Intelligence

When I was standing in a queue to pay my telephone bill, a guy said this ‘ how can he be called brilliant? Did he clear his matriculation exam?’ he was talking to another guy, holding a newspaper, and the guy in question is a famous international cricket player from India.

When I looked at him, he smiled at me with a look of ‘ am I right or not’. So I too smiled. (Look at his guts looking at me and smile! This hardly happens, though I am not a monster). I did not converse with him, but avoided. And thought a little more about what he just said.

I think he might be referring to the intelligence of that player. I don’t know whether he passed his matriculation or not, but he is one of the richest Indian and sports person. He has got world reputation and is not a silly thing. I am not a fan of him, but I disagree with that person who thinks this sports person is ‘something else’.

Being intelligent is not being a book worm. It neither is being very studious. Many people think chess players are all ‘intelligent’. If you are not good at chess, they might say, ‘chess needs brains’… I don’t play chess and am not much interested in it. But I know a couple of people who are very good at chess but are were bad at studies. And I know a college topper (engineer)who is bad at 'chess'

So, what is intelligence and who exactly is an intelligent person?

There are tons of definitions by psychiatrists, psychologists etc…but the interesting one I ever heard is this : ‘Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do’ . Is this the most scientific definition? I don’t know but I liked it.

Who is an intelligent person? It depends because intelligence is not a single faculty of the mind. There exists many flavors of it. When we talk about multiple intelligence, we obviously think about Professor Howard Gardner and his theories. Again, there are different opinions. Some say he only identifies seven types and some say he talks about nine. Unfortunately I could not attend any of his class at Harward…

But the seven types are as follows:

1. Musical : why need more explanation? All the music celebrities have this. Not only them, but the sensitive listeners also.- Eg, composers, Singers…

2. Logical and Mathematical : Those who like playing with numbers, strategy, quantify, patterns etc etc. – Scientists, Detectives…

3. Interpersonal : The ability to understand and interact with others. This is not just verbal communication but also includes the non verbal acting skills. – Politicians, social workers…

4. Intra-personal : The capacity to understand oneself, one’s thoughts, feelings, human condition etc and use that knowledge. – Spiritual Leaders, philosophers, psychologists….

5. Kinesthetic/Physical/Bodily : The use of physical ability and strength. These people has better ‘timing’ ability, mind-body co-ordination. – Athletes, dancers and yes, surgeons…

6. Linguistic : Ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meaning. These people like telling stories, doing crossword puzzles etc – Novelists, journalists, public speakers…

7. Spatial: Thinking in three dimension….Imaginative, good at image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills….- Painters, architects, sailors, sculptors…

From the above it is clear that the sports person in question is intelligent, without any question. Usually, we all are a mixture of all these and in some people, one or more skills dominates.