Are AFOLs more educated?

[joerminer]

It would be interesting to know. Lego is definitely a creative toy, one that encourages and stimulates ingenuity. I have an engineering degree myself, and I know that Legos were popular amongst many of my friends at college, who were math, science, and engineering students, as well. On the whole though, it is probably hard to say.

[Alcarin]

A simple answer is NO

They might seem more educated because you evaluate them from their field of expertise (LEGO) not from overall.

They are just as educated in geography OVERALL as the next guy who collects something else...

but they are far superior in 1 segment... that is LEGO education.

[Rook]

Intelligence is currently being measured in at least 9 categories.

1 Logical-mathematical

2 Spatial

3 Linguistic

4 Bodily-kinesthetic

5 Musical

6 Interpersonal

7 Intrapersonal

8 Naturalistic

9 Existential

So going by the original post I would be willing to say that AFOLs would probably excel in at least one of these, Spatial Intelligence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_intelligence_(psychology)

[TheLegoDr]

I think it does make sense to assume AFOLs may be better at spatial recognition and creativity, but then again, not every AFOL likes MOCing or can stray from the instructions. Does that make them any less intelligent? No, but there will always be variances in the different levels of intelligence. You may be more intelligent (read: knowledgeable) about LEGO and LEGO related products/projects, but that doesn't mean you are directly intelligent about everything. Just like someone being a specialist in their given field will know that particular field better than others that aren't in it, but it doesn't make them any more or less intelligent.

But on the whole, I would say, of course we are more educated!

[lightningtiger]

Interesting topic, I'm a electronics technician that also studied design and other basic engineering trades back in the 1980's at high school. Could it be more a combo of education, passion for the interest and overall artistic skill that sets AFOLs apart from non-AFOLs.......ah, I said the key difference between AFOLs and non-AFOLs.....passion for Lego.

[ShaydDeGrai]

As has been said, I think it's ill-advised to use degrees earned or time spent in academia as a proxy for "level of intelligence". There are plenty of smart people out there without advanced degrees and plenty of people in academia who just aren't very bright. I used to be a professor (Full disclosure: I have degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and a Ph. D. in Computer Science so I've earned the right to ridicule academics ) and, although my experiences are purely anecdotal, I can think of plenty of anecdotes to dispel the myth that a sitting in a classroom or getting a fancy piece of paper proves that one person is inherently smarter than another.

There are all sorts of PHD students out there: Poor Hapless Devil; Pretty Heavy Drinker; Pretentious Headstrong Dolt; Probably Highly Delusional; Personal Hygiene Deficient; etc. and, at least where I used to work, lots of kids who were not only far from the cream of the crop, but lacking in basic life skills. A lot of them got in because they either came from very wealthy families or were very good at regurgitating data on exams, but when it came to _real_ measures of intelligence (beyond memorizing facts and following instructions) such as spatial reasoning, abstraction, visualization, creativity, adapting to interpersonal cues, etc. our "best and brightest" made me fear for the future of society. Most of them could tell you the history of the paper bag in a heartbeat, but would turn blue if they ever tried to think their way out of one.

That said, I think there IS a link between Lego and spatial reasoning. I taught a courses in robotics, data visualization and virtual reality and I could walk though the prototyping labs and know at a glance which kids had played with Lego growing up (and I know my guesses were pretty good as I often asked individuals (both good and bad performers) about "construction toy experience" and found many aspiring engineers who'd brought bricks to campus) In those particular classes, I don't think any of former or active FOLs managed to earn less than an A-. They weren't the only ones to get good marks, but they were the ones who never got BAD ones.

Correlations? Causations? Observer bias? Too many confounding variables to quantify? Who knows. It's a great toy and smart people can usually recognize quality - I guess that's something...

[Bricktrain]

I only have a high school education, though I do have trade qualifications also. (Technician) We were discussing education relevance at work a while ago, my best subjects were technical subjects and I failed Geography in the final exam, yet I am now employed as a truck driver. Though I do drive for a crane company so most of our work is transporting and assembling cranes. Cranes have always been a favorite of mine, its not surprising I always have technic cranes as projects.

[Legogal]

Cranes are fascinating! I love watching them work real time. In May from our Berlin hotel room near Potsdammer Plaza and the LEGO Discovery Center, we counted 37 cranes looking in just one direction! I often pull over to the side of the road and watch cranes operating if there is something going on.

We use cranes to take out large trees in crowded spaces here in NC. Have hired them several times to remove huge trees from our steep hill because the trees were leaning towards neighbors houses. We usually sit across the street on a neighbor's lawn and take photos when the cranes are here.

I can understand why you enjoy working with real ones and building LEGO ones. A person has to have mastered many types of information to make a crane work properly. It definitely is an art as well as a skill. Congrats on getting these skills!

Back to the education question, it is entertaining talking with AFOLS because they come from mnay different backgrounds, some with more and some with less formal education. And no one cares because we are interested in what folks are doing with LEGO, not whether or not someone is an astrophysicist or whatever. (And I know too many ignorant PhD's from having spent over half of my long life in formal education!) So enjoy your LEGO with other AFOLs because the name of the game is to have FUN with our toys!

Edited July 9, 2013 by Legogal

[dvsntt]

I am certainly smart, but not educated. I graduated valedictorian from my high school, but despite everyone best efforts, immediately after graduation I only wanted to feed my drug addiction so far as to end up homeless. While all my old friends went off to college and create careers and lives for themselves, I just wanted to get high and now had the time to do it all day, every day. I'm over it now, and presently I'm the only employee in my company without a degree.

[Legogal]

Congrats, dvsntt!

Looks like you have jumped the hurtle to living a long life!

We all fight our demons, and you seem to be doing well with yours.

And it says a lot that you are working around folks with more "formal" education and fit in fine.

And you have a great hobby with your LEGO.

Good luck living a balanced life as that is what gets you through it in the long haul.

[dvsntt]

Thanks.

Edited July 9, 2013 by dvsntt