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Multiple Intelligences
Feb. 12th, 2006 07:41 pmHaving a long-standing, very biased dislike of conventional IQ tests (such a test was the basis for entrance to my school district's gifted program, and my score being a point or so below the cut-off, I did not enter the program while all my siblings did...yet I knew, and my parents certainly knew, that I was no less intelligent) I was curious to see what this new-fangled (yeah, I know it's been around for years) multiple intelligence notion had to say about me. I was intrigued and a little surprised - but not too much - by my results:
Linguistic - 8
Logical-Mathematical - 6
Spatial - 3
Bodily-Kinesthetic - 2
Musical - 10
Interpersonal - 2
Intrapersonal - 9
Linguistic makes perfect sense, seeing as how I'm a writer and all, not to mention my bombastic propensity toward intentionally obfuscating verbiage. ;) Logical-Mathematical sounds about right; I do well enough in math and logic but it's not my strongest area, nor my favorite. Spatial I guess makes sense too, though I think I do have visual skills - I love jigsaw puzzles and do a bit of modest doodling - maybe I just prefer the 2-D realm over 3-D? Kinesthetic is no surprise at all, since I'm a klutz and a lazy bum to boot. Musical was surprising. I knew I'd score pretty high, but I didn't expect it to be my very strongest. I play an obscene number of instruments, but it's not something I'm nearly as dedicated to as writing, and I don't claim to have even near perfect pitch. Interpersonal, no surprise; I'm an Introvert to the point of being Anti-Extrovert. Intrapersonal is probably right, since I'm so very self-centered. ;) Having said all this, I know I could just as easily score differently on another test, depending on who designed it and what the questions are. But I think this is probably pretty close to accurate.
So what does it all mean? It's a different sort of thing than an IQ score -- there's no above average or below average; everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. I guess it's the Logical-Mathematical side of me that wants to ask, "But where do I rank? Am I really smart in spite of what those stupid IQ tests say? Should I have been in the gifted program?" A moot point, being nearly three years out of college, let alone public school, but I admit wanting to feel vindicated or something.
Sour grapes aside, I think this way of looking at intelligence can be enlightening. Especially for our son, who has very few verbal skills right now but responds very well to music and physical interaction. Worth considering.
Linguistic - 8
Logical-Mathematical - 6
Spatial - 3
Bodily-Kinesthetic - 2
Musical - 10
Interpersonal - 2
Intrapersonal - 9
Linguistic makes perfect sense, seeing as how I'm a writer and all, not to mention my bombastic propensity toward intentionally obfuscating verbiage. ;) Logical-Mathematical sounds about right; I do well enough in math and logic but it's not my strongest area, nor my favorite. Spatial I guess makes sense too, though I think I do have visual skills - I love jigsaw puzzles and do a bit of modest doodling - maybe I just prefer the 2-D realm over 3-D? Kinesthetic is no surprise at all, since I'm a klutz and a lazy bum to boot. Musical was surprising. I knew I'd score pretty high, but I didn't expect it to be my very strongest. I play an obscene number of instruments, but it's not something I'm nearly as dedicated to as writing, and I don't claim to have even near perfect pitch. Interpersonal, no surprise; I'm an Introvert to the point of being Anti-Extrovert. Intrapersonal is probably right, since I'm so very self-centered. ;) Having said all this, I know I could just as easily score differently on another test, depending on who designed it and what the questions are. But I think this is probably pretty close to accurate.
So what does it all mean? It's a different sort of thing than an IQ score -- there's no above average or below average; everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. I guess it's the Logical-Mathematical side of me that wants to ask, "But where do I rank? Am I really smart in spite of what those stupid IQ tests say? Should I have been in the gifted program?" A moot point, being nearly three years out of college, let alone public school, but I admit wanting to feel vindicated or something.
Sour grapes aside, I think this way of looking at intelligence can be enlightening. Especially for our son, who has very few verbal skills right now but responds very well to music and physical interaction. Worth considering.
