Lately I’ve been wondering if there is such a thing as “intelligence.” Not in the sense you might be thinking of, but the sense in which the media portrays it: that some people have it and some don’t.
The definition of intelligence can be quite complex, but every single person has it to some degree, even the mentally retarded.
We seem to be told since day 1 that some of us are can do complex math equations or read long books while others are better off sticking to physical labor and sports.
That can be true. Some people have no aptitude for certain things, no matter how much they try to learn them. Some people have a talent or aptitude for certain subjects, and they learn them easily, almost effortlessly. I’ve no talent for most manual skills, regardless of effort or method of learning. On the other hand I tend to learn languages quickly and reasonably well.
They underlying message of this is a resounding “you can’t” to everyone who fails something on the first try. Get a D on your first math exam? Well, you just aren’t “book-smart.” It’s not your fault. Try out for the football team.
Of course a failure at one time does not mean the undertaking is hopeless. Consistent failure may mean that.
What I find more disturbing is the implication that sports, manual labor and such require no intelligence, abilities or skill. Granted they may require less intelligence than academic pursuits, busines and management, but abilities and skills count for a lot. A good auto mechanic is priceless and worth holding on to. A good plumber is rare. A good football player, aside from needing to hone athletic abilities and various skills, has to think a lot on the best moves to make given the situation on the field.
I’m sure that everyone, save for the mentally disabled, is fully capable of understanding algebraic equations or plate tectonics. But we continue to let ourselves be told that some people simply don’t have the “intelligence” to grasp concepts like those.
Everyone is capable to understand such thins on a qualitative level. Ona quiantitative, detailed one, I suppose everyone is, but it takes too much time and dedication to know the subjects well.
As for why such things happen, elites tend to define intelligence in certain ways. Take any modern highly intelligent scientist, say Einstein or Bohr, and put him in the middle ages. He’d be told he’s not intelligent because he lacks knowledge of religion, Latin literature and holds risible ideas like a spherical planet that’s not at the center of all Creation. Because that’s what intelligence meant at the time to the elite.