Intellect, Education, and Subtlety

From this thread, we get an insightful commentary on intelligence, education, and subtlety:

"Nell," the Constable continued, indicating through his tone of voice that the lesson was concluding, "the difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent. The difference between stupid and intelligent people, and this is true whether or not they are well-educated, is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations, in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward."

This would be a good lesson for the majority of Americans who seem to think that any subject can be summarized in a couple of sentences, and that anything that strikes their gut as true must be. Reality has no obligation to be as simple as we wish it to be, or as simple as our brains can comprehend.