Instinct Versus Intellect

Different Approaches to Problem-solving Helps Us Survive

By Dave Arnold

Now after being a janitor for 19 years, a few things have come to my attention
So just a few of my observations, I’ll take time to mention
Now I say this not just because I’m a janitor too
I tell you this only because it is a fact and true
If you’re a janitor, you are the most intelligent person there, be you a woman or man
A janitor is the only person in the school that has figured out that trash goes in a trashcan
From “ESP Proud,” by Dave Arnold

Instinct, savvy, street smarts, common sense. Regardless of the name, ESPs have it. Some highly educated school staff, however, seem to lack it.

I noticed this decades ago when I was a student. To get out of a jam, ESPs -- then and now -- use common sense while teachers seem to rely on theories they learned at college. If they cannot match a theory to a problem, they seem lost. See below:

• A play director came to me a few years ago and told me she needed to know how much covering was needed for their stage backdrop. It measured 10 ft. X 36 ft. She was English major, she said, and not good at math.
• We had a severe rainstorm one day and a teacher’s classic ‘65 Chevy Impala wouldn’t start. He had driven it through deep water. I had him going in a few seconds after spraying his distributor with silicone spray. He hadn’t learned that silicone displaces moisture.
• A group of teachers walking laps around our track after school asked me not to lock the door closest to the track because it was too far to walk to the next closest door, which was the one usually left open. They walked a mile each evening, but decided not to add the extra 175 feet needed to reach the door everyone else was using.

A Theory for Everything

As some fellow ESPs and I discussed this topic -- instinct versus intellect -- one of them said it seems that common sense is disposed of when a person is handed a college diploma. That isn’t what happens, but in a recent lecture an officer from the Illinois Police Special Crime Task Force offered an explanation along these lines.

During a regional council meeting, this officer explained that as a person becomes more educated, they tend to rely more on reasoning, justification, and what they learned in the classroom from a book. Apparently, they begin to theorize about almost everything. Using this approach to problem solving acts as an alternative to basic instinct.

The officer gave a humorous example. Since mountain lions are not supposed to exist in Illinois, he said that if an educated human would see one, they might conclude that it could not possibly be a mountain lion.

They might even deduce that they cannot, thus, be in danger. Furthermore, they might get curious and be compelled to take a closer look at the “really big kitty.”

A deer, on the other hand, would not know what they were seeing. The deer’s basic instinct would scream “danger!” Sharp teeth, long claws and hungry eyes would get any animal’s attention.

Reading Danger Signals

The Special Crime Task Force had studied human behavior for several years to determine why people think and react to situations as they do. This has provided insight, for example, into tragedies such as the 9-11-01 terrorist bombings and the shooting rampage by two students at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Twelve students and a teacher died in that attack.

The officer explained that if a student was to walk into school wearing a trench coat in the middle of April, a teacher might justify the situation by theorizing that the student was cold natured, oblivious to his environment, or was making a fashion statement.

A custodian, secretary, or bus driver would be more likely to rely on basic instinct and wonder what the student was trying to hide under that suspicious coat. Ideally, a combination of both – common sense and sound intelligence – helps humankind get from one generation to the next.

Dare to Dream

Because of education, humans have gone from walking on two feet to flying to the moon. No doubt we will explore space even more in years to come. We have gone from counting on our fingers to building lightening fast computers. It is amazing what our intellects can do.

If one person can dare to dream it another person will dare to accomplish it. Thanks to centuries of book learning, evolutionary thinking and experimentation, we see progress in all areas of human endeavor. But it is common sense that allows us to survive.

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.