The Naked Philosopher

How Many Kinds of Smart?

Everyone has heard of or
read about Charles Darwin, right?  Not a
great student, by most accounts.  Was
relatively unknown before he decided to go on an ocean voyage and was amazed at
the countless number of plants and animals he came in contact with that he
never knew existed.  Shortly after this
he developed his revolutionary theory of evolution.  Part of the reason I believe there still is
controversy over his theory is that he didn’t fit the conventional mold of what
is thought of as “smart”.  Darwin
possessed a type of intelligence that can be categorized as naturalistic
intelligence (the ability to recognize and find patterns in things like plants,
animals, rocks—or even clouds for that matter.)  As you may have figured out by now, there are
many different kinds of “smart” needed to make decisions on a daily basis.  Here are some more examples of the complex
kinds of “smart” that allow us (and the Tweedles) to excel in various life
activities:

1.
Michael Jordan
(athletic complexity) vs. Dockworker (task complexity)

Michael
Jordan is an example of an athlete who has excelled in his sport because of his
ability to master athletic complexity.
He was named the most valuable NBA player in 1987, 1990, 1991, 1995 and
1997.  Michael Jordan has been able to
distinguish himself from other players because of his athletic attributes. His
could accelerate in a surprising and unanticipated way and perform incredible
runs. He dribbled at full speed, and when arriving in front of an opponent, he
could change direction suddenly, leaving his confused rival trying to catch up behind
him. He completed these speed runs with high profile, accurate dunks.

I
can’t cite an example of a specific dockworker like I have with Michael Jordan,
but certainly a dockworker performing his or her daily duties requires a
different kind of “smart” job complexity.
The
dockworker works together with coworkers, but also has separate job
responsibilities. Similar to a pro sports player, right? The dockworker must be
a problem solver in technical areas and also when faced with unexpected
situations. Athletes must perform in like scenarios. The dockworker regularly
has to work under difficult conditions, such as bad weather, which bring with
it risks to health and safety. The potential for injury is always present
with a pro athlete.  The dockworker’s “smarts”
require the application of standard routines and the execution of a number of
defined tasks. Again similar to a pro sports player’s responsibilities. Even
though the dockworker must be relatively physically fit, the demands required
of a dockworker are nowhere near what is required of an elite pro sports
player.  As I hope you can see from these
examples, the pro sports player must perform many of the same types of tasks to
that of a dockworker, but must employ a different set of “smarts” to accomplish
them.

Take a look at the examples I have listed below and
see if you can come up with a list of the “smarts” required of Tweedle Dum and
Tweedle Dee that would enable them to make decisions and choices:

2.
Singer (tone
complexity) vs. Poet (word complexity)

When I refer to a singer vs. a poet, I am referring to how each has
different skills they employ in order to communicate to their audience.  Of course they both utilize both words and
sounds to make themselves understood, however, they use them in different
ways.  The singer uses the tone of
his/her voice to communicate the feelings, emphasis and movement of the story
he/she is endeavoring to transmit to the listener.  The poet uses words in differing sequences
and combinations to transmit the same type of information.  Both need to utilize different skills in
order to successfully pass on the feelings felt by the writer/singer.

3.
Conductor (group
complexity) vs. Violinist (song complexity)

When a conductor works with an orchestra, he uses specific cues and
actions to communicate his/her thoughts and intentions to the individual
performers in the orchestra.  These are
learned—and require a specific set of “smarts” in order to be transmitted
accurately and effectively to the specific performers.  The actions of the individual performers
require a different kind of “smarts”…knowledge and understanding of the music
that has been selected to be performed.
The violinist is a follower…while the conductor is the leader.  Both have different roles…but must be similarly
knowledgeable about the requirements to successfully communicate through
music….the message of the composer.

4.
Architect (3-d
complexity) vs. Painter (2-d complexity)

The “smarts” required of each of these Tweedles require much of the same
skills—but utilized in different ways.
I’m sure both the architect Tweedle and the painter Tweedle “paints” a
picture in their mind of what they want their final product to look like.  The final design/painting is just presented
in a slightly different form.  Of course,
both the painter and the architect both can produce both 2-d and 3-d images,
but the final result is one or the other.
The skills involved in coming up with the final product also require
different skills—but start out from a common point.

5.
Shaman vs. Preacher/Priest
(belief complexity)

Are they the same…or are they different?
If they are the same…how are they the same?  If they are different…how are they
different?  Do they employ or utilize
similar types of “smarts” or are they dissimilar?  One way we could say that these Tweedles are
the same is that they both refer to holy men or women.  Preachers may or may not be seen as “holy”…
holier than the average person in their church for example. Preachers, by their
name and calling– preach sermons. Through their sermons, they try and clarify
things that answer questions that their congregations (or a gathering of
people) have about daily living, dying, and death.

Priests are similar to preachers in the Catholic church… but they are
considered holier than the average parishioner.

Preacher and priest are used to refer to a Christian minister, whereas a Shaman
is a medicine man or woman and usually is not a Christian.

How are they are similar?   Well…Shamans
do ritual…and priests do ritual…Shamans have their own set of dogma… as do
preachers…which concentrate on dogma and attempt to explain the traditions and
interpretation of certain holy books.

Shamans may be public minded as Preachers and Priests are… but also
disseminate their knowledge for a fee, whereas priests and preachers are
thought of as religious leaders.

Where they are different however, is that Shamans exist only  in pre-industrial societies whereas  Priests and preachers are part of the power
structures of industrial societies.  They
both have a set of “smarts” that they utilize in order to reach a specific
goal.

 6.
Salesperson
(interpersonal complexity) vs. Psychiatrist (intrapersonal complexity)

Interpersonal “smarts” refers to the capacity of Tweedles to understand
the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. A salesperson Tweedle,
for example, would utilize these “smarts” in order to work effectively with
others. Sales Tweedles all need well-developed interpersonal “smarts” to be
successful.

Intrapersonal intelligence refers to the capacity to understand a Tweedles
feelings, fears and motivations. Utilizing these types of “smarts”, Tweedles
would use this type of information to understand, and attempt to make decisions
in order to regulate their personal lives.
Of course, there also can be some crossover—some similarities in
“smarts” that both use to make decisions. Doctors, for example often  utilize interpersonal “smarts” …an example of
which would be drug company sponsored “education”  whose content then is transferred to a patient…in
order to promote and recommend… the corporate sponsors’ drugs.

  How easy was it to come up with ways to
“decide” what to do or accomplish the tasks presented in each of these
different scenarios?  Now, not only is it
necessary for people to learn how to make “smart” decisions, it is also
necessary to utilize learned skills in a manner that allows one to make
informed choices.  Choice-making is
required of us and the Tweedles countless times each day, and decision-making
is one of the main drivers in the direction of our lives.  Let’s take a look at how Tweedle Dee and
Tweedle Dum “decide” to follow a particular course of action.