We are All Intelligent: A Letter to My Younger Self

Please keep an open mind while reading this.

The Oxford dictionary defines intelligence as "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills." By this definition everyone is technically intelligent. Essentially anyone who has ever questioned something, or critically thought about something, or created an idea based off of something, or been apart of some type of sport, or performed some form of art should be considered intelligent. Some of us are conventionally intelligent. Some of us are artistically intelligent. Some of us are athletically intelligent. Some of us are musically intelligent. We all deserve to be called intelligent because we all are.

Howard Gardner, a psychology professor at Harvard University, is well known for his theory of multiple intelligence. Gardner believes that there 8 types of intelligence (displayed to the left).

Some people are so focused on logical intelligence as the sole intelligence because as a society we tend to equate intelligence with success. The smarter one is the more potential they have to succeed. We are taught that all the other types of intelligences are insignificant because they are harder to find career paths in and because success rates in such fields are low. For example, music, art, and sports are usually taught as extracurriculars and are often cut from schools when they can no longer be afforded. Children are set up to think that such forms of intelligence are subpar or not as useful in society and while logical intelligence may be more practical, it is by no means superior.

We normally call artistic or music or athletic intelligence as "talented" which does not make them any less important but it changes their meaning. More people should start considering these "talents" as forms of intelligence because that is what they are.