The Relativity of Strength; Physical and Mental

-Sam Muckerman

When the average person sees a bodybuilder, they assume their physical power is greater than their own. The physical capabilities of the bodybuilder are on display in the form of large muscles; larger than the general populace, and typically larger than their own. The size of the muscles, the level of physical development, is proportionate to the amount of work, of effort (be it chemical or otherwise.) A manifestation of one's will to form their body more to their vision.

When the average person sees a "mind-builder" what do they see? A person who's level of intelligence is no more obvious than what that person ate the day before. Perhaps if they ate a greasy meal they will have acne or something of the sort, but there is no stark physical contrast between "intelligent and not intelligent."

This immediately brings two things into my mind; First and foremost, what is intelligence? While physical strength is readily measurable, both in size and joules, intelligence is the longstanding subject of debate. IQ is one way of measuring intelligence, but IQ is not the guaranteeor of 'success'. Nor can 'success' be the guaranteeor of intelligence.

So what then is intelligence? Surely it exists, evidence for it is readily available; but an agreeable definition is not. Is it the measure of IQ? Is it the measure of physical and emotional comfort? A combination of the two? The tribesman that lived before the dawn of civilization, surely he is less intelligent than we today? I think not, as our brains are the same. We have the same capabilities, just different levels of resources. What then is intelligence?

Let us try approaching this from a different angle; If you can measure physical strength in the ability to move mass, can this be applied to intelligence? If strength is mass times distance; then intelligence is the number of thoughts multiplied by creativity amongst them divided by correctness and/or success on manifesting those into reality? What then of pattern recognition and prediction capabilities (a standard and accepted part of IQ testing)?

If physical strength manifests itself in large physical stature via effort, and intelligence manifests itself in some undefinable way, what then do they have in common? In order for physical strength to manifest one must put forth effort, be it by exercise or other chemical means. In order for intelligence to manifest, one must put forth effort. It is one thing to imagine you are lifting weights, but is it the same thing to cheat on a test? A level of success can be reached by one of those actions that can not by the other.

If intelligence is not easily defined, yet obvious in nature, how can it be compared to physical strength? Both are made manifest by a level of self determination. This seems to me to be the bottom line of what separates man from beast. Is it though? A male lion is not as intelligent as a human, this is obvious, but they are successful as they still exist. But they are endangered you say? Well then compare a cockroaches level of intelligence to a lions, roaches seem less intelligent, but infinitely more successful as it is said they will outlive even humans. If this is a measure of intelligence than humans are in dire straits, as we are less intelligent than the roaches.

There are some who would say just that. I suggest that those people may be correct, but only of themselves. For is it not obvious that man is more intelligent than beast? It could be said that the animal kingdom to a large extent exists because mankind permits its existence; the same could be said of mankind itself, our intelligence manifested in our destructive power. But is being so successful at manifesting ones own goals to the point you can destroy yourself and everyone around you, inadvertently even, intelligent? Perhaps not.

Have we focused on the wrong things all along then? Is it self determination that should be studied more? If you are determined enough to get stronger, you will get stronger. If you want to achieve "X" you apply self determination and then your intelligence takes over and provided you have the determination, you will achieve "X". One thing I feel this establishes is that both strength and intelligence are in large parts cumulative; in that our baseline levels are all different upon birth, however through self-determination both may be developed to that which is greater than at birth.

There is one more thing though, that should be mentioned. Environment. Outside factors are always at play in either strength or intelligence. You can't build strength without calories, you can't achieve "x" if you're hit by a bus, etc. These outside variables can range from a targeted attack to random chance; so let us apply this final variable to our previous equations.

Strength equals mass multiplied by distance, multiplied by self determination, and finally multiplied by the environment.

STR = ((M x D)SD)E

Intelligence equals the number of thoughts multiplied by the creativity among them, multiplied then by self determination and then finally multiplied by the environment

INTL = ((C x T)SD)E

In practice this may look something like this: a person lifts ten pounds twenty times, three times a day every day, and eats 2,000 calories per day. Simple right? Let us apply this to intelligence. A person wants to achieve success in X, so they mentally calculate their moves, which are creative and diverse in theory, they then apply them over time and provided the environment is not a "zero" or god forbid "negative" then they will achieve success and this will be made manifest, the same as a body builder.

In conclusion I wish to say this; All factors are equally important in either strength or intelligence. Someone who is born with a higher (C x T) value is just as acceptable to environmental forces as someone whose is lower. Someone who is born with a greater (M x D) value is just as susceptible to famine as someone who is born with lower. Someone who is born with a higher (C x T) value and the perfect environment can still be sabotaged by their own (lack of) self determination. Someone who is born with a very high (C x T) value and has a very high determination is still subject to limitations of their environment. If you wish to cultivate either strength, or intelligence, you must work to have all factors in the positive, as well as a little "good fortune."