Judgment

Intelligence.

It has replaced physical prowess as the key determining factor of success in recent decades. Which of course begs the question, what is intelligence? There are many different views on this subject...ironic considering the sheer budget that flows into methods of ranking individuals based on this singular statistic. It could be the ability to look smart even if you're not really sure about yourself or what you're talking about, or the practical application of what you know to real life, or a person taking what they know, no matter how much or how little, and using that to help others, or being able to get as far to the line as possible but knowing when to not cross it, or even simply logic, or IQ, or memorial capacity, or pattern recognition, or (as the dictionary puts it) the capacity to learn.

Do any of those definitions (from different people, I might add) hold merit? Perhaps all, perhaps none. We go around the block on a daily basis constantly judging other people's intelligence, or lack thereof. Do we use the preceding paragraph as the criteria in our judgments? I'm guessing no. Many would use an unconscious comparison to themselves, thinking "Ha, I'd never do that," or something to the effect, or merely cite a disagreement as proof of stupidity. People naturally favor those they agree with, but there is a line, whereupon the crossing crosses into ridiculousness. Think about it. That block is not nearly everything, but skim over it again. Do you match every part?

Now, look at that. A bit of a handful, eh? You'd better have been paying attention, as you only have a handful of opportunities to prove to the world that you are a lower numerical value than everyone else. You judge people, right? They judge you too.