The True Nature of Intelligence
© 2004, Coert Visser How do we view intelligence? Both laymen and experts use widely varying definitions of intelligence. Try and ask your friends and colleagues what they think intelligence is. You will probably get references to solving problems, being able to adapt, quick thinking, quick learning, being creative, being smart, reasoning logically, being sensible, analytic qualities, and so on. Interestingly, although the variation in answers is great, most layman and experts seem to agree on certain aspects of intelligence. Most people implicitly or explicitly assume that intelligence has the following three characteristics: Intrapersonal : intelligence is a characteristic of individuals. In other words: it is intrapersonal. It is inside you and is indissoluble from you as an individual. Personnel selection psychologists often base their advices to a large degree on individual measurements of intelligence. Laymen too view intelligence mainly as something that is inside the person. O...