What Makes A Person Smart?

Intelligence is one of the most traditional subjects in psychology. In fact, its history and development inspired much of the methodology in other areas, because the main headache that the study of intelligence has brought us is perhaps its measurement. In other words, how to determine whether a person is smart or not is an impossible challenge if we don’t know what makes someone smart.

The definitions of the concept of intelligence are many. The number of entries we find on major search engines where disparate definitions appear is a bit daunting.

For some, it’s the art of solving problems, for others, it’s the art of questioning, or even the art of choosing the right time to make decisions… Anyway, many arts that sound like skills somehow remind us that intelligence, by itself, without the generation or potential to generate valued products, it doesn’t make much sense.

Let’s try to understand what makes a person smart.

Was Einstein smarter than Mozart?

To ask this question is, in a way, to confront music lovers with physics lovers.

Many argue that we should approach the concept of intelligence from a social perspective,  our need to relate and the advantages we can gain for ourselves, the immediate environment or society, if we do well in this regard.

For example, if we look at primates, we find that the complex social environment has encouraged them to be able to cheat and maintain behaviors that we could describe as altruistic. There is even an open debate about whether they have a “theory of mind” – a sense of self as a unique individual, separate from others in the group (Gallup, 1982; Hauser, MacNeilage & Ware, 1996).

Relevant studies on intelligence

When we talk about intelligence, we usually refer to intellectual capacity; be able to learn, remember and use new information, solve problems and adapt to new situations. At the beginning of studies on intelligence, we find illustrious names such as those of Charles Spearman and Francis Galton.

However, if there is one study that stands out from the rest, it is that of Binet. The context in which he developed his work was education, and his interest in studying intelligence was to improve the educational system, looking for a way to intervene in children who had more learning difficulties.

Together with his colleague Theodore Simon, Binet devised a test to try to measure the intellectual capacity of children. To do this, they created individual test items that children should answer based on their age. For example, a three-year-old should be able to point to the mouth and eyes, a nine-year-old should be able to name the months of the year in order, and a twelve-year-old should be able to name sixty words in three minutes. His assessment became the first “IQ test”.

What makes a person smart?

Aristotle entered history through different milestones. However, perhaps one of the most important was the creation of a method to produce knowledge. We talk about maieutics. Anyone who wants to use it needs a very special skill : to be skilled in the art of asking questions.

By pulling that same thread, we saw that science advances when it is able to ask important questions, before getting relevant answers. So perhaps the most primary sign of intelligence has a lot to do with question generation.

Traditionally, a person skilled at solving logical problems is often considered intelligent. Mathematics, due to its ease of abstraction and isolation of certain cultural variables, may have been the preferred field for testing evidence. On the other hand, perhaps the most inspiring and inclusive modern theory was that of Gardner.

Gardner’s theory is based on the idea that people process information through different “channels” that are independent – ​​or partially independent. In addition, he identified 8 common intelligences that include: 1) logical mathematics, 2) visual-spatial, 3) musical rhythm, 4) verbal-linguistic, 5) bodily-kinesthetic, 6) interpersonal, 7) intrapersonal, and 8) naturalistic . This idea is very interesting; from it emerged the current that commits to adapting the way information is presented individually to enhance learning.

Positive psychology, on the other hand, has broadened the answer to what makes a person intelligent, highlighting the value of emotional intelligence. This current opposes the idea that emotions, or the associated emotionality and intuition, are enemies of intelligence. Furthermore, it argues that someone intelligent is able to correctly manage their emotions, listening to the associated message and choosing the best way to channel their energy.