I have nothing to say here. I’m just curious about what do you guys think about what I’m asking.
Ability to retain knowledge, ability to understand things and plain old common sense.
Although I’m pretty sure a lot of people are going to disagree with me. I’ve met quite a few people who get classed as intelligent but have no common sense whatsoever, and in my opinion that means they’re not intelligent. For instance, there’s someone in my class who everyone praises as being so smart and gifted, yet every time I look at him, all I can think about is the time he decided to stand on (and break) an antique chair in an Italian hotel because he “felt like it”.
i wouldn’t say that common sense is the only determining factor of intelligent, that is more mental intelligence than academic like knowing a bunch of things instead of making smart decisions, that’s why some people note others as ‘mentally retarded’, because they can’t make decisions up for themselves. complex sense is also another factor that would determine someone as being smart, such as high awareness and caution, good detective work, eyesight, obversation, and also charismatic too. emotional, academic and mental intelligence are really all of the things that you could compare to someone’s general intelligence. I see the same kind of praise for my kind of intelligence, knowing a lot and too many things but not having a right mind in the head to do the right things sometimes, even when it’s obvious to.
There are various types of intelligence really. I think. Here’s a list
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_ … elligences
It’s not perfect really though in terms of empiracl data (and no doubt someone can probably be a bit of one or the other), but there you go.
I mean I’m a bit dyslexic and have problems learning other languages. Generally I am above average with numbers and well, I’m a bit introverted but I’m kind of an extrovert in comparison to most introverts (if that makes any sense at all…I really skim the boundary). I also have some existential intelligence, of course that might be me being a big blow hard 
.
Overall though I think it can be difficult to class things- I can play the piano, but I don’t think I’m particuarly musically talented. (I mean I CAN play a piece of music, but I have to practice A LOT on just one new piece to get a ‘feel’ for it and it’s actually been a while since I’ve played. I’m not one of those people who can play a piece of music amazingly well on their first or second try let alone be a composer). Also while some people are talented in some direction more than others- most of them perhaps simply take a lot of work and interest in that area. I can’t draw to save my life. I wish I could but either I have a mental block that prevents me or I’m just not patient enough for it to develop in any way and practise. For some reason I’d rather write, despite my dyslexia.
As far as I’m concerned, while people can be more talented at different things, your overall aptitude to learn and problem solve is what creates intellect. I think that common sense and intelligence are different things; its part of the reason I differentiate between “smart” and “intelligent.” “Smart,” for me, is not only the ability to solve problems and understand information, but also including knowledge you get from succeeding. Just because you have the genetic intelligence to learn does not mean you actually will.
It think intelligence can be measured more than just high IQ. I think that people can be intelligent it other aspects as in art, humanities, music, sports, anything.
This is a very subjective but I suppose interesting question.
In my opinion, what makes a person intelligent is experience. This is closely linked to knowledge acquisition. Nobody is innately born knowing everything about the world. Even savants and geniuses need to undergo learning, just that they do it in different ways and a different rate.
You don’t become intelligent by sitting in a prison cell and doing nothing. Well, besides becoming very intimate with said cell and knowing every nook and cranny. You become intelligent by going out in the world. Talking to people. Trying new things. Reading books. Watching everything, from the birds singing in the morning, to some kick-*ss cop show on TV. Learning from different sources, not just taking your information from one channel. Questioning, always questioning, trying as much as possible not to accept the status quo if it could be improved.
A construction labourer can be intelligent in fixing a complex plumbing system that no white-collar office suit can. Similarly, an infant may be more intelligent in the sense that he/she is more inquisitive and straightforward than a cynical and world-weary adult. A person who lives in the African savannah may be more intelligent in gathering food and surviving in the wild than the pampered city-dweller who has everyday conveniences in the concrete jungle. A kind and loving child who grows up taking care of animals and fellow human beings is more emotionally-intelligent than a calculating and ruthless dictator who rules his country with intimidation and aggression.
Some people try to measure intelligence and pigeonhole it, but I feel that it depends on how one defines it.
I had a feeling that somebody would say common sense, but I felt like it was more than that. Thedriveintheatre summed it up perfectly for me.
I see what you’re saying TDIT, but I have to respectfully disagree. Some people naturally have higher aptitude for learning and problem solving. I’d like to relate this to a certain quote from Ratatouille: “Not everyone can be [great], but [greatness] can come from anywhere.” Of course, the way you are raised and the skills you learn have a huge impact on your development, but people with natural intellect can more easily make progress despite obstacles than those who don’t have it can.