Caylee Clay

5-24-21

Per. 2

“What is Intelligence Anyway?” (Revised)

In the article “What is Intelligence Anyway.” Issac Asimov goes over the different types of

intelligence and what he thinks the true value of intelligence really is. He compares two equally

intelligent people who have different capabilities to prove his claim. His claim being that there is

knowledge behind different types of things everywhere.

The author points out that society created the thought that intelligence only comes from

standardized tests or academicians. But Asimov proves that academics are the ones creating

the best, making it easier for fellow academics to score higher because they have similar

thought processes. In his article he writes, “Actually though, don’t such scores simply mean that

I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of

answers by people who take intelligence tests-- people with intelligence bents similar to mine?”

He gets personal with this evidence pointing out that the only reason he is viewed as intelligent

by society is because he works in the same field therefore thinking the same as the creator of

the test. Asimov goes on to say that intelligence is a societal role but remains imperfect. “My

intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a

small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such

matters.” He is saying that people who think they have more intelligence than others,

automatically become an arbiter. This is because some people who aren't as intelligent in

certain fields rely on others who are.

Asimov’s main point is that you don’t have to conform to a way of thinking and be a “good test

taker” to be intelligent. That is just society's standard. The author however knows the truth. And
the truth is that people can be intelligent in all sorts of fields. Asimov uses his auto repair man

as an example. The author writes that,“I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent

than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it.``(2) He used

himself as a prime example that even the smartest test takers don’t have the intelligence for

everything. He instead relied on someone with a different type of intelligence, not someone with

less than. He also quotes that “In a world where I could not use my academic training and my

verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do

poorly.”(3) Asimov wants people to know that people should not only have one sided knowledge.

It is hard for everyone to have complex understandings of a lot of different fields, but that's why

it is good for people to be greatly intelligent in one field.

Asimov wrote this article in order to prove that intelligence is versatile. Whether you are

getting the highest score possible on tests, or just simply doing what you love while fixing a car,

everyone has intelligence in their own ways.