hardworking Vs. intelligence (1 Viewer)

EmJoy

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[FONT=&quot]My very first post on here^^
[FONT=&quot]Well, I have always been curious about which quality people value more, hardworking, or intelligence?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Consider this scenario. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The dux of my school this year has been really tough competition. Person 1, does Biology, Adv English, Dance, IPT& Chemistry. Person 2, does Physics, Chemistry, 4U maths, and Adv English.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They are both in my chem class, and from the depth of their grasp of concepts (also how quickly), quality of questions asked in class, ability to solve the out-of-ordinary questions, test scores, and of course just the way they talk, I think person 2 is way more intellectually talented. She had really bad flu one week before the trials, and yet still topped the class with a 91% (for chem), while person 1, who studied her ass off by staying up till 3am everyday for a whole week to study for it (that’s what she said anyway), only managed a 77%. Person 2 is also really good at maths- she is topping all her maths +physics classes, especially 4U and physics - she is like 10% ahead of the second for both. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They are both not topping English though lol. I think person 1 is about 6/80 and person 2 is like 10/80. Person 1 is topping dance and IPT though…She was topping Biology too, but then got beaten by 1%.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]BUT person 1 studies SO hard! She is ALWAYS in the library doing past papers/writing notes/reading textbook. She would stay up really late to study for tests…and her normal bed time is about 2am. And I know she’s not just saying that, you could actually tell because she has started to get acnes and really bad eye bags this year. She puts so much effort into all her majors and assignments too, like going through about 10 drafts for all her essays. Person 2 is heaps slack in comparison…I think if the ranks are based on the effort one puts in; she wouldn’t even make it to the top 10- she goes out, parties, and is on MSN all the time.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Person 2 ended up getting the dux- no surprise really, she’s really intelligent. But now many people are saying that person 1 deserves it more because she put all that effort into it, and so it’s not fair for her because being less intelligent is not her fault.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So what do you think?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And apart from the scenario itself, which quality do you think is more important in general and for HSC? Hardworking, or natural intellectual abilities?[/FONT]
[/FONT]
 

annabackwards

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Welcome to BoS :)

Person 2 sounds like a super lax version of me T.T
Don't think badly of me though, i do have been studying for the HSC lol.

I believe that you need a mixture of both. If you're intelligent but you don't put in much effort you will eventually crumble and fall. Might not be during the HSC, but it'll happen soon enough.

Being hardworking is also important, but no matter how hard you work sometimes you just can't beat the "naturally intelligent", especially if they work their arse off too. But, a hardworking person will always have the satisfaction of actually achieving something in the end moreso than someone who can do it "naturally" without much effort.

I should also note that some people are super hard workers but are so intellectually challenged they probably won't achieve very highly academically. But chances are that their talent lies somewhere else :)
 

hermand

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If you're intelligent but you don't put in much effort you will eventually crumble and fall. Might not be during the HSC, but it'll happen soon enough.
this is exactly me :(. i hate how lazy i am but after leaving my old school in year ten it just all went downhill from there.

i think you need a mix of both. however, dux is the award for the most 'intelligent' at your school. person two deserved it, if only because of genetics. there should be an application award or something, but they always have stigma attached to them :(.
 
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honestly, i think natural intellect really helps. It's true that people who work really hard can go really well in the hsc but i know plenty of people who study 3 hours a night and still barely scrap a 14/20 for english. This is also evidenced by my results. In no way am i lazy, or slack, or not hard working but i know i don't study as much as some people in my grade. For example in legal studies we had an assignment on the effectiveness of the legal system and we had to pick an issue. My friend did hers three weeks before it was due, had it checked three or four times, did countless drafts and spent ages on it. I did it the week before and had it checked once. She got 60% and i got 90%. If it went on hard work she should have got the best marks but far but naturally i'm better than her in that subject. Another example is french. I worked so hard on a wrtiting task. Put in about 20 hours over two weeks doing numerous drafts research etc. Another girl did it the night before and got 5 more marks than me. She is more intelligent than me in the languages area.
So all in all i think hard work can get someone a long way but intelligence really does wonders for results.
 

Mu5hi

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Person 1 over studied and thus burn out in exams. If you study too much and too stressed out you cant perform well in exams.

You can ask people who have achieved great results in the HSC, most went 3-4 hours max night. Some only did 2.

Also when studying quality> quantity.
 
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this is exactly me :(. i hate how lazy i am but after leaving my old school in year ten it just all went downhill from there.

i think you need a mix of both. however, dux is the award for the most 'intelligent' at your school. person two deserved it, if only because of genetics. there should be an application award or something, but they always have stigma attached to them :(.
for me dux has connotations of hard work, effort and study..hence why i don't think i deserve it- so many people wronlgy assume i study over 20 hours a week which is crazy. i study, sure, but no more than any normal person.

in a way i think dux should award someone who is intelligent and hardworking- someone students could look up to in both respects
 

Scinery

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I really don't mean to be mean to person 1 but I think hsc is a reflection of how you learn to deal with the tasks given - I dont think natural intelligence helps ( I kill Mensa but fail hsc) but hard work sometimes doesnnt pay off as in the case of person 1. I think there's a third skill which is "smart work" which involves communication, knowing what to do, learning memory tricks and doing only what's required for success in the hsc. I have a friend who works much harder than me but I always do better than, that's because he simply hasn't learned to answer the question and grasp the requirements of key science q terms
 

annabackwards

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this is exactly me :(. i hate how lazy i am but after leaving my old school in year ten it just all went downhill from there.

i think you need a mix of both. however, dux is the award for the most 'intelligent' at your school. person two deserved it, if only because of genetics. there should be an application award or something, but they always have stigma attached to them :(.
Yeah, no study/homework at all from years 7-11 aside from assignments develops bad habits ><"

But i agree with your definition of dux :)
 

lychnobity

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Natural intellect ftw

Ideally, both (obviously) but, in most cases, I think hard work > intelligence (unless in it's in a 'skills' subject like english and maths)
 

vpa2891

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I personally think that intelligence would help. 1 of my friend worked EXTREMELY hard and she couldnt get up to 80% for maths 2u. Intelligence will make study just like fun and reduce lots of stress
 

hollaholla

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Like someone mentioned above..i reckon you need both. In certain subjects, hardwork is more essential. But in my view, if you understand the HSC system and know how the assessment/exams are...and you know how to study smart ..you dont really need to be intelligent or really hard working to do WELL (ofcourse you cant hit 99.50 with none of the above)

I know someone just like the second girl...OMG ....The lord has blessed these people i tell you. ENVIOUS much!!!!
 

Winn

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[FONT=&quot]
[FONT=&quot]And apart from the scenario itself, which quality do you think is more important in general and for HSC? Hardworking, or natural intellectual abilities?[/FONT]
[/FONT]
I respect hardworkers, but I admire the latter.:p
Seriously though, I agree with what anna said, that self satisfaction is what's the most important. We are have our strengths and weaknesses, and the HSC is not necessarily a fair measure of all of those. Those who ace the HSC are not all going to ace at their lives.
If the degree of personal quality can be measure in levels, and person 1 was initially at level 1, and by studying she got to level 7, say, she has obviously gained much more personal satisfaction than person 2, who was probably on level 6 already and only improved to level 9.
 

LordPc

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a person of average intelligence that works hard will beat a person of high intelligence that is lazy

however, a person of high intelligence that works hard will always be better than a person of average intelligence that works hard.

as far as the hsc is concerned, id say hardworking is more important. the hsc is fairly predictable and if you do enough work, you can cover it all. eg, if you do enough past paper questions for economics, you will eventually run into the questions they use in the hsc exam. economics doesnt change, all the questions are there already, you just have to find them and do them
 

Scinery

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I also definitely believe in increasing natural intelligence. I know this is lame but the dux of my school has all the characteristics that I had in year 5 and 6, and with a healthy diet, lifestyle, regular reading and lots of puzzles I genuinely think I can bring that "natural" talent back lol.

But as a history student, I'm big on personal context. I think rather than genetics intelligence has to do with the person's environment and upbringing, as well as guidance, friends and little tricks you learn along the way. That's life I suppose.

for example I reckon I became bad at Maths because the tutoring I went to turned it into a chore rather than something I find fun.
 
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absorber

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I got given dux of my school, and there are bright people who worked harder to get it but didn't.

Intelligence helps a lot in the hsc, of course, hard work is also necessary, but I think most importantly how you study, the quality more than the quantity of study matters. Often being intelligent allows you to work out more effective study methods of course. Dux should probably be worked out by results, it's impossible to judge the time and intensity one studies for, though if it were, I'd say it should be judged on effort moreso.
 

meilz92

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person 2 sounds like me hahaa... except im not THAT smart.. definately not dux lol... but i do tend to cram a couple of days before exams and still do well in them...

i feel sorry for the girl whose really hard working since she didnt get dux and all.... and i dont mean to discourage her but in the end, DUX all comes down to whoever performs the best. although she studies hard, maybe she doesnt study smart? just a thought...
 

Venom.

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Hard work can only get you to JUST behind the James Ruse stupid kids.

Natural intellect takes you from the 98 stage to 99.5+ stage.
 

nosh22

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A hard working person can succeed as much as anyone at rote learning subjects. :)
 

hairspray

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I think natural intelligence wins. There's this guy in my class who studies 24/7.
Like in the holidays he studies from 7am to 10pm everyday since yr11. Still, his results doesn't show that he studies at all his marks are as high as those who don't study. And then there's this guy who doesn't study ever, spends most of his time with his gf, infact the most study he has probably done is when the teacher tells him to read a passage out aloud during class, and he came 2/50 for physics. O.O''

In conclusion, there's only so much that you can get out of hardwork...
 

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