intelligence

The role of intelligence in modern society

In order to accurately answer this question, the meaning of ‘intelligence’ must be addressed first. How can one justifiably rate intelligence? What is our intelligence based upon? Is it our IQ? (A unit of measurement)…How well we perform at school academically?…The upbringing we have received from our parents/guardians? What about the practical tasks we engage in on a daily basis? Do they not count?

My mother moved to this country when she was 3years of age and has been living here ever since. She is now 44. Yet, due to the strict values her father imposed on her as a child, she was restricted from schooling and only reached primary level. But my mother is one the most intelligent people I know. Yet she received little education. So how did I come to this conclusion? What is the basis of her intelligence? Well the answer is simple. She takes part in hundreds of activities day by day, and meets different people. Her intelligence has increased due to the world knowledge and the experience she has gained all through her life. Bringing up four younger brothers and one sister, while taking charge of the household affairs, (and that includes washing, cooking, changing the nappies of her siblings) is a challenge I cannot even comprehend let alone imagine. So for my mother to do all that, at the tender age of 10, makes her, in my eyes, a genius. Not based on any academic skills- and all the controlled tests we have to ‘perform’, the requirements that have to be met, the high expectations that have thrusted upon us which seems to be the way ‘society’ assesses everything these days, but by the mere challenge of life itself. And that is the challenge intelligence holds and brings and thus should be, the role of intelligence. Where all other forms of intelligence are artificial, man-made and self-constructed, the intelligence that life throws at you, is the intelligence that cannot be measured and the role society ‘should’ hold.