the negative, but you also don’t have any apples, so you are not in the positive. You simply possess 0 apples.

    You do hit on something that is in fact undefined, which is division by 0 (or using 0 as the denominator of a fraction). If you have 4 apples and you divide them into groups with 2 apples per group, you will have 2 groups (4/2 = 2). If you have 4 apples and and you divide them into groups with 0 apples per group, what does that even mean? We cannot wrap our heads around the concept, so we can’t define it. That’s similar to how we cannot wrap our heads around the complexities of other human beings.

      1. Joy says:

        Thank you for writing on the insufficiencies of IQ and EQ. I think that it’s a really important topic, and I like your assertion that we should think about spiritual intelligence as well! I hope my first comment wasn’t too lengthy or overbearing.

        1. Benjamin says:

          Your comment was absolutely amazing! I appreciate the dialogue! Have you thought of doing a guest post at the Campfire?

          1. Joy says:

            I hadn’t until now, but I’ll consider it

          2. Benjamin says:

            way cool! send me a message on my contact page so I can send you an invitation

  6. herbthiel says:

    Wow. there’s a lot in this post for having nothing new. I think you touch on a very important point however, when you mention Spiritual Quotient.

  7. Geoff Stamper says:

    I was really lost when I misread “Spiritual Quotient” as “Squirrel Quotient” but I reread the posts and comments carefully and am back on board now.

    1. Benjamin says:

      There may be intrinsic value to Squirrel Quotient. We may rise to the highest branches of fruit bearing nuttiness with SQ. Great comment, Geoff!

    1. Benjamin says:

      If you do a post on your findings, I would like to hear about it!

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