Definition of "intelligence"

[Chomama23]

We often say that someone is stupid, or that they are smart.

But how can intelligence truly be defined?

Is it only a score on a test? Is it how well you understand the world?

I have my opinions =)

But just to make things more interesting, I want to hear what other people think first.

 

[delon]

Intelligence (also called intellect) is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, some psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence.

 

[Smith6612]

I really only know Intelligence of being smart, really. Pretty much, anything that can play, think for it's own, and do things is intelligent.

 

[eliasr]

i dont know... may be just dont be stupid.

 

[tashsoft]

It's a contentious one. I've seen many an IQ test where trivia is included. But is knowledge (and recollection, i.e. memory) really a mark of intelligence? You can be the most intelligent person on this earth but if you haven't come across a specific trivia fact, you have no chance of knowing it. Conversely, it's possible to memorise entire textbooks without understanding a word of it!

Intelligence is also subjective. We test animals to assess how intelligent they are. But this is only our perception of intelligence. Imagine you're a bird for example. Your view of the world is totally different. You live in a truly 3D environment (due to flight), you have wrap-around vision, you see ultra-violet light, you have a different social structure and you have different survival needs. To a bird, human behaviour would seem non-sensensical, we wouldn't react to obvious signs and we would appear to be acting against our best interests. They would probably conclude that we are of very low intelligence.

The only thing we can be sure of... people who put a lot of importance on assessing intelligence and creating and joining intelligence societies are short of a bit of intelligence themselves!

 

[stephzor]

What people usually call "intelligence" is when someone is able to act like a computer : When an event of kind A happens, an action of kind A is done.

Someone who is intelligent is not someone who acts like mathematics.

Intelligence is not to know how to react to X Y Z event because external conditionings have taught us to do so (like a computer), it's the ability to learn from our experiences and to use what we have learned to react to events.
So, people who "never learn" and always do the same mistakes again are stupid.

We should never define someone by his/her knowledge (as said before, someone could memorize an entire book and not understand a word of it) but by his/her actions which are revealing of their true self, of what they have learned, of what they know from their past experiences.

If someone has a doctor's degree in maths but that this person does not understand a basic life concept such as what is confidence, what are values, what is judgement, etc. this person is still very dumb. How can you be thinking in an intelligent way toward yourself and others when you don't know such things?

IQ test are not INTELLIGENCE tests, they are LOGIC tests. They are used to benchmark the brain. There is a very big difference.

 

[Zangetsu]

A term used to describe the potencies such abilities as application of knowledge, amount of logic, creativity (to some extent), memory (to a lesser extent), and general comprehension, among animals. Intelligence is, often, something lacking in most human beings. Intelligence is relative to one person; what you and I, for instance, perceive as stupid may contradict eachother, or vary in degrees.

Today, people often confuse knowledge and determination (especially in academics) with intelligence. Understand; these are NOT the same things. Knowledge is, of course, the amount of information a person mentally contains. Determination is, naturally, the want to go to often extreme measures to achieve your aims or goals. While intelligence is useless without knowledge, the contrary - knowledge without intelligence - is equally useless.

Much of the time, IQ tests are associated with intelligence. While these are, currently, the most accurate "measurements" of intelligence (if properly executed), they are by no means definitive. They don't consider creativity, abstract logic, or any other trait generally considered intelligent. Still, intelligent people tend to receive higher scores than their mediocre counter-parts. One must also take into account that often times, things like vocabulary are used in such tests. In English, vocabulary, often times, requires definitive knowledge of Latin, German, or French, if not the English language, due to the roots not being absolutely apparent in all cases.

 

[dwd2000]

I think every living thing has its own brand of intelligence. (as compared to something like a rock) It might only be instinct or the ability to adjust to its surroundings, but it's still a form of intelligence.

Living things that can actually learn something, like humans, dogs, etc., can be considered to be more intelligent than living things that can't.

To make a potentially long story short, intelligence can be determined by the ability to learn, not what is already known.

 

[wiz4r]

Intelligence = Capacity to solvent problems. ANY problems.

 

[Twinkie]

It's a contentious one. I've seen many an IQ test where trivia is included. But is knowledge (and recollection, i.e. memory) really a mark of intelligence? You can be the most intelligent person on this earth but if you haven't come across a specific trivia fact, you have no chance of knowing it. Conversely, it's possible to memorise entire textbooks without understanding a word of it!

Intelligence is also subjective. We test animals to assess how intelligent they are. But this is only our perception of intelligence. Imagine you're a bird for example. Your view of the world is totally different. You live in a truly 3D environment (due to flight), you have wrap-around vision, you see ultra-violet light, you have a different social structure and you have different survival needs. To a bird, human behaviour would seem non-sensensical, we wouldn't react to obvious signs and we would appear to be acting against our best interests. They would probably conclude that we are of very low intelligence.

The only thing we can be sure of... people who put a lot of importance on assessing intelligence and creating and joining intelligence societies are short of a bit of intelligence themselves!

Nice abstract thinking =)

In short (because it is too hard to type on the Wii), I believe that there are two catagories of intellect. First, there is the ability to understand, and the ability to apply it. I agree that the term is subjective and that real intelligence is being able to manipulate what you already know by solving problems or using it to understand and learn more. For that, you do not need previous knowledge (so complicated).

How many of you have taken an IQ test?

~Twinkie

 

[c00ster]

I define intelligence as an accumulation of knowledge and the ability to accumulate more.

If you have intelligence you have knowledge. If you are intelligent, you have the ability to think with reason.

Ignorance is merely a lack of knowledge, while stupidity is the inability to apply knowledge intelligently.

I find that intelligence is something that a very small portion of the population has, because the majority seem to choose ignorance. It's easier that way.

 

[MadameSkylark]

The ability of a person to process and apply facts of reality to their daily life is a big part of intelligence. This will obviously include your creative thinking and memory skills as well.

When most people think "intelligent" they think "high I.Q", which is not correct. Your I.Q is a measurement of how well you do on I.Q tests. Even if these random jumble of questions had the power to tell you your IQ, it would only measure your POTENTIAL. There are idiots wandering the streets with very high I.Qs, but they choose not to apply the ability of their brain in a logical fashion. All intelligence is is that magical ability to absorb reality as you experience it, process the information, and use it.

Many factors can determine how well you go through those steps. Obvious reasons for a lack of intelligence would be head trama or some form of brain damage or impairment. Your diet can effect your intelligence because certain eating habits can throw off or improve your ability to concentrate and memorize information that you are given. Your enviroment can play a very big part in whether you are intelligent or not.

In summation, an IQ tells you how smart you could be. Intelligence tells you how smart you actually are. If you are able to process and use information and choose to do so, congrats...you're a friggen genius!