Intelligence
By: Max • Essay • 435 Words • April 1, 2010 • 816 Views
Intelligence
Intelligence is considered to be one of the most desirable personality qualities in today's
society. Anyone can define intelligence because it is an open-ended word that has much room for
interpretation. Thus my paper is an attempt to find the meaning of human intelligence. However,
despite all the tests and criteria that measure intelligence, the question still remains: what is
intelligence? How can it be measured? Is there only one kind of intelligence, or do humans
possess several? These seemingly simple questions have proved to be some of the most
perplexing and contentious topics in both public and scientific circles.
For hundreds of years people have tried to figure out just what it means to be intelligent.
In fact there has been many theories on what intelligence really is and the debate over its true
definition was very controversial. However, now-a-days experts seem to agree on a single
definition of what intelligence is. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, intelligence is
defined as the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations. So in other
words, intelligence is not just the info you know or the activities you've learned to do. But its our
ability to use our knowledge to manipulate one's environment in an ever changing world.
When one thinks of measuring intelligence, most people talk about IQ's (intelligence
quotient). Alfred Binet was one of the first psychologists to create an intelligence test back in
1905. The Binet test was used identify students who needed the most help I schools. The test was
changed and modified over the years, and it has become the basis for many modern day
intelligence tests. And IQ test measures a persons cognitive abilities in relation to their age
group.