When we talk about someone intelligent, we usually mean it in a way that the person has done well in studies, academics or some such intellectual faculty. Would you call someone who has great sense of direction and never needs a GPS, intelligent? Would you call someone with a great ear for music and composition, intelligent? Or how about a hiker with incredible stamina? I’m sure most of you would go, “What? No! These things have got nothing to do with intelligence.” Well, think again.
Melissa Breyer writes in Care2‘s Healthy and green living section about 9 types of intelligence. Dr. Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has developed the theory of multiple intelligences, going beyond the IQ test to discover the many ways humans are smart. He identified intelligent abilities including language, music, spatial reference, kinesthesia, naturalistic, and possibly existential intelligence.
Once you read this article and Dr. Gardner’s theory (and may be even more depending on how interested you get) I am sure you’re way of judging someone as ‘not intelligent’ will change. I also think knowing that we possess different kind of intelligences which are not necessarily reflected on our mark-sheets is important. So many people would realise that they have at least one, if not more, kind of intelligence in them. You would think yourself much more worthy than you did till now. And more importantly, I hope, you will stop making your kids slog insane hours to get that A grade in academic subjects. And would appreciate their A grade in sports equally.
As promised!It is a theory I have long believed in – since I was in school – That academics does not prove you are intelligent. I've been fortunate to have had the company of such intelligent types – there could be many more:-) Brilliance and intelligence should and never be restricted to academics. I could just have a super memory and replicate it in my exams without knowing the logic! Academics help fine but what determines your overall personality are your interests and hobbies. Simply being in the company of brilliant people helps one grow. Ask me! It is a humbling experience and much needed one. I see my nieces, younger cousins and other friends who were just about average in academics but are brilliant in their chosen careers – graphics designing, film-making,research, dance, architecture, drawing, medicine, cake making, art crafts, fashion designing, working for NGOs, entrepreneurship, journalism. They are intelligent people according to me and all my life I've never termed them anything less than that! It's nice that there is now a theory to prove my belief. I think I could write a thesis on this one but I'll cut it short!Thanks for sharing such interesting stuff – as I told you often – I'm no expert on the posts you put up so to carry forward a discussion at times gets difficult but as I said having talented people around me only helps me grow – and reading your blog definitely does! P.S:In fact I too have learnt some unknown facts about myself which were highlighted by others :"You call someone who has great sense of direction and never needs a GPS, intelligent? " I'm the official GPS here in Dubai for all our friends and Amit invariably gets people to call me if anyone needs any direction to go to a place. Yes I take pride in this little gift I'm blessed with – I just need to visit a new road once to remember it! 🙂 And another one more little thing am proud of – until I watched each and every match live I never needed to refer to cricinfo.com for stats! They were all just stocked up in my head:-)
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, Minal :). Academics, especially in India, do not reflect ones brilliance but just memorising skills. Memorisation has been an important part of our culture, as all the ancient texts like Veda etc. were only passed on from person to person and "stored" in the brains, never written down. But that was only "a part", that wan't ALL that was learnt and ingenuity was respected as well. I think this articles should especially reach as many parents as possible. So they would appriciate their kids much more.