What does intelligence mean to people?
Jinhuang Chen
Prof. Teddy Chocos
FYS: Aging and Wisdom
October 3, 2013
With the development of human society, the word “intelligence” has been pointed out and
used to identify a person is smart or not in many industries. Intelligence is used to describe or
identify people, but questions: how does people’s intelligence have been identified, what is
intelligence? Does intelligence just exist in those very famous and rich people? What kind of
people can have intelligence? Can intelligence be improved? Up to now, the most common and
has been known similarly by people way to identify one person’s intelligence is to take the IQ test,
which is called Intelligence quotient. Basing on people answer a series testing questions, then
counting out what score they get and the score means how high their intelligence is. However, the
IQ test doesn’t represent everything; every person has intelligence and what people need to do is
to find out their intelligence; how people can be intelligent is to keep on doing; intelligence is not
stable, it can be improved or reduced. Even though intelligence often has been used to describe or
praise very famous and popular people, it is not owned by that group of people, every single person
also can own it.
IQ test doesn’t mean everything. What is intelligence? Howard Gardner finished his Ph.D.
degree from Harvard University, and he also taught developmental psychology and education at
Harvard University. In his article “Multiple Intelligences”, he gives an answer from the traditional
angle “In a traditional view, intelligence is defined operationally as the ability to answer items on
tests of intelligence.” In the traditional way, if want to identify a person is intelligent or not, is to
ask him or her to take series of intelligent tests, then basing on the grade to identify the person.
Taking the intelligent test and answering those questions, this is the very common and popular way
to see your personal IQ. However, Gardner thinks that the traditional way, the IQ test can’t clearly
show everybody’s intelligence. Some people are very intellectual, but they don’t get a high IQ
score. Sometimes, even having a high score, people also can’t be admitted. According to the article
“What is intelligence, anyway?” by Isaac Asimov, Asimov described that when he joined the army,
he took a kind of IQ test, it is aptitude test and he got 160, the normal score is 100. He got so higher
grade, thus, he should be assigned to one of those top and highest level departments to serve. But
it is irony, as his highest responsibility, he finally was assigned to as a buck private, a kitchen
police. See, the army wants to know soldiers some special skills or abilities, then they make the
aptitude test (a kind of intelligent test), at the end the army actually doesn’t believe Asimov’s Score.
People get a higher intelligent test score, but some of them may not be really intelligent, they can
be just good at solving those intelligent testing questions. Therefore, even if getting a highest score
in a kind of intelligent test, it could be meaning nothing.
There is no one can be good at everything in the world. Different people are skilled in
different areas. In the same article, Asimov gave his opinion about how he views his intelligence,
“In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do
something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly.” Asimov is not good at
everything, and if asking him to do something in a new and different field that he never touches
before, he probably can’t do it or do it very badly. Just like Asimov says, when his car has some
wrong, he will need his auto-repair man to fix his car. Comparing with his auto-repair man, Asimov
has no idea about his car’s problem, and in the eyes of the car mechanic Asimov can be a moron.
As Asimov sees himself, in a new area that his experience and his professional knowledge are
useless, and he will work poorly by his hands. Maybe God is omnipotent, but people are human
being, not the god. However, although people can’t do everything, people still can have intelligence
in some places.
Intelligence is not like a scarce and expensive jewelry that only a few people can have it,
is a kind of ability that every single person can have, but he/she needs to dig out. Most of people
know Bill Gates, he is the president of Microsoft and he is the wealthiest person in the world.
Meanwhile, he also is the successful person who had found out his intelligence. Gates was born in
Seattle in a family with a rich background of business, politics, and community service. His great
grandfather was the state legislator and mayor, his grandfather was vice president of national bank
and his father was a lawyer. His mother, Mary Maxwell Gates was a school teacher and the
chairperson for the United Way Charity, and she also served for International Business Machines.
Bill Gates probably inherited a lot of good genes from his family. Gates is a genus, he did very
well in his all subject at Seattle’s Lakeside School. Gates is smart and intellectual, but it just shows
on his grades. Fortunately, before long a local computer company would like to offer computer
time for this school’s students, and Bill Gates showed that he has an interest in computer
programming. Gates started to be crazy on those computer, and he spent a lot of free time on the
computer. After he knew further about the computer, he wrote a tic-tac-toe program in BASIC
computer language that allowed users to play against the computer. This is first time his computer
talent has been shown. At this school, he met another person Paul Allen who is also crazy on
computer and Gates often had quarrels with Allen because of computer questions. Unconsciously,
Bill gates has started to dig out his intelligence about computer programming. In Gardner’s article
“Multiple Intelligence”, he mentioned Yehudi Menuhin, a violinist who found out his intelligence
when he was three years old. Three-years-old Yehudi Menuhin was illegally taken into a concerts
in San Francisco by his parents. When he heard Louis Persinger played violin, he was intoxicated.
Thus, he strongly asked a violin for his birthday and wanted Louis Persinger to become his violin
teacher. He got what he wanted. Menuhin became an international violin performer when he was
ten. When Bill Gates and Yehudi Menuhin both found out they want to do, they had started to put
themselves into the area that they like.
When people find out they have their intelligence in one field, the next is to be professional.
Bill Gates’ parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he was continuing to do what he likes. At first,
Gates’ parents might think Gates is just curious about the new and unseen computer, so they didn’t
stop him. If they prevented Gates from speeding more time on the computer, today the “Bill Gates”
will be another one. However, from middle school to college, Gates was keeping on learning
computer as before, and his parents didn’t stop him, and he also didn’t give up and lose interest in
computer. In Harvard University, Bill Gates continued to develop his computer knowledge, he put
himself into computer’s world. Most of time Bill Gates spent on computer lab. Bill Gates dropped
out Harvard after two years, but during these two years he had learned what he needs to learn, and
he also learned the MIT’s some courses by himself. Even Bill Gates didn’t finish his degree, but
he had learned what he wants to learn and made himself to be professional. In 1975, Bill Gates
and Paul Allen had started their software company, Microsoft. At the beginning of their business,
they offered the BASIC software program for the Altair computer. But this still could not support
their overhead. They found out because only about 10% people using BASIC and paid for it. Thus,
in 1976, Gates wrote an open letter to all computer hobbyists and ask to pay for it, appealing them
to protest the good software to be stolen. The first step usually is not easy. The new company met
their problem when they just walked out the first step. Even though Bill Gates met situation, but
the business could not stop, so the company continued to write software, not only for Altair
computer, but also for other companies. Microsoft also had business with Apple Company, and
Apple Company shared and helped Microsoft to create and improve software, then offering
software to Apple. During the cooperation with Apple, Bill Gates got the idea that Microsoft needs
to create a new operating system, and he indicated this idea in 1983. In 1985, Microsoft launched
their epoch-making software, the Windows system. The experience of the hardship of starting
business in the early days helped Bill Gates to know how to deal with business, and made him
more experienced.
Intelligence can be changed to up or down. When people don’t get in the period of memory
decline, their intelligence normally is improving as they grow up. Because they are experiencing
more and more events that make people become more seasoned. For example, no matter what kind
of job people have, first of all, people need to know their job’s nature and requirements, and to
familiarize themselves with their job. Second, starting to do the work. Over time, they gain
experience, they are becoming intelligent. Therefore, if a person wants to improve his/her
intelligence, she/he needs to practice again and again in his/her intellectual area. Certainly,
intelligence can reduce, even disappear. For those old people who are getting in the period of
memory decline, their memory is reducing or disappearing. A long time age, those people might
be good at some areas, they were intelligent in the field that they are very interested in, but today
their experience is missing, they can not remember all. Also, some accidents can make people’s
intelligence to reduce or miss.
Intelligence is not owned by one person, everyone has intelligence. The IQ test is not a
perfect test, it can identify some people, but it can not expressly show up every person’s situation.
Therefore, whatever people have a high IQ score or not, it doesn’t mean everything. What people
need to do, is to try and reach anything to find out which area they have intelligence in. After
people find out the area that they are good at, they should pay attention to do and make themselves
more professional. Finally, intelligence can be changed anytime, excepting those irresistible
elements, if people want to improved their intelligence, they have to put more attention into the
work.
Works Cited
Asimov, Isaac. "What Is Intelligence, Anyway?" What Is Intelligence, Anyway? N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct.
2013. <http://talentdevelop.com/articles/WIIA.html>.
"Bill Gates." The Biography Channel Website. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
<http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520>.
BILL &MELINDA GATES Foundation. BILL &MELINDA GATES Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Sept.
2013. <http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do>.
Gardner, Howard. "MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES." Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple
Intelligences. New York: Basic, 1983. 288-99. Print.