Personal Intelligence

Humans possess an array of different kinds of intelligence. Each individual possess varying levels of these different intelligences, giving each person a unique "cognitive profile."

Gardner's 1983 book, 'Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences', debated the concept of intelligence, and whether methods which claim to measure intelligence [or aspects of] are truly scientific.

The word "intelligence" is often incorrectly substituted for "ability". Using school tests as an example; a child who scores well on a maths test is not necessarily more intelligent than another child who struggled with the same test.

One only needs to study individuals exhibiting unusual talents in a given field (child prodigies, autistic savants) for neurological evidence that are specialized for particular capacities that fall outside the commonly used IQ tests and psychometric studies.

Gardner originally identified seven core intelligences:

1. Linguistic Intelligence - words, languages
2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence - numbers, logic, abstraction
3. Spatial Intelligence - vision, judgement
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence - movement and doing, dance, sports.
5. Musical Intelligence - rhythm, music, hearing
6. Social Intelligence - interpersonal
7. Emotional Intelligence - intrapersonal
8. Naturalistic Intelligence - nature, nurturing, classification

Further studies by Gardner continue to discover potentially a ninth intelligence, an existential intelligence.

There is much controversy over Gardners theory of intelligence, mostly in two areas:

1. The Gardner essentially denies the actual existance of intelligence
2. That his claims have not been empirically proven

One only has to look at the failing educational systems and failing societies to wonder whether perhaps he is the only one who has it right!!

NEXT: Linguistic Intelligence

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Personal Intelligence | Linguistic | Logical-Mathematical | Spatial | Bodily-Kinesthetic |
Musical | Social | Emotional | Naturalistic