Along with the youth, beauty, and riches that people have been striving for for centuries, our culture also places a rather higher value that many treat as emphasized an advantage. It's about intelligence.
We are used to thinking about intelligence according to the standardized model that has been established for many years. The IQ tests, which measure the quotient of intelligence based on mathematical skills, the ability to use language quickly and adequately, as well as spatial orientation, are the only way to determine the degree of mental giftedness of the brain.
But what about a musical genius who isn't so good at spelling or math equations? Does that make him weakly intelligent? When we think about such questions, the standard theory of intelligence seems incomplete.
It is because of this that Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience at Harvard University developed a theory of multiple intelligences that challenges old-fashioned postulates in cognitive theories. According to them, people are born with a certain general cognitive ability that can be easily measured by various tests.
In contrast, Dr. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences describes many aspects of a person's general intelligence, viewing it as a combination of many intelligences embedded in each person in varying degrees.
Here are they:
1. Spatial Intelligence
It represents the ability to conceptualize and manipulate large-scale spatial arrays, for example piloting an airplane or steering a sailing ship. It can also refer to another kind of spatial perception, such as that possessed by architects or chess players.
2. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
It measures the ability to use a particular part or parts of the body to solve problems or perform complex motor figures, for example in dance or martial arts.
3. Musical Intelligence
It represents the sensitivity to rhythm, tonality, melody. People with high musical intelligence have a good timbre of voice and are potentially successful singers, according to Gardner's theory.
4. Linguistic Intelligence
Linguistic intelligence is an increased sensitivity to language, the meaning of words, spelling. Linguistically gifted people have a sensitivity even to the melodic intonation and pronunciation of words. Learning foreign languages is easy for them.
5. Logical-mathematical intelligence
It represents the ability to conceptualize logical relations between action and symbol. People with a high logical-mathematical coefficient become good mathematicians, computer specialists, engineers.
6. Interpersonal Intelligence
This type of intelligence gives a person the ability to interact very well with others. Such people have a highly developed intuition regarding the feelings, attitude, character and temperament of other people.
8. Naturalistic Intelligence
It represents the ability to understand and interpret well natural phenomena, elements, as well as human interaction with them. Such people become biologists, meteorologists, geologists, seismologists, etc.
Dr. Gardner's theories have not been fully accepted in scientific circles yet. According to some critics, they are too subjective and arbitrary. But still, it's a beautiful way to explain the variety of talents around us and how people are born with a certain destiny in one or more directions.
