Why are you intelligent?

you'll have to be more specific. what is the definition of "intellegence" here? there's common sense, street wise, book smart, etc.

I don't know why. I just am, except when I'm not.

With a few exceptions I think everyone is born intelligent and many are trained out of it.

I'm not so intelligent, everyone else is just stupid!

I was definitely born with something, but I think growing up in a stimulating environment and having my curiosity encouraged rather than squelched helped, too. It's improtant to distinguish between intelligent and knowledgeable.

without a definition of intelligence, you'll get useless answers.
There is no "nature vs nurture"; both are vital.

High brain capacity that was gifted to most humans by the wonder that is evolution.

I believe it's a combination of genes and environment.

I thought intelligence was genetic

Since I could only pick one, you got the smart-ass comment. I don't consider myself to be intelligent, until I start comparing myself to the (perceived) intelligence of others..
I have this mistaken notion that people have equal brainpower, it is merely a matter of whether they have learned to use it.
a more accurate description would probably be that each person's brain is wired differently and each person has capacities that are more prevalent. due to this, some people are thought to be intelligent, and some not. the wiring is partly genetic and partly due to the way you have taught yourself to think.
*Jody: hmmm... so trying to convince a 15 month old to say marsupial, formaldehyde or antidisestablishmentarianism is a good thing and not just an attempt to mess with its (her) head? we keep hoping that one of these will be its(her) first word...

Part of it is genetic. Part of it is my parents doing. They say that the intelligence and ability to learn can directly be increased by using a wide vocabulary around children (the younger you start, the better), reading to them and encouraging them to read, and caring about their success and effort at school. My parents did all of these. Tirelessly. Thanks, folks.
*reality - you can attempt to convince them to say anything, but really all they need to do is hear it around them. Of course, if you *could* get them to say it, either they'd be really intelligent or a good parrot - you'd have to figure out if they understood it too!

I think people are born intelligent. They can work to become *educated* or not, or can damage their natural intelligence with injury or certain drugs, but I don't really think you can "enhance intelligence". You can educate yourself, though, so you use your intelligence "better" than someone else with a lot of intelligence who does nothing with it.

They've done studies with nuns and nuns who keep teaching and interacting at age 80 are still sharp and bright. Nuns who go into nursing homes and sit and watch TV become forgetful.

I'm lazy intelligent. I often think that people who have to work at it are better than me.

I thought that humans were one of the "intelligent" species, like most
mammals....

I had no intelligence when I was born, but I apparently had drive. That made me learn a lot, hence intelligence. Either way, I'd rather be lucky.

Certainly haven't "worked" for it, so I guess "born" of the choices at hand. But for all I know it's an artifact of being served espresso as a small child...

i think it is a combination of being born with a certain potential and then feeding that potential for most people.

Born intelligent, lazy in school.

One drawback of being smart is you can get away with being lazy, which in the long run has done worse for me than not being smart would have been. So maybe I worked to become stupid.