Can Anyone Answer

Why would an intelligent person smoke cigarettes?
Because some of their friends do it, so it's a cool factor.

Why would an intelligent person drink alcohol?
A. Some people enjoy the taste, and some people enjoy the buzz.
B. Some of us enjoy both.

Why would an intelligent person eat until they are 50 to 60 pounds over weight?
Because Nacho Cheese Doritos are just so (*)(*)(*)(*)ing tasty! (Especially after smoking a big fattie!)

Why would an intelligent person not brush their teeth?
You got me on that one brother.

 

They like how it makes them feel.
They like how it makes them feel.
They like how the food tastes.
They didn't feel like it.

 

Don't know, but there isn't much of a correlation between doing those things and being dumb. Except maybe for the brushing teeth part.

 

Intelligence isn't all encompassing. Some people are intelligent in some areas but not others. An intelligent person can also convince themselves smoking is ok. You can see it all the time. They will cite the one person that lived to a 100, but neglect to quote the stats of the staggering amount of daily deaths caused from smoking. An intelligent person can see it for what it is, but an intelligent person can also convince themselves otherwise if they like the act of smoking. Same with gambling, they buy a 150 dollars worth of scratch tickets and win 100 bucks!!!!! They shout I won a 100 dollars....in reality no....they actually lost 50 but they convinced themselves they won because they like to gamble it triggers pleasure. If they said they lost 50 gambling wouldn't be as fun.
Also, on the smoking thing, its also about the quality of life in your later years. If you are lucky enough to not die a horrible death of lung cancer fighting for every last breath before you finally cant the odds are you will be lugging around an oxygen tank with a tube long enough to get you to a bathroom and back to the lazy boy chair in time for wheel of fortune while other people your age who didn't smoke are out climbing mountains. (sometimes you don't die, sometimes you just linger around for a long time)
For the record I'm with ya, I never understood why someone would intentionally poison themselves knowing someone else is not only hoping you make a bad decision for profit but smokers know these cigarette companies add addictive dangerous compounds to keep them hooked but they do it anyways. I mean how weak can you get to know someone is addicting you for profit and you keep going back for more. Ive wondered even as a child in the 70s why any person would smoke.
The brushing teeth thing is also mind boggling to me. Have no idea how you cant take care of your own teeth.

 

My dad was a smoker and he was probably one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. He started smoking in the Navy, where cigarettes came as part of the rations and became addicted. He smoked for more than 50 years, but quit cold turkey when my mom had a heart attack. She never smoked, so the decision wasn't logical, except he couldn't be in her hospital room and smoke. He always had a pack of cigarettes in his truck, but they were there only so he knew he could have one if he wanted. The unopened pack was still there the day he died. Times have changed and the Navy no longer facilitates smoking.

I don't see anything unintelligent about drinking alcohol in moderation. My doctor says it is actually good for circulation.

I have nothing to add on the other two.

 

People are not robots who are programmed to do things logically, even intelligent people can be motivated by what would make them feel good now, as opposed to what could happen later. People who know better may lack discipline, or may care more about the moment than what could happen later. That's more of a personal preference than a matter of intelligence.

Because there is no god.

 

Quick answer, human nature. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.

 

Primarily for acceptance and after that due to addiction.

Primarily again to fit in - as a social activity. Alcohol in moderation also has medical benefits. Some people do also acquire a taste for it --- scotch, beer and cordials for example.

Generally eating can be as addictive as drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. There can be many reasons for this: Depression, self loathing, lack of control, lack of caring, addiction.

Lazyness, lack of regard of self worth, depression.

You seem to think that intelligence should trump emotion - and very often they do not. A person who is depressed or having a very low esteem has no motivation to look at their outward appearance as a priority, nor do they see their life's worth as a priority so drink, overeating and letting themselves fall into a pattern of disregard becomes a self destructive course, one that emotionally can be very difficult to overcome. Some cannot overcome it.

Why couldn't Scott Weiland, Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, Abbie Hoffman, Margeaux Hemingway, Chris Farley, Elisa Bridges, John Entwistle, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Amy Whinehouse, Phillip Hoffman, John Belushi, Jon Bonham, Keith Mooon, Elvis, Howard Hughes, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Judy Garland, Jack Kerouac, Sigmund Freud....

Because they all had issues. They were by and large well known in their times, were intelligent people, had money, fame..... did they know heroine, coke, alcohol were bad for them? Of course. Did they care? Apparently not. Therefore go beyond the first layer of intelligence.... that onion has many layers that go quite deep.

 

The fact is he NEVER failed math in school. Reality already gave you a link disproving your claim, now here is another. http://www.history.com/topics/einsteins-life-facts-and-fiction

Now try getting your facts straight.

 

Alcohol, like fire can be used for good and bad. Some studies show small amounts a day are good for you. I find it to be good swing(golf) lube when in moderation.

Unfortunately, while humans process great intelligence, they can choose not to use it.

 

35 and counting, not bad. Much better intelligent answers than I expected. I'm impressed with the insightful replies.

 

I am wrong, occasionally. I just didn't think that a thread involving personal health and hygiene would do well in the "Political Opinions and Beliefs" category.

 

This one was more of an IQ inquiry. Some gave thoughtful responses; others went shopping for a whizzing contest.

The reality is, non-smokers are generally smarter than smokers:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-smokers-smarter-idUSTRE61M3UQ20100223

Drinking is a mixed bag. If you drink and your parents were alcoholics, you might be genetically predisposed to alcoholism as a disorder. Then again, the French enjoy a little wine with their evening meal and tend to live longer as a result.

There are a lot of things that people can do that are stupid, but they might still have a degree of intelligence. I just don't believe that all intelligence is measured by an IQ test. For example, a person may endanger their life due to boredom, but if that individual has a family and has not considered their feelings should a dangerous extracurricular activity their life is a blazing idiot... in my opinion. It don't matter how high their IQ is, if they haven't thought out the impact of their actions on their loved ones, they are not all that smart - or maybe they are apathetic and uncaring for others.

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MOD EDIT - Rule 3

 

You need to check your sources. Einstein NEVER failed math in school. In fact by 15, he had mastered differential and integral calculus. The reason Einstein's name is synonymous with genius is that the Theory of Relativity revolutionized physics and set the stage for the creation of the atomic bomb. He is even partly responsible for the creation of Quantum Theory (though he hated it). And while I agree you do not have to have a big IQ to do extraordinary things, it certainly makes it a lot easier.

 

MOD EDIT - Rule 3
So, since we cannot do this the easy way, let's be more specific. You're technically right. I spoke in generic terminology, but my sources are just as perfect as yours - and my conscience / biographer / personal God's.

For the record, Einstein failed the entrance exam at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute and, most specifically, the math portions of the test. Now, will that resolve the issue or shall we waste another hundred posts to find out who has the bigger penis?

Please don't get like these people that have no life and try to make others lives as miserable as their own. It's not worth it when the bottom line don't change. One man's smart (the guy who makes wise choices) is another guy's stupid (the "stupid" guy didn't graduate with honors from Harvard.) Then again, the dumbest guy we know is a Harvard grad... Obummer.

 

Again, he did not fail the math portion of the test (3 people have now told you that you are WRONG), he failed the botany, zoology and language sections MOD EDIT - Rule 3


MOD EDIT - Rule 3

 

I like my wine. I don't eat enough or enough good things and I am guilty of going to bed without brushing my teeth occasionally. It all comes down to striving for self gratification and having a lack of self disapline which is more of an emotional state and has nothing to do with intelligence.

 

I heard Einstein was kind of a retard. He couldn't tie his shoes until he was nine. However, he was smart enough to get a job in a patent office where he had access to brilliant theories and ideas.

 

Because they would know that life is pointless so might as race to your grave. It is the only peace you will ever know. YOLO!!!!

 

Drugs feel good and most people use their drugs responsibly.

I think it has to do more with genetics. Some people are wired to get every last bit of nutrition out of the food they eat and then store fat reserves for the lean times. I a land of such abundance, this is a curse in a land of scarcity this is survival. We should teach our children to appreciate and enjoy good food instead of consuming vast quantities of it.

I think the only people who don't brush their teeth are those that don't have any.

 

It is a vice.

It is a vice.

Combination of a vice, nervous condition, and extreme stress.

NASTY!

 

Because they don't care.

You can not care about yourself and still be intelligent. Sometimes people are just dead inside.

 

It is amazing the crap that appears on the Internet. Not tying one's shoes does not make one retarded and NONE of Einstein's contemporaries thought he was a retard. Another thing, scientific theories are not patented so he would have never come across any brilliant theories or ideas in a patent office. If Einstein had invented something, then I would say you had a case.