Intelligence and our perception of it is something which has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. We live in a world which reveres academic ability, but in reality, exactly how valuable is it? Is it more likely to translate to success or happiness than some other attribute or quality – say, determination, creativity or resilience? “Oh, she’s so smart, she’s going to be a doctor.” According to some people, having a PhD. is the high watermark for intelligence. Until of course, the doctor’s BMW breaks down in the middle of nowhere – then you might want someone with less intelligence and more common sense around to help the genius get home. Maybe the intelligent person ain’t so smart after all? Is smart the same as intelligent? And what about common sense – where does that fit in? Is it a type of intelligence? If so, how do we assess it? Do we need to assess it?
Does it come in different shapes and sizes?
Come to think of it, who would you rather be marooned on an uninhabited island with: the academic with the 180 I.Q. or the bloke that grew up on the farm who’s got big arms and is really good at killing stuff and building stuff? Personally, I’ll pick Jim-Bob thanks. Who’s the clever one now? Maybe the criteria for assessing intelligence might change when you’re on a remote island. Maybe someone who is intelligent in suburbia might be stupid in the wilderness. Or perhaps, just less valuable. Less skilled perhaps. Or perhaps intelligent in a different way. Is intelligence something which is relevant or specific to a situation, circumstance, task or even location?
Social intelligence
And what about socially? No offense to my high I.Q. friends, but my cousin the molecular biologist might not be the girl you want to rely on to set your big party alight. Not sure that an impromptu lecture on DNA testing is really what your guests are after. She’s great with a microscope, not so good with people. She doesn’t really listen, can’t create rapport, has no sense of humour, talks too loud, brings every conversation back to herself and constantly offends people. Other than that she’s awesome. Maybe she ain’t smart after all? But she scores so high on those tests… so she must be.
Creative intelligence
What about creativity, is that a form of intelligence? What about the girl who can’t spell cat but can sing in perfect pitch and has a range of five octaves? Is she a dumbo who can sing, or is she creatively intelligent? Or something else? And the guy who can paint like a master but crashed out of school in grade nine, what about him? How do we rate him? In fact, why do we rate him? Maybe it’s all the ranking, rating and classifying (labelling) that’s the problem?
I.Q. testing
Since the early 1900′s conventional wisdom (there’s another term worth discussing) and (most) academic thinking has told us that we should measure intelligence via a few standardised and commonly accepted I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) tests. Subjects complete a written test, receive a score and then discover how intelligent they are. Or aren’t. Simple. Participants (often kids) are rated from below average (learning impaired) to genius. Then, they are usually treated accordingly.
Now… is it just me, or does anyone else see a problem with this?
I personally know quite a few intelligent people who (in certain situations and circumstances) can be kinda stupid. I’m know ’cause I’m one of them! I’m no genius (clearly) but I score reasonably well on I.Q. tests. However, put me in a situation where I need to do anything remotely mechanical and instantly I have the I.Q. of a wombat (see photo). A s
tupid wombat. If anything needs to be fixed, don’t ring me. I’m about as mechanical as an apple. And if you wanna know what’s going on with the storyline in a movie, don’t ask me – I never know. “Who’s that guy with the gun again… and why does he wanna shoot her?
The Matrix nearly killed me.
No, they’re not mutually exclusive
Now, before you highly intelligent folk get all offended and write to me, don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. I’m not saying that having a high I.Q. automatically equates to zero common sense, negligible people skills, no sense of humour or limited creative ability. Of course not. But isn’t it interesting to consider some of those absolutely brilliant, gifted, amazing and clever people that you and I both know who, when ‘rated’ by an I.Q. test, would possibly be told that they’re below average intelligence.
Functional intelligence
Maybe we should forget about rating academic intelligence and focus more on identifying and developing functional intelligence for life. The type of intelligence that allows us to deal most effectively, realistically and practically with life and it’s numerous challenges. Intelligence which lets us negotiate our way through the various situations, circumstances, relationships, lumps and bumps that is our existence here on the big blue ball.
Now that would be smart.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I come from an education system, which values intelligence based on school grades rather than functional intelligence. While I managed to do well in my examinations, I was ill prepared for the realities of life when I came out to work. That was when my “real” education began.
I am not sure if it would ever be possible to grade functional intelligence. I would like to see the education ministry in my country attempt to do that.
This makes sense to me Craig. I work in an environment where the difference between average employees and great employees has nothing to do with academic intelligence. It’s far more subtle. It is all about how people use their knowledge, with whom and when to deal with the situations their jobs throw at them. Functional not academic. Most people don’t do a great job of this so the really good people stand out a mile away.
Simon
The other day i saw a blind woman trying to cross the other side of the street, hitting her cane into cars so i thought i better help the woman. I walked over to her and i asked her if she needed help. She said she had lost her bearings a little and was trying to locate the supermarket. Pointing in the direction of the supermarket i said ‘oh it’s just over there’.
What ‘intelligence category’ would i fall under?
ange
I vote for that! In fact I think I can speak for a lot of my ‘arty farty’ friends when supporting that idea.
I just have to think back to highschool (a whole 2 years ago) and how many people thought their lives were over because they didn’t get the IQ score they wanted. I still remember the pressure to do well.
Lucky I’m ‘arty farty’
Very thought provoking post Craig
Have a great day
GGG
Goodmorning to You C.H.
All good reasons why we need eachother on the big blue ball.
I am greatful that we have a licorice assortment of people with different intelligence, because I know, that if I dont know something and I want to know, that I will find someone who knows.
So I guess I am socially intelligent.
Thank you for making me realise that, I am happy with that.
Have a beautiful day!
Dictionary definition of intelligence:
capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.
the faculty of understanding.
So ‘intelligence’ can relate to any part of your life. You have academic intelligence, social intelligence, emotional intelligence etc etc. As you say, a super good mechanic wouldn’t typically be referred to as intelligent, but he is intelligent in his own field.
And academic IQ tests can’t test what kind of academia you are intelligent at. I am good with numbers, but talk to me about physics and I have no idea!
Hey Craig,
Great article, mate.
Your post reminds me of a book I once read called “7 Different Kinds of Smart” (or something like that). The premise of the book is similar to your article – i.e. that there are different “types” of intelligence (Numeric, Spacial, Linguistic, Creative, Emotional, People, and Kinesthetic) … but just to show that rules are made to be broken, the author goes on to say that there are also other kinds of smart (e.g. Spiritual).
So, I think we all need to start looking at things differently and rejecting the idea of “Intelligence” altogether. Instead, let’s talk about “Talent” and “Expertise” – and promote the idea that everyone has a mixture of all of the above in varying quantities.
The trick I think is to learn what you have and what you need help with – then to be smart enough to ask for the right help from the right person when you need it.
In other words, everyone has their inherent value – it’s only our “subjective perspective” that determines whether we can see it or not.
Cheers!
Matt
Sir, there are different sorts of intelligence, indeed there was a whole book written on the topic, a few years back.
My brother in law is an absolute brain box. Unfortunately he is so ‘intelligent’ he can’t relate to other people, finds them too boring and this includes his wife and children. Very successful in his business life, but not so in his personal.
Hi Evelyn – thanks for dropping by ( )
Hey Simon – thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences..
Too funny Ange – you’re plenty smart..
Thanks Triple G – ( )
Hey Anon 2 – yep, I’m hearin’ ya.
Hi Matt – stop making so much sense – cheers
Hi prolific programmer – love it when people call me sir – I feel so grown-up.
Yep, you’re right but the reality is that this kind of thinking and information isn’t embraced, taught or even understood by the broader academic community – only enlightened pockets..
Thanks for sharing
Hi Anon 3 – you should email him this article!
Cheers..
Okay, so I love this and I’ve just shown it to my daughter.
A few years ago, before she left school, because a teacher told her she had a learning disability, she was a child who was on the road to nowhere and hanging out with the loser brigade and doing dumb stuff.
Now, she is an 18 year old with a daughter and a fiance and who is studying year 12 (after leaving in year 9) so that she can become a psychiatric nurse. She manages to do all this while just being releasesd from the hospital after two long weeks AND caring for her baby and doing her rehab to learn to walk properly again.
Sometimes makes me wonder who gives these people the authority to tell any of us that some are smarter than others and that some of us will never get anywhere.
I’m dumb as when it comes to maths or science or anything technical and I can’t change a tyre. But I’m one of those girlies that you mentioned who can sing any song you put in front of her, I can play the piano after reading the sheet music once and I can write anything I put my mind to.
So if you ever get marooned on an island or stuck in the bush and you want some one to sing to you. Give me a call!
Thankyou for making mine and my Rhiannon’s day. That was one very awesome post!
LJ
You’re welcome LJ. ( )
Gidday mate, Good post. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so can we also say intellegence is in the eye of the beholder. I fully agree with Matt. Intellegence to me is the ability of someone to apply themselves in their area of expertise or talent. Have a good day, Cheers,Vin.
Hey Craig,
I cracked up when I read that your cousin ‘offends people’… is this a Harper family thing
Man your family reunions must be an absolute blast!
Intellegence vs Keeness. I’m prepared to overlook almost anything someone does if that someone is keen enough to learn, particularly from their own mistakes… (and they get major bonus points if they don’t openly laugh at my mistakes).
Cheers,
Gb
Great article Craig! If only more people appreciated their own unique abilities and ‘functional intelligence’.You cannot rate ability using just academic models or IQ alone.
My husband is not an academic. He left school in yr 9 but he is highly functionally intelligent.He can function anywhere – he would be the one you want on the island with you knows electrical,plumbing, building-he can drive truck, tractor, motorbike,he is mechanically minded and can cook,clean and manage housework even.
I really like the last paragraph you wrote.Imagine if more school students were encouraged in this way.Very thought provoking.
wery nice article , im great at painting , numbers, physics, athletics , music,everything just about everything except grammar , made me quit school early age today i run my own company with 5 employes and expanding in the healthcare field, school as an institute needs to be hardcorish reformed , personally i think the system needs to adjust itself to the users and not vice versa , school should test your field of skills and nurture only those that u naturally have a better learning ability for it, and the grades should be perminantly removed the whole social problem is there people thinking they are less with lesser grades and people thinking they are more with better grades , only the fact remains is this only the students disabilitys to adjust to certain teachings? or does the system offer enuff stimulation to the students falling behind? me personally got so freakin bored at school it felt i was becomming dumber following a teachers speed and the slower kids could have shined much more in other fields that dont excist in school , like the emotional social etc i wouldent hate school so much if every student got 1 teacher each who could teach them everything they needed to know develop personal relationship (dont get me wrong here) to a level you have actual feelings for eachother the teaching and learning would be ez as butter, no kid is gonna listen to a smart yet arrogant teacher, all the teachers i hold dear in my memorys whom i learn the most from i always had positive feelings towards they werent neccerarly the smartest ones, all im saying is school could need a extreme makeover.