Intelligence is not everything

Sometimes we use the adjective intelligent to describe a person who stands out for his intellectual abilities or special skills and talents, the truth is that this misconception about intelligence has made us believe that intelligence is everything, if I am not good at studies is because I am not intelligent, while if I stand out is because I have the intelligence to do so.

Intelligence, at least that which can be measured by a test, is the biological result of a series of cognitive factors that allow us to acquire new knowledge more or less easily, to solve complex situations and to develop in more demanding environments. This biological predisposition in no way guarantees that we will have a positive result, intellectually speaking, just as the fact that we have a predisposition towards the development of a certain disease does not mean that we will suffer from it throughout our lives.

We will now proceed to a brief analysis of this subject, with the aim of outlining the fundamental aspects and providing a basic understanding of the subject.

Some aspects of intelligence

To approach this subject we must refer to the "Agreements of the American Psychological Association on intelligence", published in 1994 and signed by several renowned scientists.

The aforementioned agreements devote an important part to the distinction between intelligence and knowledge. Intelligence should be seen as an innate faculty for solving problems, performing logical analysis and acquiring new knowledge more easily. Knowledge, as that new content or skill that we seek to integrate, is not productive by the mere fact of learning it.

It is the ability we have to put that knowledge into practice that can make us stand out from the rest or provide us with positive results. You don't need to be a genius to learn to speak three languages, of course, if your IQ is 150 the chances of learning to speak three languages increase considerably. However, being a genius will not make you a studious, persevering or language-loving person. Just as nothing prevents an above average person from speaking three languages and a genius from not, nothing prevents that same person from being better than that genius in all academic fields.

Tips

The history of mankind is full of geniuses who were a disaster in their studies, who failed in almost everything they set out to do. If today we know them as geniuses it is partly because that genius made them passionate about something and they knew how to take it to levels never seen before. But in the same way, every year there are thousands of people with an above-average IQ who occupy top management positions, create businesses, discover a vaccine or stand out as excellent artists. While thousands of geniuses will die without us knowing of their intellectual exceptionality.

The point is that it is not enough to be intelligent, you can have a formidable body to be exploited in the gym but if you never go to the gym, you will never be able to show off your muscles. To be smart is to play with an advantage, to run with shoes while your companions run barefoot, but even if you have shoes you have to run or you will not reach the finish line.

The brain must be worked like any other muscle, it must be nourished and exercised to obtain its full potential. Factors such as discipline, perseverance and willpower are determining factors. At the same time, it is a reality that we are conditioned socially, by the environment and the environment in which we develop, which although they are not determinant, significantly influence the outcome of our efforts.