Once, in an interview, Academician Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachev uttered a small monologue: “Is it possible to pretend to be a knowledgeable person? Can you, if you remember a few facts. Is it possible to pretend to be smart? Yes, you can, if you remember several connections between facts. Is it possible to pretend to be an intelligent person?.
Many people think that getting an education, a candidate’s degree and defending a doctoral degree, years spent traveling, knowledge of several languages are all characteristics of an intelligent person. And if you deprive such an "intellectual" of all his knowledge? Indeed, much can happen in life. And then what? Emptiness, stupidity, and maybe even selfishness and soullessness … A truly intelligent person can be deprived of education, knowledge and memory. He can forget everything, but at the same time, moral values, a love of knowledge, a sense of aesthetics and responsibility will remain in his soul. He will admire nature, will never show indifference, rudeness, envy of his neighbor. In a word, intelligence manifests itself in the ability to understand others. Education is not synonymous with intelligence. Another thing, spirituality, which is accompanied by honor, dignity, decency and a clear conscience - all these are signs of intelligence. It cannot be said that a soulless man is disgusting and insignificant, he is simply weak. No, not physically, his weakness is manifested in anger and envy of everything around him, in misunderstanding and rudeness. Such weakness is not just a flaw, it is the inability to live and enjoy life. And as mentioned above, an intelligent person always shows understanding and sympathy for the weak. Perhaps that is why history knows of cases where the intelligentsia was destroyed and humiliated. Weak people were afraid of the intelligent, they were furious because someone could be stronger (morally) and wiser than them. The weak had power, and the intelligent had a soul. Intelligence is not a document with many stamps. This is a position in life and peace of mind. An intelligent person is original in the manifestation of his feelings, bold in actions and is able to protect the offended. As the saying goes: "Secret always becomes apparent." So intelligent falsehood over time can be clearly identified. Accidentally or intentionally, but one day a fake person will reveal his true "I". This can be manifested both in behavior, in the manner of dressing, and in habits, even in the expression of thoughts or the interior of an apartment. In the modern world, the concept of "Intelligence" is ambiguous, but in general, probably, this is just a good person.
