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Josh Robinson

Prof. Jarvis
FHS 1500
UNIT 4 (IRE 4)-- CHAPTERS 7 & 8 -- Choose one of the following:
5B: INTELLIGENCE
Respond to BOTH of the following: sets of questions:
1. Think of intelligent people whom you know well. What unintelligent things do they do?
All of them are bound to do some unintelligent things, so why do you consider them to be
intelligent people? Were you emphasizing some factors at the expense of others?
Explain.
2. Did you ever consider that the homeless shelter might be filled with people of
tremendous potential? There might be a world-class archer, a great poet, a magnificent
violinist, and a great president. However, the archer never happened to try the bow, the
poet never tried writing, the violinist ignored music, and the president never ran for office.
Instead, they worked at other things and weren't very good. Some might think of
themselves as failures, although they would have been successful if they had only tried
these other things. What argument is being made by these statements? How would the
concept of a general intelligence refute this argument?
1) Consider for a moment the question, Does success equal intelligence? or the inverse,
Does intelligence equal success? Many successful people I know are what I would consider
very intelligent, but not all of them. I also know many people who I thought were very
intelligent, but not very successful. So, what do these people have in common regardless of
success? I feel that one some key components are balance, aptitude, and common sense or as
Robert Sternberg calls it, Practical intelligence which we will get to in a moment.
Lets begin with balance. It seems that some of the most intelligent people I know dont
just know one thing really well, they know many things very well. They understand how things
work. It seems they understand the relationship of cause and effect. Intelligent people understand
this relationship and try to maintain balance- not allowing the effects to control the choices.
Aptitude is defined as, the potential to master a specific skill or to learn a certain body
of knowledge.(Berger, 2014, p. 269). The intelligent people I know are quick learners. They
seem to just understand how things work. In addition they can not only master a skill, but they
are able to explain and teach others how to master that skill. I might add that they are not only
able to master the skill or learn a certain body of knowledge, but they also can apply it to their
lives. This is not a natural gift or talent. People once thought that aptitude was a fixed
characteristic, present at birth, but this is not the case. Children with a low IQ(aptitude) can
become above average, or even gifted, (Berger, 2014, p. 270). Intelligent people are hard
workers, for the most part.
Finally, common sense is maybe the most important factor of people whom I feel are
intelligent. Robert Steinberg described this type of intelligence as everyday problem
solving.(Berger, 2014, p. 270). Think for a moment when you have witnessed something that
you thought to yourself, well, that was stupid. Now, that statement alone could also be
reworded as, well, that was not very intelligent. Intelligent people seem to grasp this very well
and dont make the everyday and very common stupid mistakes that others make.
2) This goes back to my opening paragraph and the question, Does intelligence equal
success? The answer, in my opinion, is no. There are a number of factors as to what leads to

success. Sometimes it is just plain old luck, or being in the right place at the right time. The
argument that is being made in those statements is that intelligence does not lead to success. And
that success is more than just being intelligent in one aspect. Yeah, they might know how to
write poems, but do they have the drive and are willing to put in the hard work to find someone
to publish their works? Or to create blog or website where they can post their material. That is
why intelligence alone does not lead to success.
The concept of general intelligence refutes the above statements because it states that
intelligence is single and is made up of all the different abilities one might have. So, you are
either intelligent or you or not. So, a homeless politician could potentially be president, except
he/she lacks other areas of the general intelligence that are required to be President.

References
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

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