Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

What does Intelligence mean? According to Webster’s ‘’the ability to reason or

understand’’(Jackson, 1997, p.1). Well, most of us have the ability to reason and

understand, so does that define us as intelligent? Many would argue that different

individuals are intelligent in different areas. In reality, there is not only one answer to

this question. Many different factors play into the question being asked. For example,

psychologists believe that behaviour determines one’s intellect, whereas, others believe

it’s hereditary or environmental. Determining who is right and who is wrong is not of

importance but rather how they came up with each theory, and what is the usefulness of

measuring intelligence.. For one, there is no genetically proven fact that these theories are

factual. Although, through research some points have been supported through statistical

figures. Also, what has been determined has been based on the correlations between a

specific situation and the outcome itself. Consistent studies and the dedication of some

individual were able to note some patterns and eventually develop a formula to help put

‘’intelligence’’ in a better perspective..

In our society, IQ. testing is a misunderstood term, most commonly associated with

how smart a person is, based on their mental capacity or brain size. This misconception

has put a huge emphasis on one’s ability to score high on an intelligence test. When in fact

it does not measure intelligence at all, keeping in mind that our society defines intelligence

as being ‘’smart’’. In fact, all it really shows is a persons aptitude or ability to solve

problems quickly. IQ. testing is nothing more than a tool to help...