Just What is Intelligence?
What is intelligence? Is it experiences that we go through in life that we can apply to everyday problems? If so, why are there children who can score so high on an IQ test, while much older people score much lower? Surely these young children have not had enough of life's experiences to validate that theory.
So let's ask this, would that same child, who scored so high on the IQ test, score high on a test that was about experiences in life? Would he know the answer to the heartbreak of lovers' separation? Would he know the answer to what it feels like to feel the joy in a couple's life with the birth of their child? Would he be able to answer the question of how can one cope with the stresses of everyday living? Of how to make ends meet for a person living paycheck to paycheck? If the IQ test was based on these questions, who, then, would score higher? So is the IQ test fair to evaluate one's intelligence? So what is intelligence? When people think of a solution to a problem, some people have a somewhat tunnel vision to the solution.
They see the problem and will keep trying to solve it the same way, maybe with a few tweeks here and there, until they give up.
Others will see the problem and then have a web of solutions and try different ones until the problem is solved.
Is this intelligence? In a manner yes, but so it is for the person who had a tunnel vision of only one solution.
It's still intelligence, but the problem was not solved.
But can he be more intelligent than the person who solved that particular problem? The reasoning behind this is that you have to see these two different people with a web of thinking.
Can the person with the tunnel vision to that particular problem have insight to other, more complex problems than the person who used diiferent solutions to find the answer to that one problem? Thus what exactly intelligence is is much more complex than the solving of a single problem and the taking of an IQ test.
When I was in High School, my math grades were almost non-existent, a "C" here, a "D" there, and finally an "F".
In college I knew I had to change my attitude about math and try harder.
So I took College math and had a 4.
0 GPA from that beginning math to Calculus II.
Some would say wow, that is smart.
But is it? Was just by changing my attitude towards math enough to change my IQ? I think it helped, but would I be so "smart" in something like programming, at that time? Probably not.
But if I changed my attitude to include programming, would I then be? I don't know.
My point here is that can we increase our so called "intelligence" by changing our attitude to a positive one when need to learn something that seems more complex than we think it is? Think about this, when you first started a math class, and everyone was complaining they hate math, it kind of changes your attitude towards math even before you sat at your desk and opened your math book.
With the attitude that math is so hated, will those students who did the complaining be the "A" students of the class? Now, let's change this around.
What if everyone went into the math class with such a great attitude, with everyone saying that they cannot wait to start math? What do you think the outcome would be? I think the majority of students would be outstanding in math.
Let's parallel this with something children love; play-time at recess.
All the children run out to play, and are happy.
All love to play games, but some excel more than others.
But all are happy because that is a child's attitude toward playtime.
So can attitude towards something change the outcome to a more positive end? maybe.
Let's see another example of different types of intelligence.
Say you are in a room full of friends.
You know that you have just scored a great 160 on the IQ test earlier that morning and are feeling good about yourself.
Well one friend comes to you and says, "Hey, did you hear that John just talked his way out of a carjacking earlier?".
You start thinking, 'Man, would I have been able to talk my way out of that situation?' Then you start remembering that John grew up in the tough streets of town and he has a street savvy that only comes with that type of background.
Now can it be fair to say that you are smarter than John? Well, maybe in certain aspects.
But can John say he has more "street smarts" than you? Probably.
So here we have two different situations in where one person can be smarter in one thing and the other person smarter in another.
But who has more intelligence? This is where the answer becomes more complex.
Between you, who scored the 160, and John, who let's say scored a 110 for the sake of argument, the answer would be you of course, based on the IQ test.
But is it fair to say that you have more intelligence overall? Probably not.
What about children with Down's Syndrome? Some may speak out right and say, "No, I am smarter than they are.
" That may be a true statement for some types of problems and problem solving, but definitely not all.
Some children, and adults, with Down's Syndrome can play any song once they hear it.
They can solve mathematical problems that we would need a calculator to solve for us.
Their beautiful smiles and wonderful demeanor are signs of peace and tranquility that most of us only dream to have.
This not only holds true for people with Down's Syndrome, but savants with other mental disorders.
So can we say we are smarter than they are? Maybe.
Can they say they are smarter than us? Probably.
My point is that intelligence is far more complex than the mere application of a standardized test.
It should involve attitudes and experiences and a myriad of other factors that can involve the whole brain's thinking processes than the solution to certain puzzles, in which most we never even come across and have no application in our daily lives.
This was written just to spark arguments on the question, "Just what is intelligence?" Every person is entitled to an opinion of what justifies being smart, or intelligent.
One person may say they are smarter in one thing and another person may say they are smarter at others.
But is it really fair to say that one person is smarter than another? That question probably will remain an argumentative one forever...
So let's ask this, would that same child, who scored so high on the IQ test, score high on a test that was about experiences in life? Would he know the answer to the heartbreak of lovers' separation? Would he know the answer to what it feels like to feel the joy in a couple's life with the birth of their child? Would he be able to answer the question of how can one cope with the stresses of everyday living? Of how to make ends meet for a person living paycheck to paycheck? If the IQ test was based on these questions, who, then, would score higher? So is the IQ test fair to evaluate one's intelligence? So what is intelligence? When people think of a solution to a problem, some people have a somewhat tunnel vision to the solution.
They see the problem and will keep trying to solve it the same way, maybe with a few tweeks here and there, until they give up.
Others will see the problem and then have a web of solutions and try different ones until the problem is solved.
Is this intelligence? In a manner yes, but so it is for the person who had a tunnel vision of only one solution.
It's still intelligence, but the problem was not solved.
But can he be more intelligent than the person who solved that particular problem? The reasoning behind this is that you have to see these two different people with a web of thinking.
Can the person with the tunnel vision to that particular problem have insight to other, more complex problems than the person who used diiferent solutions to find the answer to that one problem? Thus what exactly intelligence is is much more complex than the solving of a single problem and the taking of an IQ test.
When I was in High School, my math grades were almost non-existent, a "C" here, a "D" there, and finally an "F".
In college I knew I had to change my attitude about math and try harder.
So I took College math and had a 4.
0 GPA from that beginning math to Calculus II.
Some would say wow, that is smart.
But is it? Was just by changing my attitude towards math enough to change my IQ? I think it helped, but would I be so "smart" in something like programming, at that time? Probably not.
But if I changed my attitude to include programming, would I then be? I don't know.
My point here is that can we increase our so called "intelligence" by changing our attitude to a positive one when need to learn something that seems more complex than we think it is? Think about this, when you first started a math class, and everyone was complaining they hate math, it kind of changes your attitude towards math even before you sat at your desk and opened your math book.
With the attitude that math is so hated, will those students who did the complaining be the "A" students of the class? Now, let's change this around.
What if everyone went into the math class with such a great attitude, with everyone saying that they cannot wait to start math? What do you think the outcome would be? I think the majority of students would be outstanding in math.
Let's parallel this with something children love; play-time at recess.
All the children run out to play, and are happy.
All love to play games, but some excel more than others.
But all are happy because that is a child's attitude toward playtime.
So can attitude towards something change the outcome to a more positive end? maybe.
Let's see another example of different types of intelligence.
Say you are in a room full of friends.
You know that you have just scored a great 160 on the IQ test earlier that morning and are feeling good about yourself.
Well one friend comes to you and says, "Hey, did you hear that John just talked his way out of a carjacking earlier?".
You start thinking, 'Man, would I have been able to talk my way out of that situation?' Then you start remembering that John grew up in the tough streets of town and he has a street savvy that only comes with that type of background.
Now can it be fair to say that you are smarter than John? Well, maybe in certain aspects.
But can John say he has more "street smarts" than you? Probably.
So here we have two different situations in where one person can be smarter in one thing and the other person smarter in another.
But who has more intelligence? This is where the answer becomes more complex.
Between you, who scored the 160, and John, who let's say scored a 110 for the sake of argument, the answer would be you of course, based on the IQ test.
But is it fair to say that you have more intelligence overall? Probably not.
What about children with Down's Syndrome? Some may speak out right and say, "No, I am smarter than they are.
" That may be a true statement for some types of problems and problem solving, but definitely not all.
Some children, and adults, with Down's Syndrome can play any song once they hear it.
They can solve mathematical problems that we would need a calculator to solve for us.
Their beautiful smiles and wonderful demeanor are signs of peace and tranquility that most of us only dream to have.
This not only holds true for people with Down's Syndrome, but savants with other mental disorders.
So can we say we are smarter than they are? Maybe.
Can they say they are smarter than us? Probably.
My point is that intelligence is far more complex than the mere application of a standardized test.
It should involve attitudes and experiences and a myriad of other factors that can involve the whole brain's thinking processes than the solution to certain puzzles, in which most we never even come across and have no application in our daily lives.
This was written just to spark arguments on the question, "Just what is intelligence?" Every person is entitled to an opinion of what justifies being smart, or intelligent.
One person may say they are smarter in one thing and another person may say they are smarter at others.
But is it really fair to say that one person is smarter than another? That question probably will remain an argumentative one forever...
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