Intelligence

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

Intelligence is a property of the mind. People do not agree on what intelligence is, exactly. The idea comes from Latin intelligo. A part of intelligence allows people to solve problems. These problems may be easy to solve. They may also be hard to solve, and involve abstract thought.

If a solution is found to a problem, it can be remembered. That way, the problem is solved more quickly when it comes up again. That is what is called learning.

There is disagreement about what has more impact on intelligence, genetics or environment.

Some people say that intelligence can be tested. An intelligence test for them would be solving many problems in a very short time. Most of the problems have to do with seeing things, or telling what a rotated shape will look like. Some are also related to mathematics, for example to tell what number is next. Other tests have to do with words. After doing such a test, they will then calculate a number they call Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Since most of the words on these tests have to do with Latin, some people say that an Intelligence Quotient only measures how much a person has learned Latin. People in other parts of the world have very different ideas about the mind.

Some people try to build machines that try to act as if they were intelligent. That is related to Computer science and is called Artificial intelligence (man-made "intelligence" that is not real).

Some say that intelligent behaviour is when an organism (a living thing) reacts enough to a stimulus. By right, humans seem to have the highest intelligence level over all life. But some scientists argue that other animals have other forms of intelligence, such as spatial intelligence, and so it is wrong to say that humans are the cleverest.