What if We're Wrong About Intelligence? An Expansive View Of "Smart"

Our understanding of intelligence is evolving

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.

“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

We’ve all been there. We get a test and see that C- and our heart sinks. We tell ourselves that we’re not smart. But what if intelligence is more expansive than we give it credit for? What if being “smart” means having the ability to learn in many different ways? 

In the early 1900s, intelligence was defined as the ability to think abstractly. This definition favored those who did well in school and on IQ tests. 

But as psychologist Howard Gardner pointed out in his 1983 book “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” this view of intelligence is too narrow.

Gardner proposed seven types of intelligence:

• Linguistic intelligence is the ability to use language.

• Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to reason abstractly and solve problems.

• Spatial intelligence is the ability to perceive the world and visualize objects in three dimensions.

• Bodily-ki…