Intelligence = number munching ?????

i got riled at a friend of mine who was surprised at something i could figure out that he dint.

that really got me thinking.. its not just my self obsessed cocky friend but many others who think intelligence can be defined at the rate at which you can add few numbers, solve a mathematical equation or play with some electronic gadgets !!

When I was in school, the healthy competition amongst kid was good fun. But the term genius would be always given to the one with 100/100 in Maths. I would always wonder why ?

my father would come especially to check my maths paper (which was something i still shudder thinking) and would yell at me for making silly mistakes in my Maths paper alone !!! He too came from the school of thoughts "if you aint good at maths you aint good at all !!"

so the tradition continued with my bro too who is 7 yrs younger.. but i had an edge there .. i had by then figured out a new way of judging intelligence.. for me comprehending ideas, understanding and using the nuances of language was passion and so i made that my own parameter.. so my bro was in for a double whammy .. me and baba..

but then i realized that was real unfair, he was great at arts and the best part about his drawings was you could not make head nor tail about what he is drawing untill he completed 75 % of it.

i started looking at him for what he was.. he definitely was intelligent and in a very different sort of way from me or baba..

there would be n number of egs where the person may not be good at maths or science but would be great at people's skill, awesome at organizing things or projects, creative with real out of the box ideas or persistent with whatever he / she does and comes up with a new way to do it or diffuse situation which would gain momentum that would put taliban to shame...

i have always drawn inspiration from Richard Branson.. his books always make you feel .. if he can so can you.. that man is one of my favorite eg of brilliance, dare devil cum brave heart, Casanova, on your face .. like it or leave it but cant ignore it ..maverick

well i could go on ranting about him.. neways the point i was trying to make.. i wonder how fast does he counts numbers and how good is he with equation..

another eg is mallika sherawat.. i really admire her marketing acumen.. There are many actors with better assets, much prettier face and truck loads of acting ability but she ensured she hogged the lime light..not only in Bollywood but also in Hollywood..



i think those who believe in "Intelligence = Number crunching" are looking for Instant Gratification in many cases...

they want to prove to themselves and others (not necessarily in that order) that they are more intelligent than others in the only way they know... number crunching .. and their complex brain makes them believe that is the best way of quantifying something as abstract as intelligence..

I googled “Intelligence” and here is what I got

Alfred Binet
Judgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense, initiative, the faculty of adapting one's self to circumstances...auto-critique.

David Wechsler
The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment.

Cyril Burt
Innate general cognitive ability

Linda Gottfredson
The ability to deal with cognitive complexity

Sternberg & Salter
Goal-directed adaptive behavior


Too many jargons??

Try this one ..

Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence.

To add to this what research found that People with High IQ (Intelligence Quotient – the parameter used to quantify intelligence) were not always successful in life.. that lead to the invention of EQ (Emotional Quotient) which states that “the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.”

Its been said that it is so complex that new defs and modification are being constantly made in this field ..

For those who are more interested, read up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence


So my point being .. those with higher EQ its time to rise and shine and show the world what you got baby…

Don’t get bullied by the number bully .. their rein is short lived… show them who the warrior of the long battle really is !!!

And those with higher IQ, go on .. have fun till the sun shines on you .. oh.. the sun already hid under the clouds now eh !!!!





PS interesting books by Richard Branson which are a must read for anyone who dreams big and also for those who have n’t dreamt yet ..

* Loosing my Virginity
* Screw it lets do it
( guys you will be disappointed if you looking for porn in these two books !!)
* Business stripped bare
(na not here too !!!)

During my search online for origin of EQ i ran into this interesting piece as well

http://www.shvoong.com/exact-sciences/1747812-eq-success/