Exploring Intelligence

No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process,or in the form of a phonographic recording , nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use without written permission of the publisher. Most people can identify intelligent signals, be they from a person, animal or machine. But can brainpower be measured, quantified and changed? Is human reasoning similar to how an animal might obtain a hidden treat or how a machine decides to trade a rook for a bishop? A definition is trickier than it might appear. SATs and IQ tests don't tell everything about a person's chances of success in college or at a job, the author claims. Creativity and practical intelligence (" street smarts ") are critical components as well, and tests can be devised that accurately assess these abilities. Unfortunately, they are overlooked in the big business of standardized testing. According to the theory of multiple intelligences, there are eight, possibly nine, different kinds of intelligence, including musical, athletic and personal. The originator of the theory discusses these ideas and argues that they are just as important as the intelligence measured by paper-and-pencil tests. Also known as g, the general intelligence factor is what IQ tests are all about. Despite the political controversy surrounding it, the test scores and their differences, the author argues, are meaningful indicators not only of academic performance but also of future life outcomes, such as employment, divorce and poverty. The most controversial book on intelligence in the past decade created much political and media upheaval. But its conclusions as they relate to social policy are poorly grounded, and little has actually come in the way of policy changes. Often assumed to be well adjusted and easy to teach, gifted children and prodigies are generally out of step with their peers and can develop feelings of isolation that prevent them from achieving as adults. Most extreme are savants, who have a phenomenal capacity for calculation or memory despite being autistic.