Smart People I Know: Dad, Mom, and Dr. White

My dad is great at solving problems. He thinks quickly and finds solutions to tough situations. This kind of smart is called analytical intelligence (Behn & Vaupel, 1978).

My mom is different. She's good at understanding people's feelings and needs. She can tell how someone feels even before they say it. This is called interpersonal intelligence, according to Gardner (Davis et al., 2011).

Dr. White, an old teacher of mine from high school, is smart in another way. He's good with words and logic, and he can explain hard topics easily and he thinks in a clear, logical way. Gardner would say he has linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence (Safranj, 2016).

Some people think being smart is only about genes. But it's also about where you grow up and what you learn. My dad, mom, and Dr. White were probably born with some of their smarts, but they also learned a lot from life.

My mom also has something called emotional intelligence. It means she understands feelings really well. Dr. White is not just smart; he is also creative in how he teaches.

So, being smart can mean many things. My dad, mom, and Dr. White show that there are different ways to be intelligent.

References

Behn, R. D., & Vaupel, J. W. (1978). Quick analysis.Policy Studies Journal,6(3), 325.

Davis, K., Christodoulou, J., Seider, S., & Gardner, H. E. (2011). The theory of multiple

intelligences.Davis, K., Christodoulou, J., Seider, S., & Gardner, H.(2011). The theory of multiple intelligences. In RJ Sternberg & SB Kaufman (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence, 485-503.

afranj, J. (2016). Logical/mathematical intelligence in teaching English as a second

language.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,232, 75-82.