Essay by Luke Foster
Intelligentsia/definition
noun
Intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence.
I first heard about the intelligentsia while in South Korea when I watched the movie A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe about the Nobel Prize winner and Ivey league educated John Nash. I also read the book while in South Korea too between my classes as an English teacher.
The majority of the world’s intelligentsia is in America as the majority of the top twenty universities in the world are Ivey League universities in America and the intellectuals from those are responsible for the majority of the worlds technological and humane philosophical ideas in the last one hundred and fifty years with landing man on the moon, the Voyager space probes and cures for many illnesses as just some of their break throughs.
I think my favourite intellectuals are Edward De Bono and his idea of lateral thinking and Albert Einstein.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Albert Einstein
I love this quote by Einstein and it reminds me of my first solo art exhibition at Kirra Hill called think Re-Think about pretty much the same idea particularly constantly thinking and rethinking and never taking anything for granted.
The most influential intellectual idea for me was Edward De Bonos idea of lateral thinking but I think I came to the same idea and conclusion on my own while at art school.
“Everyone has the right to doubt everything as often as he pleases and the duty to do it at least once. No way of looking at things is too sacred to be reconsidered. No way of doing things is beyond improvement.”
― Edward De Bono, The Use of Lateral Thinking
I think the main problem with the world’s intelligentsia is that there isn’t an equal number of male and female intellectuals. For example: Trinh T. Minh-ha from Vietnam and Malala Yousafzai from the sub-continent.
“Speaking, writing, and discoursing are not mere acts of communication; they are above all acts of compulsion. Please follow me. Trust me, for deep feeling and understanding require commitment.”
Trinh T. Minh-ha
In conclusion I feel there needs to be an equal number of male and female intellectuals in the world for peace, harmony and humane technological break throughs. Once this happens there shall be peace and prosperity for everyone and not just wealth for the rich male elite.