Spelling equals intelligence?

[Travler]

II waz recentlly advized thaat Ii havee pour speling annd aas suchh I musst therrefore be stupidd. Obviouslyy thee authorr thoughtt thatt spellingg equaledd intelligents witch hass bothh argumints forr andd againssst.

Firsst lettuce deefine tha termss wee arre speakking of.

spell
v. spelled, or spelt (splt) spell·ing, spells
v. tr.
1. To name or write in order the letters constituting (a word or part of a word).
2. To constitute the letters of (a word): These letters spell animal.

Main Entry: in·tel·li·gence
Pronunciation: in-'tel-&-j&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 a : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations b : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests)
2 : mental acuteness

mem·o·rize
tr.v. mem·o·rized, mem·o·riz·ing, mem·o·riz·es
1. To commit to memory; learn by heart.

By definition intelligence seems to be the ability to learn, understand, adapt, apply knowledge, abstract thinking, and mental acuteness.

Spelling seems to more a function of memory than intelligence. Of course you could argue that the application of memorized knowledge indicates intelligence but then any computer would be deemed as intelligent with that argument or for that matter a tree with carved initials would also be capable of memorizing the carved letter and is therefore intelligent.

The beggining of this thread was purposely mispelled just to show how inane and contentious people can be when it comes to english and grammar.

My argument is that spelling does not constitute a sign of intelligence but only the ability to memorize words and edit or use a suitable program to edit your work.

Intelligence still involves the ability to comprehend, evaluate, and respond. It would not be difficult to argue that anyone that believes incorrect spelling equals stupidity is in fact lacking the ability to reasonably evaluate the flaw within their own beliefs.