Pilots Are Smart

Geico266

Geico266

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After being on POA I certainly question that wisdom, but the public seems to really think so. :lol: ;)

Okay, a poor joke. Please allow me to explain. :yes:

I was listening to talk radio and the subject of smart people came up. One thing lead to another and people started calling in about traits that make a person smart. After an hour or so of talking the host declared "I never met a dumb pilot". He reslly thinks pilots are a cut above and are smarter than the average Joe. When he talked to pilots about flying g he was fascinated by their knowledge. He was talking about all pilots, commercial, private, etc.

I have to say I totally agree. I have met lots of pilots and I must say they seem to be the most interesting, personality type " A" , people iI have ever met. Sure there are exceptions, but generally speaking pilots are smart.

Carry on proving the public wrong. ;) :rofl:


:D
 
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Much too much generalization in that statement.
 
Just because a pilot might appear smart to someone who doesn't know anything about aviation, that doesn't necessarily carry over to other subjects.
 
Everskyward said:
Just because a pilot might appear smart to someone who doesn't know anything about aviation, that doesn't necessarily carry over to other subjects.
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That's for sure.

The general population runs from way below average to way above average in intelligence. I don't believe too many people that are way below average become pilots so on average, the average pilot is going to be above average. (in spite of that sentence).
 
So, does this mean that the stupid pilots that we all know are out there are still smart? Seems like a conflict there. Hmmm...

David
 
flhrci said:
So, does this mean that the stupid pilots that we all know are out there are still smart? Seems like a conflict there. Hmmm...

David
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I don't see any conflict,but then again, I don't see any stupid pilots. Sometimes their knowledge and grasp of aviation doesn't transfer to other areas and they may appear stupid at some things, but I maintain that stupid people don't become certificated pilots. Average people maybe, but not stupid people. And even the few stupid people that may slip through tend to die quickly.

However, I still can't explain certain airline captains.
 
I think the practical and intellectual challenges involved in obtaining a license weeds out the laziest/dumbest people out there and shifts the bell curve towards a better caliber of person.

Also the money required to do this means you're going to have mostly educated professionals flying.

Doesn't mean there aren't lots of average folks and a few morons in that group, we just weeded out most of the worst is all.
 
Pilots have to think they are smart or they would never have the self-confidence to go up by themselves in an airplane. :D

Either that or they are really stupid. :eek:
 
Live pilots seem smarter than ones who die flying.:D
 
Smart is a product of accumulated knowledge. To be a pilot one has to accumulate allot of knowledge about flying but that doesn't always carry over to other areas.

We are not all from Lake Wobegone where all the children are above average.
 
Geico266 said:
After being on POA I certainly question that wisdom, but the public seems to really think so. :lol: ;)

Okay, a poor joke. Please allow me to explain. :yes:

I was listening to talk radio and the subject of smart people came up. One thing lead to another and people started calling in about traits that make a person smart. After an hour or so of talking the host declared "I never met a dumb pilot". He reslly thinks pilots are a cut above and are smarter than the average Joe. When he talked to pilots about flying g he was fascinated by their knowledge. He was talking about all pilots, commercial, private, etc.

I have to say I totally agree. I have met lots of pilots and I must say they seem to be the most interesting, personality type " A" , people iI have ever met. Sure there are exceptions, but generally speaking pilots are smart.

Carry on proving the public wrong. ;) :rofl:


:D
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He hasn't met a lot then...:lol: Interesting and Type A do not smart make.:nonod::rofl:
 
A wise old CFI once told me: anyone can learn to fly, but the stupid ones don't live long. :wink2:
 
I'll rate doctors higher on the smart scale over pilots.

Either can be good people or compete bungholes.

The work involved doesn't really make either one, or any other profession, better people. Just indicative of more discipline to a point.
 
What is worse learning about smart people from talk radio or the internet ;)
 
Pilots carry through a wide range of humanity, I have met all sorts of people who are pilots.
 
I know I'm not smart, but I can fly the **** out of an airplane.

It dumbfounds people who know me. :lol:
 
Kelvin said:
Is that what is coming out the back of that plane in your avatar?
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That's a 0-470R corona ... ;)

I hit 186 knots GS on the way back from Amarillo today.

2.5 hours to Brenham. That's my fastest time so far...
 
If a person were narrow minded and slow it would take a very long time to learn to fly. Perhaps even longer than the average human life. Therefore, I believe pilots are broad minded fast learners. In other words, smart. Although, complacency has been known to negate intelligence.
 
I can show my wife ten times what a throttle or the flaps are, but she has no retention at all.

I'm convinced some people absolutely cannot learn to fly. It doesn't mean their dumb, or I'm smart, just that they have no retention ... or something.

Hey honey... love you. :ohsnap::D:blowingkisses:
 
txflyer said:
I can show my wife ten times what a throttle or the flaps are, but she has no retention at all.



I'm convinced some people absolutely cannot learn to fly. It doesn't mean their dumb, or I'm smart, just that they have no retention ... or something.



Hey honey... love you. :ohsnap::D:blowingkisses:
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Maybe she's simply not interested.
 
To be an active licensed pilot requires a number of characteristics that play into most people's idea of intelligence. On requires an above average level of disposable socioeconomic resources, so one either acquired such resources or failed to loose them. In either case there is clearly selection for above-average intelligence in the higher socioeconomic hierarchies. It certainly isn't a tight one, but it is there.

One also has to have a heightened level of personal motivation. Learning to fly is an intensively personal thing, one has to have the courage and perseverance to see it through. Such personality traits play into most people's idea of intelligence.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if the average pilot was considerably more intelligent than the average American, do to some of the selective pressures that people go though to become pilots.
 
steingar said:
To be an active licensed pilot requires a number of characteristics that play into most people's idea of intelligence. On requires an above average level of disposable socioeconomic resources, so one either acquired such resources or failed to loose them. In either case there is clearly selection for above-average intelligence in the higher socioeconomic hierarchies. It certainly isn't a tight one, but it is there.

One also has to have a heightened level of personal motivation. Learning to fly is an intensively personal thing, one has to have the courage and perseverance to see it through. Such personality traits play into most people's idea of intelligence.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if the average pilot was considerably more intelligent than the average American, do to some of the selective pressures that people go though to become pilots.
Click to expand...

Well, we've proven that we're full of sh*t anyway.
 
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