The Night Watcher Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 I believe he is, although he's one of that characters that I couldn't explain why of it asked. Its a very different sort of smart than Jasnah's wit. More of an increased cognizance, a perception, if you will. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllNsickly Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) Ignoring everything else we have seen and heard from Kaladin and focusing solely on his knowledge of Medicine and Surgery... Kaladin is absolutely intelligent. He also has the more subtle, but equally impressive, ability to address people and situations in relatively short order and and USUALLY have the right plan to organize them. Yes, without question, Kaladin is brilliant. Edited February 22, 2020 by IllNsickly 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteLeeopard Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 Most, if not all, of Sanderson's main characters are intelligent in one way or another. Some are capable of learning very quickly, others are worldy, others are inventive, others are natural at a great deal of things, others have a high emotional intelligence. In Kaladin's case I think the most important feature of his intelligence is his inventiveness. Making ingenius solutions with limited resources (seen constantly, but specially with the bridges, the learning of stormlight, the way he uses stormlight, etc). He is also naturally good at tactics, strategy and other things, not as good as someone who has been studying it for years, but good enough to keep up and make some quick plans if needed. He can also learn quickly and there have been no topics on which he struggled to keep up. Lastly, I'm not sure whether it should be called emotional intelligence in his case or charisma, but he can bring people to him and keep them together, which also requires some brains to handle. I think Kaladin is one of the most intelligent people in SA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorless Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) He seems a bit simplistic at times from a modern perspective but that's because of the trauma he's had to face and a somewhat lacking education in spheres other than his intended specialization, due to modern Vorin traditions against men reading and him lacking the same resources being a Darkeyes. So he isn't going to be as sharp as some other characters like Shallan or Adolin. He's very smart and introspective actually, and his applicable skills & intelligence, from medicine to tactics were stated to be exceptional by in-book characters. Edited February 22, 2020 by Dreamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikey357 Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 One low-key indication of Kaladin's intelligence? He talks like a girl. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfphelps Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) He learned complex medical subjects very quickly, knows gliphs which is rare for dark eyed men based on the reactions of bridge 4 and understands battlefield tactics (when he isn't so depressed he forgets the big picture). Fairly quick of wit when he verbally spars with Shallan he does decently well. Edited April 2, 2020 by cfphelps Spelling error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsecaller_17.5 Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 16 hours ago, The Night Watcher said: I believe he is, although he's one of that characters that I couldn't explain why of it asked. Its a very different sort of smart than Jasnah's wit. More of an increased cognizance, a perception, if you will. I'm curious, what sparked this question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorzikel Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 11 hours ago, Bigmikey357 said: One low-key indication of Kaladin's intelligence? He talks like a girl. How so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsecaller_17.5 Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 32 minutes ago, Superbus said: How so? It's just a comment Adolin makes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorzikel Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 31 minutes ago, Elsecaller_17.5 said: It's just a comment Adolin makes. Oh I thought he was talking about real life. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Night Watcher Posted February 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 On 2/22/2020 at 1:36 PM, Elsecaller_17.5 said: I'm curious, what sparked this question? Honestly? I'm an odd reader. I seemingly miss a lot of obvious information and pick up on a lot of subtle things that no else does. It's kind of backwards. As far as characterization, I feel that Brandon really outdid himself in complexity and realness in the SA series, and every reread I pick up new facets to each face. Kaladin was always a confusing one to me in that that did not happen; as in, my first interpretation was consistent throughout my rereads, which made me think I'm missing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karger Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 (edited) Considering he was on track to study medicine at Karbranth, his successful career leading soldiers in both Amaram and Dalinar's armies, his innovations in the use of bridges, and his high level understanding of ethics and leadership I am going to say that he is extremely intelligent. Edited February 24, 2020 by Karger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isilel Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 Kaladin is intelligent, but not curious. He is only interested in things with immediate practical applications and rather dismissive of learning for it's own sake, or art for that matter. This may be the result of his circumstances, or a natural inclination, hard to say. BTW, even many highborn light-eyes men can't read glyphs - neither Adolin nor Renarin could, to begin with, and Adolin still can't as of OB, while Renarin taught himself in order to understand the glyphs appearing in his visions. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ILuvHats Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 2/22/2020 at 5:39 AM, Dreamer said: So he isn't going to be as sharp as some other characters like Shallan or Adolin. Mmmmmmmm. I'd actually say the reverse is true in Adolin's case. Especially using the word "sharp" specifically, which implies an ability to quickly learn and assess as opposed to a scholar's ability to analyze and study. Adolin's more educated, sure, but if Kaladin's verbal sparring with Shallan is any indicator, I'd say Kaladin is the more clever of the two. Adolin's not dumb of course, but I don't think he has the same natural ability to be witty, which ties back to intelligence quite a bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorless Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, ILuvHats said: Mmmmmmmm. I'd actually say the reverse is true in Adolin's case. Especially using the word "sharp" specifically, which implies an ability to quickly learn and assess as opposed to a scholar's ability to analyze and study. Adolin's more educated, sure, but if Kaladin's verbal sparring with Shallan is any indicator, I'd say Kaladin is the more clever of the two. Adolin's not dumb of course, but I don't think he has the same natural ability to be witty, which ties back to intelligence quite a bit. Hmm, I would say that ties in more with Adolin's nature than intelligence, hopefully future interactions will show us a bit more of Adolin's mind now that he's broken out of a few shells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ILuvHats Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, Dreamer said: Hmm, I would say that ties in more with Adolin's nature than intelligence, hopefully future interactions will show us a bit more of Adolin's mind now that he's broken out of a few shells Maybe. Its hard to say how much of his behavior is due to personality versus intelligence. In my experience, a lot of what we think of as intelligence is based purely on how people perceive us, so in practicality there's little difference between somebody with the ability to be quick-witted but refrains from doing so due to a calm nature, and somebody who can't follow a conversation quick enough to be witty. And btw, I realize there are definitely many types of intelligence, but in this case, when I say intelligence I mean sharp, quick-witted, or clever, particularly as a conversationalist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuatoma Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 So to be clear, education does not necessarily make one intelligent. Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. In the books, most of the nobility can be educated, but may not be smart or have the drive enough to apply what they've learned. Kaladin was educated on surgeon skills from his father. He applied his knowledge on the battlefield. He innovated ways to heal with limited resources. Kaladin trained how to use a spear. He made use of this skill by becoming an exceptional fighter. Once he found out about his surgebinding abilities, he had the ability to incorporate those into his fighting. Just because Kaladin may not have received an education in history, science, biology or be able to solve Fabrisan's Conundrum does not mean he is not intelligent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Q10fanatic Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 As other's have already mentioned, Kaladin has shown a real aptitude for medical practice and applies his knowledge in real-life situations. He has also shown the ability to take what he has been trained in (spear, bridge, medicine) and innovate new solutions. That shows an impressive amount of creativity and quick-thinking. One other thing to consider, Kaladin is maybe the only person who is Shallan's equal at banter/wittiness. As someone who is NOT witty, this is almost as magical as surgebinding to me. Shallan's wit is one of her defining character traits and something that people have remarked over for her entire life. It is considered a mark of intelligence. In the same way, we can take Kaladin's ability to match Shallan in banter as a mark of his own intelligence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiePie Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 So Kaladin is: Resourceful (Bridge 4) Quick-witted (verbal sparring with Shallan) A quick learner (he picks up medicine, soldiering, and just about anything he does rather quickly and with ease) good of applying what he knows (Once again Bridge 4) and has a near-perfect memory (remember those times when he unconsciously thinks of a disease and everything about it). Did I miss anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karger Posted February 28, 2020 Report Share Posted February 28, 2020 3 hours ago, DiePie said: and has a near-perfect memory (remember those times when he unconsciously thinks of a disease and everything about it). That was drilled into him from a very young age. Any medical student pre digital age was expected to be able to do the same not that this is unimpressive. 3 hours ago, DiePie said: Did I miss anything? His understanding of ethical behavior is very highly developed as is his emotional self awareness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aon Tia Posted February 28, 2020 Report Share Posted February 28, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Karger said: That was drilled into him from a very young age. Any medical student pre digital age was expected to be able to do the same not that this is unimpressive. I think I remember Lirin commenting on how Kaladin has a very good mind and he learned everything very quickly and does not forget what he has learnt. So although you are not wrong but still I think Comparing to any average pre digital medical students, I think kaladin would have been amongst the toppers of his class. Showing much more than average intelligence Edited February 28, 2020 by The Traveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karger Posted February 28, 2020 Report Share Posted February 28, 2020 Just now, The Traveller said: Although I think I remember Lirin commenting on how Kaladin has a very good mind and he learned everything very quickly and does not forget what he has learnt. So very gifted student. However his memory is not eidetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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