What Is Intelligence? Intelligence

What is intelligence exactly? Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills or “the ability to learn and understand things to

Gottfredson, (1997) stated that intelligence is ‘a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.

Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.

Nature-nature debate is a very old one, dating back to Aristotle, who argued that we are born blank slates and everything we become is a product of the external world. While Greek philosopher Plato said intelligence and behavior were innate (Myers & DeWall, 2016, p.8). As psychology has progressed throughout the years, in general, it is believed that both nature and nurture influence behavior and development (Thinking Critically Lecture).

“Not because you think you know everything without questioning, but rather because you question everything you think you know.”What is intelligence? Some think its only academic smarts others think there are different types of intelligences. Some examples of the multiple intelligences, like artistic, emotional, and logical mathematical. Artistic intelligence is being able to paint, and make sculptures with ease. Emotional intelligence includes interpersonal which refers to knowing others feeling, and intrapersonal which regers with knowing your own feelings. Also logical mathematical deals with being good with math, but also being connected to it somehow.

Through history, the idea of nature vs. nurture has been a hotly debated issue. Nature, or genetics is often believed to be the most important aspect of a persons’ upbringing, as nature is something intrinsic to any one person. However, many debate that nurture, or the care and encouragement of any human life, trumps nature. The earliest evidence and rebuttals of these theories have been honed and developed over time by specific psychologists and educational theorists – all who hoped to prove their own ideas as fact at one time in history.

From my personal life experience and study of Nature vs. Nurture, I am a firm believer that the two are equally important in determining who we are. Plato, a Greek philosopher alive between 428 and 348 B.C.E), believed that our morality and capability of intelligence was inherited. There is an issue that has been discussed by philosophers in the past and still so by scientists today. This issue is whether heredity or environment plays a greater

What does it mean to be smart? To be smart is to be able to think outside the box and create ideas that may be very helpful. As well, being smart may also be looked at as IQ. IQ stands for intellegence quotient meaning "a number representing a person's reasoning ability (measured using problem-solving tests) as compared to the statistical norm or average for their age, taken as 100" according to dictionary.com. Intellegence may be viewed upon as knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is having experience, knowledge, and the ability to make the right choice. Knowledge comes from how much information you know about a topic. Being smart is very good virtue to have in

Certain aspects of intelligence are related to nature. For example, a toddler knows to hold their breath under water. Another trait that I consider as nature is the social interactions of humans. As a species, humans are very sociable. Although it can be debated either way, I consider this trait as hereditary. Since the beginning, humans have gathered together for natural needs such as food, shelter, and protection. Protection is a great example of nature and nurture. Everyone has the instinct of protecting themselves; one can raised their arms to cover their face as an example of nature. In contrast, nurture provides the ability to learn mix martial art which improves their level of protection.

Nurture-only view how people are all the same at birth, and we are the product of our experiences. “Nature through nurture the environment- the womb or the world outside, it interacts continuously with biology to shape who we are and what we do” (Scully, 2016). The two dissimilar arguments of nature and nurture of human intelligence is a person’s intelligence is determined by genetics and a person’s intelligence is determined by the environment in, which a person is raised.

Over the years, scientists have struggled to prove whether nature or nurture has the key role in the determination of key characteristics and traits that humans have expressed. One characteristic’s development that has been extremely difficult to base solely off of genetic of environmental influence is a human’s intelligence. The question of whether a person’s intelligence comes from the generations before them or does it simply develop from life experiences, lessons, and schooling. The tumultuous amounts of research and ever-changing and advancing theories all seem to agree that both nature and nurture have a partial role in the development of intelligence.

Development is best based off of both nature and nurture. On one hand, nature plays a large role in development because navigating different environments leads to growth and being able to make these independent decisions can make a significant difference in adulthood. It is important to encounter uncontrolled environments on a regular basis. On the other hand, it is important for growing individuals to have a safe area to express their feelings and frustrations to someone who understands them. It is important for development to be positive growth as well, not just being “toughened up.” Intelligence is best based off of nature. It is important to properly nurture intelligence, but extraordinarily high intelligence is only truly determined by

There are several ways to define what it means to be intelligent. Some people may define being intelligent by excelling in academics. While others may feel like they are intelligent because they know a lot of information. Being intelligent does not require you to have a high GPA nor does it center itself around how many books you read. You do no have to have to receive a college degree to be intelligent. It could just come from a skill you have. I think that being intelligent comes from helping people. If you are willing to help people and receive no reward, then you must be intelligent. What better way is there to be intelligent than to know you have helped someone become better at something or when no one else would? I will show you how helping

Intelligence is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as being the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. When knowledge is spoken of, it is generally used in terms of education. The extent of education a person has achieved is then what most often determines how much knowledge one has accumulated. Nevertheless, with this definition of intelligence in mind, one might possibly consider the average person to be intelligent. After all, even a person who has never gone to school a day in their life is capable of acquiring knowledge and applying it to some area of their life. Acquiring and applying knowledge could be something as simple as being shown how to mop a floor and then conducting the job using the newly gained know-how.

Although intelligence is a concept, there are many definitions that try to describe and interpret intelligence for people. One of the many definitions is the “capacity to understand” (World English Dictionary: Intelligence). This definition is describing intelligence and giving one facet of the diamond that is the various definitions of intelligence. This simple definition is often used by many common people, but a more in depth definition is “the ability to derive information, learn from experience, adapt to the environment, understand, and correctly utilize thought and reaction” (APA Dictionary of Psychology: Intelligence). This definition delves deeper into intelligence and paints a general picture of intelligence but is unable to define intelligence for a simple reason. Intelligence is a concept and thus is impossible to completely define by one comprehensive definition.