What is Intelligence: Definition and 202 Discussions

Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.
Intelligence is most often studied in humans but has also been observed in both non-human animals and in plants despite controversy as to whether some of these forms of life exhibit intelligence. Intelligence in computers or other machines is called artificial intelligence.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. G

    Medical Of existential intelligence and autism

    "An human being is concerned because he or she has learned over the process of time-or is naturally, instinctively, existentially intelligent-the importance of self preservation, the practice of intelligence around the self, that of executive functioning." Something that's been on my mind...
  2. M

    Do We Need Intelligence In Heaven ?

    In this life we need to think to solve our problems and get ourselves through .But what about in heaven if everything is provided and no problem exist , so our mind is deactivated and I suppose 'I think therefore I am' wouldn't work there, you wouldn't realize you exist . In hell , I think you...
  3. O

    Medical Intelligence, Instincts and Reason

    This obviously need to be revised to make it more congruent and readable, but I would like to know what people think of the reasoning behind it... I don't think that any discussion about Artificial Intelligence can be complete without broaching the subject of consciousness. There are...
  4. P

    Conceptual problem involving ME and intelligence

    i lack the latter, so here is my question, if three objects are shot from a cliff all at different angles...what will their KE be right before they hit the ground relative to each other (neglecting air resistence) now i know the answer to this is they are all equal, having gotten it wrong on...
  5. O

    Academic route to artificial intelligence?

    Hi, i need some advice on my academic path. im very interested in artificial intelligence and possibly hope to create a AI being that is truly able to think on its own. now which university course should i enrol? how abt masters? phd? and maybe which university is best for my interest...
  6. Ivan Seeking

    Exploring Signs of Intelligence: Earth to the Universe

    http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/are_we_alone.html
  7. B

    Two categories of intelligence

    I propose dividing intelligence into two categories: "sufficient" intelligence, and "extra" intelligence. Sufficient intelligence would be intelligence that you need to solve a problem correctly, so long as it can be solved by applying normal reasoning. Extra intelligence would be "flashy"...
  8. B

    Poll: Childhood happiness, adult intelligence

    The text of this post is in white to have less influence on poll results. I have a theory that children may have stunted brainpower as a result of unhappy conditions--more intelligence would bring the world into unpleasant focus, so as a defense mechanism the child might learn to think less...
  9. B

    Childhood happiness and intelligence

    I have a theory that children may have stunted brainpower as a result of unhappy conditions--more intelligence would bring the world into unpleasant focus, so as a defense mechanism the child might learn to think less clearly. Does anyone know of data on the correlation between idyllic...
  10. S

    The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence, by David

    The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence, 2005 Hello, I liked the book The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence, by David C. Geary, 2005 because it not only discusses some of the latest research on human intelligence, but...
  11. Z

    Is Multiple Intelligence Testing Valid?

    Here's my opinion, I'd like some other thoughts on it though... Multiple intelligence tests are, for lack of a better word, bull****. It's just a bunch of crap made up my teachers (or whoever) to make less intelligent students feel better, and possibly kill off the...
  12. R

    Royce's Theorem: Intelligence Is Not Computational

    I am reading Roger Penrose's Shadows of the Mind (just started). He opens the book by arguing again that consciousness cannot be computational even in principle. This got me thinking about IA etc and I came up with the following that I call Royce's Theorem. :wink: If a process is completely...
  13. Ivan Seeking

    News U.S. intelligence gloomy on Iraq

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6016743/ Well gee that was hard to see coming. :rolleyes:
  14. S

    What is the Neurobiology of Intelligence?

    Gray and Thompson have a magisterial review of this issue at http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/PDF/nrn0604-GrayThompson.pdf . They bring together twin studies, PET scans, fMRIs, lesion research, molecular genetics, and much else, and discuss the ethics of differential intelligence studies.
  15. A

    Best sign of extraterrestrial intelligence?

    http://www.planetary.org/news/2004/dyson_spheres.html
  16. R

    Does Larger Brain Size Indicate Greater Intelligence?

    Does larger brain size or brain/body wt. mean greater intelligence? Does a larger head mean more brain and hence greater intelligence?
  17. B

    Researching Artificial Intelligence: Books, Tips & Forums

    First of let me explain who I am: I am a ninth grader in a math honors class, and we have to pick a topic to research, and write a 15 page math research paper on it. I chose artificial intelligence. So now I need books, not textbooks, on artificial intelligence. If anyone has any...
  18. F

    What are the limits of intelligence?

    What are the limits of intelligence, both artificial and human?
  19. BobG

    News Government Intelligence - does it exist?

    US intelligence agencies have been in the public eye a lot, lately. We've heard how they missed opportunities to prevent 9/11 (9/11 Report), how bad intelligence lead us into the Iraq war (http://intelligence.senate.gov/iraqreport2.pdf ), and the intelligence estimates on the current state of...
  20. N

    The concept of 'intelligence' within the biological sciences.

    Recently, the Biology section of PF got a new thread, Cranial Size and Intelligence. One exchange in that thread concerned the 'intelligence' of species other than Homo sap. Clearly, not wearing a biologist's hat, each of us may be able to give a description of what we think the intelligence of...
  21. B

    Cranial Size and Intelligence Link

    Even though I and others have expressed that there was nothing wrong with the original "Cranial Sizes Between Races" thread as it was completely scientific in nature, I will revise it for this thread and meet Monique's questionable demand as this is a very important issue. The cranial size...
  22. M

    Questions on _g_ and intelligence

    PROLOG I joined this group after reading through some of the dEarth's and finding that there were several people posting who were well informed and up to date on the subject of human intelligence. This is an attraction, since it is an exception to the general rule that people in discussion...
  23. N

    Significance of 'intelligence' - to the industrial revolution

    The genesis of this thread is Why this is still Amerikkka, where there was a lively discussion of the extent to which many sub-Saharan countries are still economically undeveloped as a result of the genes of their inhabitants, the extent to which those genes are responsible for agriculture and...
  24. P

    Unpacking the Concept of Intelligence: Definitions, Principles, and Action

    Insight into "intelligence" we call one mind intelligent and another not. what is first of all "intelligence" ? is intelligence one of the quality in "thinking process" ? If so , what are the general rules/principles of "intelligent thinking".
  25. S

    Music Hypothesis: Musicality corelated to Intelligence

    Hypothesis: Musicality correlated to Intelligence Wouldn't it be interesting to include a test for musicality into general IQ tests? There's a well established corelation between insight into musical structures and intelligence. (At least this corelation has been established for insights...
  26. P

    Robert J. Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

    I've been going over Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence which is the last one to have any credibility among psychometricians (but not much). Gardner's "Multiple Intelligences" or Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence" are dismissed as not having any theoretical basis. Because of this, the...
  27. T

    What is the limit of human intelligence if any?

    Do you feel that humans will ever reach a point where they just won't be able to understand something? Will we ever peak in our intelligence and if so how far into the future.
  28. C

    Can Artificial Intelligence Exist? Investigating the Possibilities

    Can an artificially intelligent machine exist. One that will pass a Turing test? Does a brain work algorithmically, or is there really something we call a "spirit" inside of us that generates a personality? Or could a computer potentially reproduce the way in which a human brain works by using...
  29. Q

    What is intelligence and how do we measure it?

    Definition of intelligence + is there a way if measuring a person's intelligence? :wink: :eek: :rofl: :yuck: :frown: :cry: :zzz: :mad: :uhh: :surprise: :redface: :devil: :grumpy: :rolleyes: :biggrin: :approve: :smile: :confused: :shy: :tongue2:
  30. Loren Booda

    Usenet sci.phys. - can intelligence be obscene?

    The Usenet sci.phys. (where people "use" each other). It is obvious these people know how to swear, but how well do they actually know their physics? I won't wade in their offal to find out. However, John Baez (the monitor?) seems intelligent and I've yet to see him use obscenities. Do they...
  31. Orion1

    Does IQ really determine intelligence?

    Congratulations, Orion1 Your IQ score is 131 This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a...
  32. pelastration

    News What about trust in future US Intelligence & Claims?

    Would you trust the future US Intelligence & Claims? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3596033.stm Powell admission on Iraq 'labs' There is still no sign of WMD in Iraq US Secretary of State Colin Powell has admitted that evidence he submitted to the United Nations to justify war...
  33. Averagesupernova

    Approaches to Artificial Intelligence.

    Ok. This thread may border on similarity to the brain thread, but I thought I'd start fresh. I would just like to toss around some ideas about AI. I'm not seriously researching, I don't have some crazy dream about actually building something, just interested. Some basic requirements...
  34. E

    Yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value

    hey omni i saw yr quote n found it very interesting... It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - ) very cool but having intelligence means u live longer n better isn't it?
  35. A

    News Faulty intelligence? No. Faulty political influence.

    Please read the entire article here: http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/03/10/osp_moveon/
  36. zoobyshoe

    Do Women Downplay Their Intelligence?

    I just read a fascinating thread elsewhere on this topic, and I thought it would be interesting to see what the women who post here at PF had to say about it. I would expect that there would be no point in downplaying your intelligence in posts on this forum, but do you find yourself doing it in...
  37. A

    My Thoughts On the Heritability of Intelligence and Eugenics

    Heritability increases from about 0.4 in childhood to 0.8 in later adulthood. The way these heritabilities are estimated is through numerous experiments on twins, adopted children, longitudinal studies, inbreeding depression research, etc. Nothing in science can be proven however. We know of...
  38. D

    Do ICQ Tests Measure Intelligence?

    I was looking over the IQ threads and I found them quite interesting. But something I've always wondered is how are ICQ tests sufficient? They measure how intelligent you are? Dictionary.com defines intelligence as: The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. ICQ tests ask you a various...
  39. C

    National Intelligence and Suicide Rates

    See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/message/28570 Regards, Carlos Hernandez
  40. C

    What is Intelligence? 2001 A Space Odyssey & Machines

    I was just watching this thing about 2001: A Space Odyssey. Anyway, what do you all consider to be intelligence? Could it be incorperated into machine technology? I also wanted to say that I don't think we need to go into the usual debate (i.e. "Humans aren't intelligent", etc.) Thank you...
  41. C

    UCLA Team Maps How Genes Affect Brain Structure, Intelligence

    PRESS RELEASE UCLA Team Maps How Genes Affect Brain Structure, Intelligence UCLA brain mapping researchers have created the first images to show how an individual's genes influence their brain structure and intelligence. Complete text at...
  42. C

    Artificial Intelligence: Practical application

    What exactly is artificial intelligence, what are some of its practical applications, and have we created it yet? Please no arguments that humans are not intelligent! If it comes to that then this thread is useless.
  43. S

    News Intelligence failures - Systemic?

    Good post by Ken MacLeod on conspiracies vs hierarchies, and he links to a long Gabriel Kolko review on intelligence failure in hieracrchies,especially CIA vs. Pentagon and CIA vs. White House. Ken macCloud's blog
  44. R

    News Great Article Detailing the Bush Administration's Failures in Intelligence

    http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?031027fa_fact Read it, seriously.
  45. Rockazella

    Einstein's Intelligence Quiz ?

    I felt like showing up my mom one night, so I went searching for online IQ tests. While searching I came across this thing: http://www.business.uiuc.edu/broker/iq.htm I'm curious to know if this is legit or not. Has anyone heard of, or tried this before? Anyway, if it is, or even if it...
  46. Dissident Dan

    News Iraq War Intelligence: Deliberate Deception or Incompetence?

    Well, the administration admitted that it used false intelligence in its case for war against Iraq. The docuements used to support the claim that Iraq was trying to purchase uranium from Niger were forgeries. In fact, this has been know by many for a while. This means that either: A) We...
  47. L

    Debate & Discussion: Does Intelligence = Depression?

    There was a thread recently on the Overclockers Australia Forums concerning this topic. I personally identified with a lot of the comments and I thought I would post some of the more interesting ones here so that we could continue the discussion on PF. The whole thread can be found here if you...
  48. M

    Exploring the Debate: Organic vs. Artificial Intelligence

    As many of you know, I object to the reference of all intelligence, other than that of organic beings, as being "artificial". That is the point of this thread. Here are the definitions of the key-words, "intelligence" and "artifical": I have not included all definitions of "artificial"...
  49. C

    Artificial Intelligence vs Human Intelligence

    "A mind differs from a computer in no other respect but complexity" There is a lot of ongoing debate on this topic. On one side, theologists believe that a mind is supernatural and cannot be reproduced by machines. On the other side, A.I. experts, physicalists and atheists like myself believe...
  50. M

    Equal to a fly's intelligence?

    I don't know that this is the appropriate forum to post this question. I expect that Monique's judgement will be correct, and that she'll move it if she sees fit. I just heard someone say that computers have the intelligence of a fly (the insect). I thought this an utterly obsurd idea, but...
Back
Top