The Legendary Intelligence Debate: How Smart Are We?

By: Sudev Raj

Throughout human history and across many civilizations, we have always been trying to figure out more about the world around us. As societies progressed, those who made notable discoveries, inventions, or notable advancements in fields like math and science were perceived as more intelligent. But what is intelligence? Scholars struggle to agree on exactly what intelligence is, as there are multiple perspectives as to what intelligence truly is.

In 1904, Charles Spearman proposed the idea that there is an underlying general intelligence, “g”, that influences all of one’s mental capabilities. He used factor analysis to achieve this conclusion, which helped him identify patterns in how participants performed on various mental tasks; he observed that people who did well in certain tests tended to do well in other tests.

On the other hand, L.L. Thurstone introduced the theory of Primary Mental Abilities in 1938, which claimed that intelligence wasn’t one ability but actually seven, including Verbal Comprehension, Word Fluency, Numerical Ability, Spatial Visualization, Memory, Perceptual Speed, and Reasoning. Thurstone challenges Spearman’s idea of “g” by emphasizing the independence of these abilities.

Howard Gardner branches off of L.L. Thurstone by forming his theory of Multiple Intelligences in the sense that intelligence isn’t dependent on one factor, but he focuses on different applications of intelligence, such as Intra- and Interpersonal intelligence and Musical/Rhythmic intelligence. Gardner summarizes his theory with his famous statement: “It’s not how smart you are, but how you are smart.”

Whether intelligence is a single factor or multiple aspects of one’s capabilities, it provokes thought on how we value our potential as human beings, and that people have different strengths. Understanding our differences can help us appreciate us for who we are rather than base each other off of IQ scores and achievements.