Define intelligence?

Question

What is intelligence to you? To me, it means being able to take something you have learned and apply (and possibly profit from it, too!)

Rafael, awesome answer!

Answer 1

(IMO)
Intelligence varies not just from person to person but from culture to culture. If you regard it as the same thing as IQ then it should be pointed out that were an Aborigine to design an IQ test then the majority of the western world would be declared retarded. So intelligence depends entirely on context. Bill Gates is intelligent. He can program computers and has made multi-billions. A jungle dwelling pygmy is intelligent: he can survive on next to nothing, can track prey through two miles of solid green and mud, and can fashion anything he needs to survive by himself. Put Bill Gates in the forest, and our pygmy friend in the CEOs chair at Microsoft, and what you would have is two very stupid people.
Regardless of our surrounding, those who succeed have the ability to comprehend the meaning of the intricate patterns and perceptory inputs around them, combined with the ability to use this information to acheive their aims. Bill knows computers and western people, these both have conventions and patterns that he can recognize, adapt to and manipulate. The same can be said to be true for the pygmy and his forest. He knows the system, and can use it to survive optimally. With this context in mind, the nearest definition of intelligence i can find is the ability to recognize systems and patterns in the external world, and to understand and manipulate them to our own ends.
So anyone in any culture can be intelligent, it is just directed at different ends, in different ways.

Answer 2

Intelligence is a property of mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as: creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, some psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence.

Answer 3

Intelligence = awareness.

"Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid." —Albert Schweitzer

The government defines intelligence as information:

The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency since 2002 has run a beefed-up intelligence-gathering and support unit that has authority to operate clandestinely anywhere in the world where it is ordered to go in support of anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism missions.

"The Department of Defense has a longstanding human intelligence capacity in the Defense Human Intelligence Service, a component of the Defense Intelligence Agency."

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Answer 4

in·tel·li·gence

Pronunciation Key -
Pronunciation[in-tel-i-juhns]

–noun 1. capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.
2. manifestation of a high mental capacity: He writes with intelligence and wit.
3. the faculty of understanding.
4. knowledge of an event, circumstance, etc., received or imparted; news; information.
5. the gathering or distribution of information, esp. secret information.
6. Government. a. information about an enemy or a potential enemy.
b. the evaluated conclusions drawn from such information.
c. an organization or agency engaged in gathering such information: military intelligence; naval intelligence.

7. interchange of information: They have been maintaining intelligence with foreign agents for years.
8. Christian Science. a fundamental attribute of God, or infinite Mind.
9. (often initial capital letter) an intelligent being or spirit, esp. an incorporeal one, as an angel.

Answer 5

Intelligence is when you absorb information and are able to make sense out of it.

Being smart and intelligent are two different things.

Being intelligent does not mean you know how to apply the informtion to your daily life.

Answer 6

Intelligence is when a knowledgeable person looks at two seemingly unrelated items and sees new and creative uses for them. The guy that took a string and a stick and made a bow for example.

Answer 7

Creative Intelligence is life itself.

Intelligence is the immortal aspect of your own existence as is the applied value of creativity, so you are right to put intelligence and it's applied value together.

Answer 8

Intelligence is the ability to learn and process new information.

Answer 9

quick mind, grace under pressure, the ability to solve difficult problems, and surviving unexpected emergencies. intelligence is never gauged in the wisdom of words uttered, one can be intelligent enough without speaking a word.

Answer 10

Intelligence is the ability and willingness to learn. IQ is important, but only if it is applied.