I have always believed that there are different types of "intelligence." Maybe the G factor is good as a basic idea for generalized intelligence, but I think it kind of masks the complexity of intelligence. For example, I am very good in school when I apply myself. I was always seen as gifted and was literally put into the program in first grade after an IQ test (at first they thought I was dumb because of ADHD). Now I don't remember how high it was but I believe it was between 120-130. I was very young so it's hard to remember but I did end up in gifted classes from first grade until the end of middle school. In high school I didn't apply myself really and got distracted with girls and other things. I still did good though and took AP classes and actually ran out of math and science classes to take. I dual enrolled and took all of my college English classes in highschool. I actually never took an English course in college and as a senior in high school I think I only took like 3 or 4 highschool classes a week.<br><br>I had twins at 18 so that kind of threw off my academic life as I focused on my children. I ended up going back to college when I was about 28 and then I truly applied myself and ended up getting my AA with a 4.2 GPA, honors, deans list every semester, president's list, Phi Theta Kappa honor society, etc. I was in the top .01% of my school if I remember correctly. I can take in material and I am a very good reader and pretty good with testing. I was always in the top 99% for FCAT (Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test) and honestly always felt sad that I was even that high as the test was unimpressive to me. But I also have great communication , comprehension, and problem solving skills. These are all important because any skill that is necessary for taking in information or testing your knowledge is in essence an "intelligence enhancing" skill.<br><br>When you get into more advanced math and science you will clearly see that people have these different types of intelligences. You can have a class with very bright students and one may even technically be "smarter" than everyone else in the sense of spitting out answers and knowing material. But when you get to this point it can actually mean less. What can mean more is the WAY you think, the way you process the information, and how you go from point A to B. This is because at this point it can be much less about KNOWING the information and way more about WHAT YOU DO with the information. Problem solving skills are key to this process and someone that is technically "less intelligent" may actually be better at problem solving and thus come up with answers better and faster. You ESPECIALLY see this when it comes to complex material that involves problem solving more so than information retention.<br><br>I am also ADHD and can appear as almost stunted when it comes to many other things. For example, I have absolutely awful sense of direction and use of location and maps. I also have terrible trouble finding things and keeping up with them as well as my ability to create any kind of skilled artwork, play music, etc. I am also quite bad when it comes to mechanical things. Yet I have a friend that only graduated highschool, didn't apply himself well, was dyslexic, etc. and would be considered not who you would look at when it comes to like academic and book-type intelligence. Yet this man makes me look like an absolute moron when it comes to mechanical stuff. He is just extremely gifted with it and it comes to him very easy. If you just saw us doing mechanical stuff I would be the one looking like a moron. I've also dated women that were excellent with navigation and finding stuff. It's like they could see a map inside their head and it seemed so easy to them it was almost maddening at times. I could be literally damn near looking at an object in front of me and somehow not see it. They even thought I was messing with them sometimes or would make fun of me not knowing it truly hurt.<br><br>That's how I view intelligence personally. There are different types and I think it's kind of a foolish exercise to even try to measure "generalized intelligence." You'd be better off separating it into different types and then measuring them individually. Only thing I could think of is to combine them all into one as a "generalized form" of intelligence, but even that would be kind of silly IMO. I mean you can be an insanely skilled musician or artist and not even be able to read. How would you explain that with a generalized intelligence? And it may seem cliché but a lot of it also does involve straight up practice, exposure, passion, etc. I am extremely good at teaching and I've helped kids understand math and science in ways they said no other teacher ever even came close to and I think the difference between a good and a bad teacher is just incomparable. It's night and day and makes a HUGE difference in helping people advance in their knowledge and passion for knowledge.,(reply>), @Tomasz Wota haha. I like your phrasing. Very true indeed.,(reply>), @Meghan McCarthy I'm reading what you wrote and I'm kind of thinking we're walking around the same pudle of water, but we're just always at the opposite side of it. Still beats being at the opposite side of an ocean.,(reply>), One other thing. That genius kid was super awkward socially. His social skills were  LOW and social skills are very important in life. He'd be horrid at sales or dealing with the public in any form. So again, I do not fully value IQ tests for this reason and many others.,(reply>), @Tomasz Wota Yeah, of course I was interested in writing books and I only write about things I"m interested. I know that when I apply myself I can do quite well. What I wish is that lower education would find those kids and direct their energy toward pursuits they're interested in. Also, environment is a factor. Let's say my mom was abusive and beat me. I'd probably be more absorbed with the immediate things in front of me vs reading/studying/working on doing well on the SATs. So that's why I hate using tests as a measure of intelligence -there are too many factors that can cause a person to do poorly. On the flip side, I had a playmate growing up who was a literal genius. He used to play chess against my sister and I BLINDFOLDED. Not only did he get a perfect score on the SATs but he also informed the test providers of a mistake he found. He went on to MIT and Oxford. He was a mathematical genius but.... he sort of dropped out and stopped working and studying. So test taking and IQ is only half the battle. One needs to be DRIVEN and be able to take rejection and loss and hardship. If you listen to millionaire investors they say repeatedly that at times they went bankrupt and had to start all over again. You have to dust yourself off and carry on. There are so many factors that go into making someone successful that I just think relying on IQ is silly.,(reply>), @Meghan McCarthy So I guess what I want to say is that more intelligent people can behave in a way that makes them effectively the same as less intelligent people.<br><br>If I'm IQ 90 and you're IQ 130 and we both do as poorly at the same test, well, we're both a bit slow. Maybe I'm just slow andn don't have much of a choice, but you're acting like you're slow because you don't see the point in applying yourself. <br><br>Effectively, if you don't use your intelligence, you're just as slow as I am - but by choice.<br><br>And here we can discuss how much of that choice is made for you by your environment, because obviously there are people that have their wings cut at any opportunity, but that's... Maybe a topic for another day. ;)<br><br>Cheers!