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The words genius, smart, and intelligent are commonly used in society without knowing what it
is, and how does it come to be? Are people born with greater intelligence or is it something that people
gain throughout their lives? Today's society believes that intelligence means the ability to solve
problems, like mathematical problems, the ability to know a lot of facts, and that it could be tested.
Society usually only acknowledges two types of intelligences logical mathematical and linguistic. The
truth is that there is seven types of intelligences intrapersonal, interpersonal, logical mathematical,
linguistic, spatial, musical, and bodily kinesthetic. This seven intelligences were first proposed in The
Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner a professor of education and psychology at
Harvard University. Another common misconception is that people are born smart and you can't do
anything to change it. Some contemporary views are that people are born with a certain intelligence
and that no amount of studying or practice will change it. However people are capable of improving
through studying or practice no matter the type or level of intelligence. And without the proper
nourishment people will not have a balance between all of this intelligences no matter how good or bad
the person may be at one particular intelligence. A way to nourish one's intelligence is through
repetition, for example to improve your logical mathematical intelligence one would do a lot of math
problems so their brain would do the same type of processing, and have it become second nature.
Society has been testing children for many centuries to classify who is the smartest. Tests like
the IQ test which become popular in the 20th century has been the main source to scale people's
intellect. The IQ test emphasize on the linguistic and mathematical intelligences, which means that it
lacks the ability to truly measure a person's intelligence. In Harvard's Project Zero, a program
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dedicated to improving education in schools, where Gardner is codirector. He found that the IQ of a
person does not signify the success of that person. Gardner states, “IQ predictors might point to
achievement in school and college but not necessarily to achievement in life” (p. 374). The limitations
of an IQ test, means that society is ignoring the other abilities that people posses. For example an IQ
test will not your musical abilities which are crucial for musicians that are planning to go to music
school. What a test emphasizes is the idea that intelligence does not change with age or training, it is a
inborn attribute of a individual. And a person with a high IQ might only be intelligent in mathematics
and linguistics but not in spatial intelligence or bodily kinesthetic if that individual doesn't train in this
types of intelligences.
People are born with different level of intelligences for each of the seven types described by
Gardner, and because we are born with different levels of intelligences we must make sure that we
improve all of them through training. The training is different for each type of intelligence, for example
if one is strong in mathematics and not weaken in tennis through exercise and practice one can become
a great tennis player. Even if you are born with a greater intelligence it doesn't mean that you don't
need to train to get the full potential of this intelligence. If a person is born with great musical
intelligence and never learns how to play a instrument, this is a useless intelligence with no purpose in
that person's life. In the case of savants, one type of intelligence dominates over all the others, which
leaves them without the ability to properly communicate with others. Hence people need to find what
they are good at and use it for their advantage, but also improve on the other intelligences that are
needed to live in modern society.
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In “What is Intelligence, Anyway?” by Isaac Asimov we can see the affects could come from
the Intelligences tests. Asimov with a high score on the test did not understood the logic behind his
mechanic’s joke. According to the mechanic the reason behind this is that Asimov is, “so goddamned
educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart.” Asimov lack of balance between the intelligences
was the cause of his failure. All of his intellectual training came from the school system, which does
not help people improve all the types of intelligences. The modern school system focus is on the
mathematical and linguistic intelligences, with little to no education in the other types of intelligences.
Modern school must cover all seven types of intelligences, for example schools could have more art
and music programs. Schools could also have classes that cover social and psychological topics to
improve people's interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. This would greatly nurture all types of
intelligences to create a more balance, and well rounded society.
A multiple intelligences school system will be a positive change towards education. It will get
the interest of students because they will have the opportunity to use their best attribute. While at the
same time greatly nurture, and improve their other attributes. A way that society could have a multiple
intelligences school system is by having classes that cover all the types of intelligences. A high school
might have a music class to improve the student's musical intelligence, by exposing the student, and
making their brain work to solve this type of problem. As a person experiences many types of
challenges the brain tries to adapted and over repetition a person gets better at doing that specific task.
The exposure of different materials is key to have a multiple intelligences school system. This exposure
will get people used to working with all kinds of challenges, and make them comfortable with them.
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When people are comfortable doing something they will want to do it again. Giving people the
opportunity to use what they are good at, and not what the system says that they have to use is very
empowering. And people start to feel less stressed about the work that they will have to do. If you are a
very artistic person, you will like your school to have an art program where you can use your talent,
and release some stress from the other classes that you have to take. Having the ability to use your
talent as a primary source of learning will make it all easier. A way to do this is to use reference that are
familiar to someone, for example if you have a greater spatial intelligence than you would like to learn
by visual stimulation. A multiple intelligence school system will greatly increase the learning abilities
of all people.
A multiple intelligence school system will make school fair. The people that do well in school
are the ones that have greater linguistics and logical mathematical intelligences. The rest of the
community has an disadvantage because they can't use their abilities in a modern school system. The
modern school system, like the modern IQ test, favors linguistic and logical mathematical
intelligences. It's limitations to accommodate the other intelligences, has created a unfair system of
ranking throughout the world. This unfair system has made the gifted children in bodily kinesthetic,
spatial, or musical intelligences feel bad about themselves. The reason behind this is that they feel that
linguistics and logical mathematical intelligences are the only types of intelligences, and therefore they
are smart people. The truth is that the modern system can not determine or help improve all
intelligences, and some of this intelligences are not been recognized by society as intelligences. A great
musical genius like Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven
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were considered to have great musical abilities but not necessary smart, when the truth is that musical
talent is a types of intelligence that involves the connection of the cells between the brain, the source of
all intellect. Society needs to recognize all types of intelligence and change the school systems around
the world to make them fair.
Modern society has favor people that are good academically, and all the parents want to see
their children do well in school. The modern idea is that a child that does not do well in academia will
not have a successful life. This idea has limited the opportunities of people when they go looking for
jobs, even if the person is capable of doing what is necessary for the job without the necessarily
education they won't get it. A multiple intelligence system will help people improve all of their
intelligences while utilizing what they are best at. This will create equality among people because
everyone will have a chance to work on all intelligences. People will be able to show what they are
good at and what they are not good. By people knowing their strengths and weaknesses they will be
able to identify what kind of job or major to choose in college. With all types of intelligences taking
into account no one will have the upper hand. The failure or success of a person will be on a level
playing field, and therefore the change for success will be greater.
The modern thought and school system that society uses to describe, and to enhance
intelligence is wrong. Society must embrace all types of intelligences, and work on improving all of
them. All types of intelligences are needed to survive in the world. On a day to day bases a person uses
more than one at the same time, but only focuses on the traditional intelligences. The improvement of
all intelligences will bring more success to people in both academia, and in the work place. Society will
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learn more and faster in the world of multiple intelligences. Societies will become richer, healthier, and
most important wiser. No one will have an unfair advantage on people. Academia will come down to
people's over all intelligence and what they are best at. Life will never be completely fair, but society
has to try to make things as fair as possible for everyone. Any person at any level of intelligence will
benefit from this new system because they will be learning through the method that suits them best. We
are all born with different abilities and through a process of training each individual intelligence, any
one can become a “genius”.