Preview

Extended Definition Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
300 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Extended Definition Essay
Intelligence
Over the centuries, intelligence has grown with mankind. As mankind has developed new technologies, intelligence too has been altered and developed. Many people who use the word intelligence define it differently then what is usually universally understood to be intelligence, and the both of those groups define intelligence differently from the few who have it.
Some would say intelligence is a means to measure a person's mental acuteness to various factors. The more a person is able to adapt to change, whether they are adaptive to technology and advancement in time or just to the weather, the more a person is seen as intelligent. In this sense, it would make a teenager much more intelligent than many elderly people because youth are much more able to adapt to change then the elderly.
Others would argue that intelligence is how many facts a person can retain in his or her head. For instance Albert Einstein was able to hold many facts in his head so would that make him intelligent? It is generally a fact to say that Einstein was a genius, far more than just intelligent. But to call someone intelligent just because they can recollect a large amount of facts would not be a right thing to do. For example, my uncle can tell you anything you need or want to know about corn, but would that make him intelligent just because he knows facts about corn?
Finally, intelligence could be the accumulative amount of information and education that one can remember. People who have a better understanding of mathematics and social histories are seen as more intelligent as individuals who lack the same understanding. Once again, Albert Einstein had great knowledge in the fields of physics and mathematical calculations; but, his English was fairly

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Intelligence, depending on who is defining the word, is a word that has a variety of definitions. The definitions can vary from problem solving, education, to logic and communication. However, this paper will entail four different definitions of different time period and or cultures. The four definitions commonalities and differences will be discussed. This paper will compare and contrast the four definitions. The differences and similarities will be discussed. Furthermore, a conclusion about the nature of constructs such as intelligence will be provided. The four definitions…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    * Intelligence is mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Intelligence is an intrapersonal phenomenon, that is inside a person and it is generally agreed that the nature of this energy is unknown. Nevertheless, it may be known by its mental products (Groth-Marnet, 1997; Wechsler, 1939). Because there are many different ways to be intelligent there have also been many different definitions proposed (see Neiser, et al., 1996 for summary). A consensus on what constitutes intelligence is generally lacking. Alfred Binet (1908), the author of one of the first modern intelligence tests, defined intelligence as the inclination to take and maintain a specific direction, and capacity to adapt to achieve a goal outcome, and the power of autocriticism (Kaplan, & Saccuzzo, 2005). In contrast, David Wechsler, the developer of the Wechsler scales, defined intelligence as the aggregate capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment (Wechsler, 1958 as cited in Kaplin, & Saccuzzo). A review by Sternberg, (2005) of intelligence literature over the past century by psychologists and intelligence experts reveals two…

    • 4122 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    said, these movie characters are very good examples of a hero. However, heroes can also be…

    • 719 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Week 3 Psychology

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    People who performed well on one cognitive test tended to perform well on other tests, while those who scored badly on one test tended to score badly on others. He concluded that intelligence is general cognitive ability that could be measured and numerically expressed.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Outliers Essay

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Standardized test scores and grade point average have often been used as measures of academic intelligence, and predictors of educational achievement, job performance, and income. IQ or individual quotient testing was developed in the early 1900s as a means to quantifiably measure intelligence. Many individuals who achieved extraordinarily high IQ scores performed miserably in academics; however, they are successful in their respective fields including Albert Einstein (IQ of 160) and Madonna (IQ of 140). Comparably, John F. Kennedy was an Ivy League graduate and had an IQ of 119. Clearly, not everyone with a degree from an Ivy League university is bright, and not all people who lack a high school education are dumb. The concept of multiple intelligences demonstrates that there are many ways to learn and people are not all equally interested in the same forms of knowledge.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The learning of new information and the mental ability for an individual to apply reasoning or calculation and perception of relationships defines one’s intelligence. Retrieving and storing information in the general mental capacity, as well as adjusting to language fluency is also perceived as intelligence. So, intelligence is not only the learning and understanding of new information but it is the adaptation to that information being presented. The intellectual disability of a student is determined by the limitations the individual has in their intellectual functioning. Mental retardation is a below average intellectual…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    And really the worst part about all of that is that intelligence isn’t some blanket term, applicable to all areas of education. There are so many different types of intelligence that really even tests, as black and white and emotionless as they are, cannot determine how smart someone is.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In my high school your intelligence level is based on your ability to master material in difficult courses, which is quite different to people the same age in the Amazon rain forest. Their intelligence level is based on their knowledge of the medicinal properties of local plants. In both of these very different locations intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dr Stone The Mind Summary

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages

    From grade school to universities the most intelligent people are the most respected. Intelligence is taught as a skill that everyone must obtain to survive in today’s society. Intelligence also contains its flaws and errors. Humans because of our humane qualities can very irrational. Irrationality is a major flaw of intelligence; humans want to always maximize everything to its highest potential, but doing so has major consequences.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of intelligence according to the merriam-webster dictionary is the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations or the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one 's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria like IQ tests. The definition of achievement is an accomplishment, a result gained by effort, a great or heroic deed. Based on the definitions we can infer that intelligence may not necessarily play a role in achievement. An achievement can be to sail around the world while it may not be the most intelligent decision to make.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Intelligence: there are several definitions that come to mind when one ponders this word. Some may think of ability, others will stress wisdom, or one may define Intellect as the ability to effectively solve problems.There are certainly more opinions in defining intellect, though these definitions are acceptable definitions. There could be a reduced definition in which could refine the meaning of intelligence that would refine and condense all of the probabilities of how intelligence is defined.Intelligence could be defined as using one's full brain capacity to efficiently and ethically complete any task life presents us with to the best of our current ability while retaining as much knowledge as possible.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Intelligence is the all – purpose ability to do well on cognitive tests, to solve problems, and to learn from experience. The word itself though is measured differently throughout different cultures and societies. Many Americans think of it as the ability to reason, put thinking skills to use, think creatively, and to analyze things critically while in some other cultures it’s the ability to survive in extreme situations. The idea of intelligence was first introduced by Charles Spearmen. He suggested that it captures a common general ability that is reflected in performance on various cognitive tests. He studied young children who would do well in math but not in reading and vise versa and from this he came up with g, or that intelligence is a general ability.…

    • 674 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    General Psychology

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An intelligence test is a test designed to determine the relative mental capacity of a person, standardized tests are used to establish an intelligence level rating by measuring a student’s ability to form concepts, solve problems, acquire information, reason, and perform other intellectual operations. “Although intelligence, like thinking, cannot be directly seen or touched, psychologists tie the concept to achievements such as school performance and occupational status” (Rathus, 174).…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is Intelligence

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Many would say defining intelligence is easily done, or that intelligence is clearly the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. However, there is more than just one type of intelligence in people. Not every human has the same thought process and abilities. Every individual has their own set of unique abilities and talents that cannot be defined and captured in one sentence. Intelligence is defined by human beings, and by their actions, theories, beliefs, and innovations. Many have searched to define intelligence, which is why we are left with numerous theories of what intelligence actually is. Perhaps, there are two types of intelligence that categorize numerous talents and abilities possessed by humans.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays