Sure You Know Yourself Better?

This is the most interesting topic that I ever studied in TESL. ‘The Theory of Multiple Intelligences’ by Dr. Howard Gardner (1983).

Before we proceed, allow me to remind you that you can either be one of them, or be more than one of them, or even all of them. Like you said, you know yourself better.

1. Verbal-linguistic Intelligence (word smart)
People who possess this intelligence are very good in dealing with words and languages. Spoken and written. They are typically good at reading and writing, as well as providing explanations, using persuasive skills and talking. They enjoy debating, discussing, telling stories and memorizing.

They’re most probably writers, lawyers, philosophers, poets, journalists, teachers, or politicians.

2. Logical-mathematical Intelligence (number/reasoning smart)
People with this intelligence enjoy calculating, reasoning, experimenting, recognizing and solving things. They are very good with numbers. This intelligence also correlates strongly with the traditional concept of ‘intelligence’ or ‘I.Q’.

They’re most probably mathematicians, engineers, doctors, and economists.

3. Visual-spatial Intelligence (picture smart)
This intelligence deals with visual and spatial judgment. People with this type of intelligence are normally good in visualizing and memorizing. Other than that, they are also quite skilled in hand-eye coordination, and artistically inclined, which means they can draw and appreciate pictures and images.

They’re most probably artists, architects and engineers.

4. Bodily-kinaesthetic Intelligence (body smart)
This intelligence involves body movement and physical activities. People with this intelligence enjoy sports. They learn by moving around and experiencing the knowledge themselves rather than just reading and hearing about it.

They’re most probably athletes, dancers, builders and soldiers.

5. Musical Intelligence (music smart)
Musical intelligence refers to the ability to display greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythm, music and tones. People who possess this intelligence have a very high level of listening skills. They usually work best with music playing in the background. Please be reminded that good at singing doesn’t make a person musically intelligent, but musically intelligent will normally lead that person to being a good singer.

They’re most probably singers, composers, instrumentalists, and disc-jockeys (DJ).

6. Intrapersonal Intelligence (self smart)
People with this intelligence work best when they are allowed to concentrate on the subject by themselves. They are usually introverts and prefer to walk alone. Despite that, these people are highly self-aware of their own emotions, goals and motivations.

They’re most probably philosophers, psychologists, writers, entrepreneurs and scientists.

7. Interpersonal Intelligence (people smart)
These are the people who understand others’ moods, feelings, and motivations. They also have the ability to cooperate and work as a team. They are extroverts, and normally characterized by their sensitivity to emotions provided by people around them. Communication and empathy are two things that drive them, and factors that make them a good leader respectively.

They’re most probably politicians, managers, teachers, social workers and salespersons.

8. Naturalistic Intelligence (nature smart): added in 1997
This intelligence deals with the ability to involve nature in learning, which leads to understanding one’s natural surroundings. These people are very sensitive to nature, and capable of nurturing and growing things, or interacting with animals with ease. And recognizing and classifying things are their favourites.

They’re most probably scientists, naturalists, gardeners and farmers.

There are also other intelligences explored by Gardner and his colleagues, but these eight are the most occurring intelligences in people. As for me, I'm verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, intrapersonal and interpersonal. What's yours?

39 comments:

the unknown June 21, 2009 at 2:10 PM  

lovely post mate! can u recommend any good books or resources for multiple intelligence? i wanna know more bout it. things on the net juz touched on the surface.

nkecik June 21, 2009 at 2:16 PM  

1,2,3. which one is the astronaut?

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 2:20 PM  

The frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences by Howard E. Gardner.

that's all i know, mate..sorry.

but if you love thinking, perhaps u should read Edward De Bono's. His books are awesome! Like 'Six Thinking Hats', 'How To have A Beautiful Mind', 'How To Be More Interesting" and much more.:)

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 2:22 PM  

unknown: and yes, check this out.

http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/learning/mibib.htm

it provides some resources about the theory.

anish June 21, 2009 at 2:25 PM  

i remember this, in thinking skills subject. :)

multiple intelligence is not really hard to understand i tink, i got spiritual intelligence for individual assignment. that one is really tough. huhu~

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 2:25 PM  

N: 2 and 3.

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 2:30 PM  

anis: spiritual intelligence, and existentialism..both of them are quite difficult to understand..but they are cool!:)

miss AIN June 21, 2009 at 2:43 PM  

im 2,3,6 n 7 i guess..;p

~tp xsuke jd doctor...hahaha

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 2:44 PM  

ain: jadi la nurse:P

the unknown June 21, 2009 at 3:10 PM  

:P thx bro.


im curious, can we increase our intelligence in a particular area or is it static?

do intelligences interrupt with one another?
for example, if my interpersonal is high, would it affect my logic?

how do we 'harmonize' different intelligences for our benefit?
like, would bein good in musical intelligence help me become a more creative problem solver (logical intelligence)?

where does creativity fit in the multiple intelligence theory?

sorry bout all the questions bro, but im juz interested to know.

Ina Amira June 21, 2009 at 3:13 PM  

saje nak menyemak kat sini..

k aa, disebabkan I'm ten years younger than you, I don't even understand AT ALL about this entry. sebatang haram pon tak, cikgu .

err, terima kasih ;)

Suying June 21, 2009 at 4:34 PM  

I'm verbal-lingusitic and interpersonal who wishes to be more body and music smart! XD

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 4:58 PM  

ina: entry ni pasal kepandaian kita mengikut minat dan kebolehan masing2..i think since u love poems and words, u're no 1..tapi tak sure yg lain u ada ke tak..since i don't know u..:)

suying: ok, you can develop them:)

miss AIN June 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM  

nurse xbest!hahaha..;p

~pstt..nurse kat sini da dicop grg2..sy xgrg..sy bdk baik..;p

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 5:34 PM  

unknown: for all your questions, there are no absolute answers for them. so far the answers have been criticized by experts. some say yes, some say no.

from what i heard and read, intelligence can be developed and enhanced.

the most basic example would be, your work. let say you're an artist who draws pictures that involve only one style of art. but if you train yourself to develop your ability to produce pictures with a different style (let say you take extra classes to learn about it), one day you'll definitely be able to produce more than one typical style, rite? so when this happens, your intelligence in art has been expanded. it's like experience and skills. it can be developed.

and so far that i know, intelligences don't interrupt each other. they actually reinforce each other. once you develop one particular intelligence, it opens a new possibility for it to influence another intelligence. one thing about multiple intelligences is, each of them can be used into one another. but of course, each intelligence is distinguished by its own characteristics, and some intelligences will be superior. however, intelligence can deteriorate if it is 'forgotten'. for example, u expose yourself to other intelligences and ignore one particular intelligence (or stop using it). and imagine yourself stranded alone on an island for years. and never spoke to anyone else during those years. don't u think your ability to speak and communicate would become worse? your verbal and interpersonal intelligences here have been affected.

about 'harmonizing' the intelligences, it all depends on the particular individual himself. as well as the situations involved. like i said, intelligences can always reinforce one another. and of course, everybody has different points of view while seeing things, so the ways to harmonize these intelligences would differ respectively.

about creativity, that actually falls under 'the right and left hemispheres of human brain'. it's another topic. in multiple intelligences, creativity does involve, but according to the respective field. if you're spatial, you're creative in drawing and imagining things. if you're verbal, you're creative in producing words, especially in persuasion. both are creative, but they differ from one another. what kind of creativity are u referring to? generally speaking, creativity can fall under no 1,3,4,5. but that doesn't mean the rest are not creative. if we talk about the brain hemispheres, right brain is creativity, left brain is logic.:)

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 5:38 PM  

ain: amik medik, tapi tanak jadi doctor or nurse? tak paham...oo, cik ain tak garang eh? maksudnye kalau kene inject, tak sakit la eh?XD

Azie Nazri June 21, 2009 at 9:49 PM  

Cant wait to get my hands into this. Getting into depth of what makes me, me. At what sem exactly did you study this?

Igniz June 21, 2009 at 11:24 PM  

azie: um..can't really remember..i think it was in the first year.i think so.:P

l e n a June 21, 2009 at 11:44 PM  

this is interesting. y'know, my mom met edward de bono once. went to some sort of seminar with her boss..i like his six thinking hats theory

Igniz June 22, 2009 at 12:09 AM  

lena: the six thinking hats is cool, isn't? :)

l e n a June 22, 2009 at 12:57 AM  

ahh..i see you got my name right this time..hehe

anak pak man June 22, 2009 at 1:09 AM  

my lecturer told us to do some research for this multiple intelligence thing last year, just for the knowledge (coz we're still in our foundation years and this isn't in our syllabus), and i must say that it was quite a revelation for me to find out these things. Now I understand how people can understand stuff i don't and vice versa. intelligence. Cool. Can't wait to dig into the subject when i get into my degree years! oh, but i wasn't aware of the eighth.. new to me..
nice one man..

Anonymous June 22, 2009 at 3:16 AM  

so i WAS no.2..
now im everythn except that!

-aYu

Igniz June 22, 2009 at 9:39 AM  

lena: :P

amak pak man: good luck with your degree years:)

anonymous ayu: gila:P

Niji June 22, 2009 at 7:31 PM  

i like this entry the best!
let me think.. i'm much a verbal linguistic, visual spatial, intrapersonal and somewhat interpersonal...
anyway... any chance that these multiple intelligences are influenced by our personality type?
my MBTI is INFP.. i'm curious hehe ;)

Igniz June 22, 2009 at 7:52 PM  

niji: yes, our personality does influence our intelligence somehow:)

aSNi FaRisyA June 22, 2009 at 8:42 PM  

ooh ooh..i've learnt this b4..
my lecturer always said..
"every student is borned with different abilities..some may enjoy learning with visual aids but others may prefer some movements (kinaesthetic)..so as teachers, u shud have different methods of teaching and bla bla bla..."
haha =p

Igniz June 22, 2009 at 8:48 PM  

asni: dialog lecturer anda hampir sama dgn dialog lecturer saya..hehehe:P

aSNi FaRisyA June 22, 2009 at 8:55 PM  

our lecturers think alike.. haha~

Igniz June 22, 2009 at 9:12 PM  

asni: think so:)

Anonymous June 23, 2009 at 12:22 AM  

madness is jus a word.
ahha!

-aYu

Igniz June 23, 2009 at 12:25 AM  

anonymous ayu: not for you, though:P

myrzx June 23, 2009 at 7:33 PM  

me in the category of no. 2,3,6 & 8.
=)
u know what, yours writing is cool!
smoothly interesting english words.
me is still have a problem in this matter because i'm not too much in using my right brain.
jelous with u bro.
=P

Igniz June 23, 2009 at 7:46 PM  

myrzuan: thanks bro..but honestly, my oral english isn't as smooth as my written english..huhu.

myrzx June 23, 2009 at 11:38 PM  

welcome. =)
but, it's okay as long as
u can wrote in english smoothly,
=) u also read more books in english.
sometime, i'll get headache when i'm reading english text too much.
haha. even in malay.
lol.

the unknown June 25, 2009 at 4:24 PM  

heh thx for all the info bro.
gotta do lotsa reading to 'digest' the thing u said.

:P u're plannin to be a motivator? would suit u well.

Igniz June 25, 2009 at 7:43 PM  

unknown: good luck with the reading, bro. and i really hope my plan goes well.heh.

Damselette June 25, 2009 at 10:01 PM  

hah very interesting. semua mesti fail wan la

Igniz June 25, 2009 at 10:16 PM  

wallaby the meli: um..are u talking about this post or the pick up lines post?:P

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