As humans, we make assessments all the time — especially as this applies to gauging the intelligence of those around us. When we say things like “she’s so smart,” what are we really saying? This week I explore human intellect, including knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, and dive into what the field of psychology tells us about each.
Breaking down knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom
Understanding human intelligence is no easy task, as there are countless qualitative and quantitative ways to assess, and a lot of nuance to consider when comparing intelligence across people. From a lay perspective, some people are considered smart because of their grades in school, while others may also be seen as smart for their survival abilities. In fact, Howard Gardner has identified 8 different types of intelligence if you really want to go down the rabbit hole!
Knowledge is recognized as the accumulation of facts, information, and skills acquired through education, experience, or research. Examples of knowledge include recalling state capitals, or remembering a recipe. You might think of knowledge as rote memory of data, facts, and learned material.
Building from knowledge we can define intelligence as the ability to think, reason, solve problems, and adapt to new situations, and intelligence involves cognitive abilities such as logic, critical thinking, and pattern recognition. Examples of knowledge include figuring out how to solve a complex puzzle, or quickly grasping a new concept in physics. As you can see, intelligence is the application of knowledge.
Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge and intelligence in a meaningful and morally sound way. It involves judgment, experience, and insight. As you might imagine, wisdom develops over time (the human lifespan), and is impacted by your unique life experiences. Examples of wisdom include choosing to stay calm in an argument instead of reacting impulsively, or advising someone based on your past experiences.
You might think of knowledge as the tidbits of information you pick up each day, intelligence as the ability to use the knowledge you gained, and wisdom as the ways in which you synthesize intelligence and knowledge with your own world experiences, allowing you greater depth and breadth on a subject matter.
Final thoughts
The more you study human intelligence, the more complex it becomes. The information we pick up each day (knowledge) becomes far more valuable when we learn to intelligently use that knowledge, and it becomes even more powerful when we learn more over time and increase our wisdom. Acquiring information is one thing, but knowing when and how to use the information you gather is the sign of a truly intelligent person.
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