Theme of Intelligence in Literature (Essay Example)

People can be intelligent in so many different ways. A person's mind can mainly consist of logical-mathematical intelligence to musical intelligence to bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. So many people think you can only be smart if you’re good at things like math and science, but it also includes being able to coordinate your mind with your body and having the mental capacity and sensitivity to tackle deep questions about human existence. Intelligence is something that varies from person to person, and some people still have the same type of intelligence while experiencing it differently from others.

To start with, intelligence can come in the form of the common linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence along with the uncommon existential intelligence. In “Flowers for Algernon” the text states, “I am very disturbed. I saw Miss Kinnian last night for the first time in over a week. I tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what I meant about the mathematical variance equivalent in Dorbermann’s Fifth Concerto. When I tried to explain she stopped me and laughed. I guess I got angry, but I suspect I’m approaching her on the wrong level. No matter what I try to discuss with her I am unable to communicate.” Not only does this exhibit Charlie's advance in interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence but also shows his advance in his language skills and understanding of things happening around him. He advanced from spelling almost everything wrong, to be a good writer and reader, while also actually having a good understanding of what he was reading or talking about. Later in the story, Charlie also begins to question his own intelligence and reflects on how he used to be which is way different because, in the past, he did not have the mental sensitivity and capacity to understand subjects such as that.

Another example of a possible form of intellect is logical-mathematical intelligence. In “Blue Nines and Red Words” it states, “Using my own synesthetic experiences since early childhood, I have grown up with the ability to handle and calculate huge numbers in my head without any conscious effort, just like the Raymond Babbitt character. In fact, this is a talent common to several other real-life savants (sometimes referred to as “lightning calculators”).” This shows how he is mathematically intelligent but in a different way than most people. For a lot of people, they would think of having logical-mathematical intelligence as just being able to add big numbers without a calculator or being able to understand some tricky concepts but for Daniel Tammet, he has taken it to the next level and has a completely different understanding. Tammet is able to visualize numbers, letters, words, etc as different shapes and colors. For example, he visualizes squaring a number as symmetrical patterns and he sees division as a spiral shape. Obviously seeing things differently than most people could make certain aspects of life difficult but Tammet has used it to his advantage and is basically a “human calculator”.

As well as that, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence can still be a factor in someone's intellect while being interpreted differently than most. In “Blue Nines and Red Words” the author states,” For as long as I can remember, I have experienced numbers in the visual, synesthetic way that I do. Numbers are my first language, one I often think and feel in. Emotions can be hard for me to understand or know how to react to so I often use numbers to help me. If a friend says they feel sad or depressed, I picture myself sitting in the dark hollowness of number 6 to help me experience the same sort of feeling and understand it.” This demonstrates how Tammet still experiences and understands his and others' emotions. Differently from others though, is the way his mind gets him to that understanding. Instead of it just coming to him naturally like most, he sees and interprets in his language, by seeing different emotions and feelings as different numbers.

Intelligence is a very interesting but complicated subject that everyone experiences differently. Obviously, there are the basic ideas of having logical-mathematical intelligence or bodily-kinesthetic intelligence but even within those, people's minds can interpret and experience them differently from everyone else. Someone who is able to memorize their times tables and another person who visualizes numbers as different shapes and colors could both be smart in the mathematical department. One person could be a good dancer while someone else is good at basketball, but they both have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Intelligence is something that everyone experiences differently, and it won’t be able to be understood by anyone other than the person experiencing it, even if they have the same type.