Multiple Intelligence

Introduction

There are many words to explain someone who is 'intelligent', eg brainy, clever, smart, bright, brilliant, sharp quick-minded, etc.

Intelligence has been defined as
"...capacity to process a certain kind of information in a certain way..."
Howard Gardner as quoted by Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

Howard Gardner developed the concept of multiple intelligence, ie 9 types

Multiple Intelligence

i) musical (show sensitivity to rhythm and sound; like music)

ii) bodily/kinaesthetic (have a keen awareness of your body; being able to move your body effectively; like movement, making things and touching)

iii) logical/mathematical (can solve problems rapidly; able to reason, calculate, think conceptually; see and explore patterns and relationships; like experimenting and solving puzzles)

iv) linguistic (highly developed auditory skills; use words effectively; enjoy reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories)

v) spatial (tend to think in terms of physical space; aware of their environments; like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, etc)

vi) interpersonal (awareness of contrasts in moods, motivations and intentions of other people)

vii) intrapersonal (have a strong understanding of their own feelings and emotions; able to guide their own behaviour)

viii) naturalist (readily able to nurture and relate information to the natural environment around them
"...they can recognise elements in nature and the core distinctions in the natural world and use this ability productively..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

ix) existential (ability to use collective values and intuition to understand others and the world around them; able to see the 'big picture'; able to tackle questions around human existence, such as the meaning of life, etc)

Even though we may have a dominant 'intelligence', we can combine several.
"...For example, a computer programmer or app designer would use a mix of linguistic, mathematical and spatial. A history teacher would use a mix of linguistic and interpersonal, a dancer would use a mixture of musical and body/kinaesthetic. A coach or mentor would use a mixture of linguistic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. A surgeon would use a mixture of logical/mathematical, linguistic and body/kinaesthetic..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

In the formal western educational environment, like schooling, universities, etc, logical/mathematical and linguistic strengths are favoured. Consequently, in an academic environment, we implicitly downgrade the other forms of intelligence as being less valuable.

The standard IQ test does not measure of all forms of intelligence equally; it favours academic intelligence, ie logical/mathematical and linguistic. Yet
"...some of the greatest achievements by our species have primarily relied on qualities such as creativity, imagination, curiosity and empathy..."
Barbara Sahakian as quoted by Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

Some additional comments

Cognitive Flexibility (for more detail, see elsewhere in the Knowledge Base)

"...The ability to switch between ideas, change your operating style and behaviour, shift how you learn and adapt decision-making......we can be more adaptive and creative in how we approached solve problems..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

It means being flexible about the way you learn and implement things.

For example, the pandemic (starting 2020) has produced new challenges around work and schooling. Some reacted by becoming more rigid in their routines, while others found ways of adapting to the new situation, ie finding better and more varied ways of doing things

Contextual Intelligence

"...different types of intelligence are more relevant in different situations and environments. To achieve the best outcomes and make the most progress we need to be adept at recognising the shifting context and then open to identifying what is best needed at that moment..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2022c

NB Intelligence is not static. As you learn and grow, etc your intelligence can change.