Intelligence comes in many forms. Some people score well on examinations. Some people can write an academic paper that would blow you away. Still others know how to organize people in a fashion that is efficient and effective. And yet other people can’t do any of these, but they could tell you when the butterfly valve on your carburetor is sticking just by listening to your engine run. Isn’t that a form of intelligence? I believe the most intelligent of humans are constantly trying to expand their knowledge in all the domains of intelligence, whether it be academic or practical.

I see intelligence as properly defined by its common-use in our language. Generally, when someone is intelligent or has intelligence, it is because they have some mental capacity to do something. E.g., someone who can solve math problems quickly, someone who learns fast, or something well versed in logic. I see its common use as closely tied to critical thinking skills. This is opposed to what “wisdom” or a “wise” person is which would be something more like having life experiences to know what to do in a situation.

In common use intelligence is also commonly used to denote a quantity of things known. E.g., someone who knows English, German, and French is thought of as intelligent because of the quantity of languages they know; conversely, someone who can speak in only back-woods English might be considered unintelligent. (Lack of a quantity of knowledge might be a sufficient condition for being unintelligent under the common-usage of the term in English.)

Of course there could be other common uses for intelligence and possible counter-examples to my general examples, but I believe what is given above works generally with the English usage of the term(s).

Jeff’s comment that quantity of knowledge has something to do with intelligence seems right on. I wonder if diversity of knowledge is important also. Suppose two people have the same amount of knowledge, but one has knowledge in a wider range of areas than the other. Are they equal with respect to intelligence?

I think that being smart is intelligence. Like how smart you are is also how intelligent you are. If you do well on tests and know a lot of things then you are intelligence. An example would be a doctor or nurse, they will be very intelligent about how the body and stuff works. A lawyer might be intelligent about the way politics go and what is illegal. Some people can know a lot of things about a lot of different things (math, business, etc.) and those are the most intelligent people of all.

My answer to the question, What is Intelligence?, has definitely changed across my lifetime. When I was younger, I always believed that intelligence was simply how smart you are. I believed you could know someone’s intelligence just by looking at their grades in school or their test scores in different courses. But as I’ve gotten older, gotten to know different types of people, and learned more through various courses, my opinion now is that intelligence cannot be looked at as simply “being smart” or knowing how to study for a test. Intelligence is used to successfully navigate through various aspects of our lives. We use a certain type of intelligence to meet new friends and expand our social network. We use another type of intelligence to memorize words, theories, and formulas. And we use yet another type of intelligence to create papers and to know how words string together. I believe there are even more types than these, and certain types of intelligence are very important for succeeding in life. I believe this is why some people are very good at math, but poor at writing. And others are amazing musicians, but have very few friends and poor social skills.

Certainly, the definition of intelligence is subject to debate. One reason it is subject to debate is because it should be defined in the context of the environment of the organism, which can take many forms. Considering this, I would broadly define intelligence as a pattern of behavior that meets the demands of the environment at a given time, as well as an ability to learn to change one’s behavior in accordance with the changing demands of the environment over time. For example, if a student is taking a course in school that uses multiple choice question exams, and the student has learned to use flash cards with multiple choices, then the student is behaving in a way that meets the demands of his or her environment. However, if halfway through the semester, the format of exams changed to essay questions, and the student changed his or her study methods accordingly, then the student has learned to change their behavior in order to meet a change in environmental demands. Both scenarios would be indicative of a certain degree of intelligence. Of course, this is a very broad definition, and whether an organism exemplifies “intelligence” in a given situation is likely influenced by an untold number of variables. Therefore, the question of how to define overall intelligence when an organism behaves in a “highly intelligent” manner in one context, while behaving in a way that’s indicative of “low intelligence” in another context is another difficult subject to address.

If intelligence has to do with being able to solve problems, we’re all less intelligent without google.

Does this mean google is a form of artificial intelligence?

Intelligence is the ability to get other people to do what you want them to do.

Thanks for the dedication to Dad

Off the top of my head, I would say that intelligence is the ability to adapt. Intelligence is not only having knowledge and skills, but also knowing when and how to use one’s knowledge and skills in a given situation.

Intelligence, I would say, is dependent on the situation and the ability being tested. I say tested because intelligence is a measurement of aptitude for a given ability. In our culture we like to think of intelligence as how “smart” someone is as defined by their ability to learn (i.e. IQ). However research shows that intelligence can come in multiple forms, and hence the name of this theory, Multiple Intelligence. This theory suggest that there are different cognitive abilities of humans that are all equally valued. These abilities range from traditional “booksmarts” to musical abilities. I would say that intelligence is how well you perform at an ability.

Intelligence is not just an overall sum of what one knows. To be intelligent is to desire to obtain a broader range of knowledge as well as the ability to apply one’s knowledge approprietly

I think that intelligence is a concept that is comprised of several facets. Intelligence is an individual’s ability to comprehend ideas that are complex in nature and to think abstractly. This ability is then used to solve problems by mental effort. Intelligence is also having the ability to adapt effectively to the environment and to use knowledge to learn from a variety of experiences. Someone who is intelligent should also be able to engage in various forms of logic and reasoning.

Intelligence in my opinion is the ability to learn. Learning from something, learning about something, and understanding are all part intelligence. I think of intelligence as a quality that someone has. So if a person has intelligence then they will be able to learn and through that learning they will be able to acquire new knowledge and comprehend new ideas.

In my opinion, “intelligence” should be ones innate ability to learn something, key features being speed and efficiency, as well as ones ability to apply learned information. I say innate because there are definitely other variables that would affect how well someone learns, such as motivation, and familiarity. I feel intelligence should not be confused with wisdom (the amount one knows) even though it seems to be used interchangeably in our society.

Our society often thinks of intelligence in terms of being “book smart”. I would agree that having an ability to retain knowledge is a part of intelligence, but not the only part, or only form. Intelligence could be the willingness to learn new ideas. It could also be how creative someone is at solving problems in everyday life. Someone might not be “book smart” but could be very learned in another area. For example, a person could have a specific trade they do well and could tell someone anything there is to know about that subject. Yet, that same person might not have gone to college, or even finished high school. Our society might label this person as being unintelligent, when in fact he/she is very knowledgeable about certain subjects.

That is a very broad question because who is to say someone is not intelligent because they do not know anything about psychology or mathematics, etc. So intelligence to me is a measurement of ability relating to a specific topic. Standardized tests are ways to measures ones intelligence relating to school, but outside of school intelligence is measured on ones capability to survive in this diverse world. Intelligence is “the capacit[y] to reason, to plan, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn” (Wikipedia).

Carlos thinks intelligence is the ability to win Trivial Pursuit.

I think intelligence is when you think before you act. You don’t have to be smart to be intelligent. You just have to have the ability to comprehend and to understand and profit from experience. You can establish intelligence by going through a situation the first time and then knowing how to deal with it the second time. I think you learn how to be intelligent, it now given. Intelligence is the ability to learn about, learn from, understand, and interact with one’s environment. I think intelligence is the capacity for knowledge and the ability to acquire it. It’s the ability to comprehend relationships, to evaluate and judge. I you never gain intelligence without knowledge and wisdom. I know this because I have intelligence.

Intelligence is the innate ability to encode, store, and retrieve data. this includes the speed at which we perform said abilities. It is also a measure of ones ability to connect series of data in abstract or logical ways.

Intelligence is a combination of facts or experiences, problem solving skills, and the ability to combine the two. It’s the difference between remembering something and understanding something. It’s a cross disciplinary effort.

This is a complex issue, mostly because the word itself likely has a slightly different meaning for every reader.

I’d mostly consider intelligence to be the capacity for rational thought. To be clear, almost any animal has the capacity to avoid danger; a self-preservation instinct. But it’s just that- an instinct. I recall my daughter as a days-old infant, and already certain behaviors which couldn’t have been learned were displayed by her. These were instincts, I soon learned. And instincts must be separated from rational though, even if they appear to some to be rational, or at least provoke rational responses.

Intelligence, then, is that capacity for rational thought in that it is separate from instinct. The ability, in some cases, to overcome instinc and instinctive behavior. It includes capacity for learning concepts that do not necessarily pertain to basic needs- food, shelter, reproduction.

I’m not sure that means such as the typical IQ tests can actually be an absolute measure of one’s intelligence. While they may prove a useful guide, assuming the sum of learning for everyone to be the same, there will always be exceptions. To measure intelligence in absolute terms seems to me to be a meaningless pursuit, anyhow. Take the example of an old friend of mine, Dennis. He took the ASVAB and socred considerably too low in one or more areas of that test to serve as a helicopter repairer, but was afforded a waiver for that test score. And he was a brilliant mechanic, even if he often misspelled common four-letter words. A writer he was not, but he was by no means unintelligent.

I don’t agree whatsoever that quantity of knowledge has one thing at all to do with intelligence. Case in point: Carlos thinking intelligence is the ability to win trivial pursuit. What does memorization have to do with intelligence? Just because someone has the mental capability to memorize facts, figures, etc. in no way qualifies them as being intelligent. What matters is an understanding of the why and how, to dissect and analyze given information. But yes I do believe there are many different ways in which someone may be intelligent. Present a wheel-spinning metaphysician with a problem involving a nuclear reactor, or just an engine, and he/she will most likely be lost. Give the physician/mechanic a problem of universals etc, and they would be lost. Intelligence in the end is just another way of forming hierarchies and creating and sustaining inequality in already messed-up enough world. It is a way of saying I’m better and worth more than you.

In my opinion the answer to this question is intelligence cannot be narrowed down into one category. I think this because there are so many different types of intelligence. If I had to describe intelligence in one sentence I would say intelligence is the ability to make good decisions and learn and retain information.
By describing intelligence as the ability to make good decisions I am meaning that when you have intelligence, you know your limits. You don’t go to far physically or mentally in any situation.
By describing intelligence as the ability to learn and retain information this definition of mine could be used during school or in life. In school, you need to have intelligence to be able to succeed and pass, and in life you need this type of intelligence to learn from your mistaktes (personal conduct).
I also feel that everyone is intelligent, some people just have better intelligence in certain areas. Some people are more intelligent when it comes to school and people also have intelligence variations in life.

I feel that intelligence is knowing how to respond to a practical situation; it can take a wide variety of forms. I think that the definition of intelligence varies from person to person, and can never truely be meausred. Thus, ACT, SAT, and Mensa tests only reflect a person’s abitity to respond with logic, and structured learning techniques, such as memorization, to the questions being asked. In the school system we are brought basically using exams as the main format for presumably testing our intelligence. However, only the certain questions are asked and only specific aspects of one’s intelligence are being tested. As previously noted, study guides and memorization dramitcally can skew these natural tests. One may have a high intelligence, but not able to communicate it through the test.
For example, another alternative may be to read something and orally express to someone everything you just read, this technique offers a wider testing range, while still ensuring that one understands the material covered. Written tests only measure a person’s intellegence, through test taking stratigies. And thus, oral tests only examine a person’s oral communication intelligence. Plus, people can have what would be considered more vocational or cultural intelligences, specific to their subjest area.
Another thought, how one responds in an emergency situation (instinct), could show intelligence, but never truely be “tested” or measured- thus reinforcing that intelligence is knowing how to respond to a practical situation.
I believe that experience and passion can have a direct effect on a person’s so-called, overall intelligence.

Intelligence can be measured in a variety of ways. Overall intelligence, to me, is how well you can survive in life. Not just your basic eat, drink, breathe etc, but how you function as an overall person. Your intelligence is measured by how you go through your life and what you do in it using your mind.

I grew up in England where every child took the 11+, a test to determine their intelligence and thus their future education…vocational or college bound. I distinctly remember looking at that test and thinking how silly it was and not bothering to fill out many of the answers….(I was just 10)I obviously failed miserably and was sent to the Secondary School with all the other failed students. The school offered classes in Rural Science, Art, Ceramics, Building, English Literature and many others. You left at 16 and could then go into apprenticeships or to work. That was in 1958, now in 2008 I’m thinking of retiring from my school librarian job and becoming a full time potter/gardner/ cook….skills I learned at that school. I don’t think intelligence can be measured by a single test, I think it’s the ability to be aware, engage, develop expertise, to visualize the possibilities of life and then go out and do it!

I believe that intelligence does not just come from books or in school education. I believe intelligence is also being well rounded about life. If a person is very book-smart and is able to tell you anything you could ever want to know concerning subjects such as math, science, etc., it is of no use if the person is not life smart. I know of many people who are extremely book smart but when it comes to life and living well they are no so wise. Also, people who are very life smart and not book smart don’t have much going for them in a society that embraces those with a piece of paper saying they specialize or have knowledge or intelligence in something. In essence, I believe intelligence is a compilation of the two.

I don’t believe there is any one set of things that qualifies as intelligence. While you need to be intelligent in a way that you get good grades on tests, you also need to have some common sense. I feel intelligence also comes from life’s experiences. You learn from your mistakes. What good will it do you to have straight A’s if you don’t know how to make it in the real world where there are no examinations but intelligence is required?

The answer to the first question is intelligence is the ability to learn. There are people who have learned how to do many things. Some better than others. Some quicker than others. But since ability goes down to the core characteristic of potential. What your genes have given you and since your brain can advance itself as someone learns to becoming more intelligent(assuming this is true)whatever intelligence the way you live your life gives you. Thus intelligence is merely your potential to learn to find the answers to all the other questions regarding multiple intelligences etc. look into the art of learning. See every aspect of learning apply those to different or the same parts of the brain and see how those parts make up different parts of intelligences or a single intelligence. There have been some very good theories on multiple intelligences regarding the brain and savants as well. In conclusion many of you seem to be arguing about intelligence when you should be arguing about the ability to learn as well as its potential.