Intelligence is a manifestation of high mental capacity. Intelligence is defined as an individual's aptitude for learning, reasoning, understanding, and grasping truths, facts, relationships, meanings, and the like. Intelligent people are often admired by their peers who aspire to be like them.
I'm a huge fan of intelligence and have often wondered on how best to identify and classify it. Common sense, wit, math, music, GRE, GMAT, education, degrees, etc., are often used as yardsticks to measure intelligence. In most sections of the society, intelligence is far too often compared with pedantic learning. Multiple degrees and bookishness are popularly used as exclusive tools to measure mental capacity.
Contradictory to this traditional belief is Howard Gardner's "Theory of Multiple Intelligences". Gardner's theory argues that intelligence, as it is traditionally defined, does not adequately encompass the wide variety of abilities that humans display. For example, a child who excels in science is not necessarily more intelligent than a child who struggles with Newton's Laws. The latter may be gifted in another kind of intelligence and may excel in other fields like music.
So, rather than blindly pursuing degrees and higher education that channel brain development in one direction, individuals should work to develop their mental faculties in some core areas like linguistics, logical-mathematical ability, spatial sense, music, kineseology, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and naturalistic intelligence.
This theory has recently gained the favor of many educators. There are several schools that now espouse Gartner's Multiple Intelligence as a pedagogy, with many books and materials that explain how it may be applied to the classroom. Is this a Revolution in Education? Will this pioneer all-round growth in future generations of students? Will this help the children of tomorrow in easily identifying and excelling in their chosen fields?Definitely some food for thought. For more on this, read on at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_intelligence.
