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| Knowledge or intelligence? |
Do IQ tests necessarily need to measure knowledge?
If IQ tests were constructed to measure knowledge, it follows therefore that such tests were not originally designed to measure intelligence and as such, intelligence tests won’t make any more sense than just the measurement of our IQ; if IQ tests were constructed to measure intelligence, it probably would.
Consider that a test is being administered to a person less knowledgeable about the English language, if the test is really an IQ test, it would mean knowledge test right that instance. Why? The language barrier which is a form of test bias.
Consider another case that Mr. A has never experienced mathematics yet it is likely that he is a highly intelligent business tycoon, knows basic arithmetic, hired people who are savvy at economics and mathematics, and accept experts’ advice. Does less knowledge about mathematics render his intelligence to null? Of course not. So what?
Practical wisdom of Mr. A to delegate marketing efforts to subordinates is reliably more useful than just maths IQ that might not be utilized.
Thankfully, Raven’s progressive matrices have helped to minimize this type of bias inconsiderable amount.
Difference between knowledge and intelligence
Knowledge and intelligence are not necessarily synonyms but knowledge and IQ could be synonymous in contemporary times. IQ tests were designed to measure intelligence, at least with that very intent but they usually measure something else. This is because the items in IQ tests were constructed to do so.
What is knowledge?
Knowledge is the number of pieces of information that people store in their memory. ‘I know this, I know that’. ‘I know Kate’ which means an acquaintance knowledge because I have probably lived with Kate, or being acquainted with Kate in the office. ‘I know mathematics’ would mean ‘I am savvy at math’ because I’ve learned math and mastered its operations.
While knowledge is much about information, intelligence is much about a person’s ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with his/her environment [in which case adapt or relate well with experiences] (Wechsler, 1944).
Looking at Wechsler’s definition, intelligence would require wisdom to act purposefully and thinking rationally would require the ability to make a good judgment, which is also wisdom, and a bit of creativity would be needed to adapt to a new environment which would inevitably have some new problems meant to be solved. Hey! It is crystal clear that intelligence is more than just IQ and SAT exam.
Overlap: Knowledge and Intelligence
It is also necessary to critically examine the point of overlap or intersection between knowledge and intelligence. While it might be tempting to separate the two, consider the definition that intelligence is a person’s ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with his/her environment [in which case adapt or relate well with experiences] (Wechsler, 1944).
It follows that a person’s who would have such ability to ‘act purposefully..’ had been exposed to nature and of course his environment which he/she perceives immediately with his/her senses, interpreted, categorized (stored appropriately) in his/her brain, and of course becomes the perception that gains much familiarity over time; these perceptual stimuli being transduced to electrical impulses, relayed to the brain interpreted, categorized and perceived, is in fact, informational.
