Let's talk about Intelligence

(1) What is intelligence? (2) What would you say about your intelligence? (3) What can you do to increase your intelligence? (4) Why are some people more intelligent than others? (5) Does intelligence run in the family? (6) Does school make a person more intelligent? (7) Do you think scientists will create Artificial Intelligence that is greater than our intelligence? (8) Is there a link between intelligence, creativeness and humour? (9) Does intelligence make people more attractive? (10) Does speaking English well make you more intelligent than a friend who cannot speak English at all?

THE CONCEPTS OF INTELLIGENCE. The word intelligence comes from the Latin word inteligere and means “to understand”. Intelligence is a mental characteristic that consists of the ability to learn from experience, adjust to new situations, understand and use abstract concepts, and use knowledge to mastering new situations. The concept of intelligence today is generally considered to be a set of different, individual independent intellectual abilities. Although the definitions of intelligence differ, theorists agree that intelligence is a potential rather than a fully developed ability. Intelligence is considered to be a combination of inherent characteristics of the nervous system and developmental intelligence, shaped by experience and learning. Although one might think that high intelligence allows to a person success in society, many other factors that affect the social success make predictions unreliable. Mechanisms of transforming intellectual ability into social success are not fully clarified. For example, there is a strong link between success in elementary school and intelligence, but after elementary school it is no longer possible to predict the success of individuals based on intelligence.