Meet 15 year old Christopher Boone - in his own words.
"My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507".
Yet, he has no comprehension when his teacher, Siobhan, shows him pictures like these…
In his own words, "I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant. I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn't understand what someone was saying. But it was very difficult to decide which of the diagrams was most like the face they were making because people's faces move very quickly".
But then again, if anyone asks Christopher, "What's 251 times 864?" he affirms, with just a moment’s thought, "216,864". This to him is a really "easy sum because you just multiply 864 x 1,000 which is 864,000. Then you divide it by 4 which is 216,000 and that's 250 x 864. Then you just add another 864 on to it to get 251 x 864 and that's 216,864".
And that is Christopher Boone, the unlikely autistic savant protagonist in Mark Haddon’s brilliant read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. On reading the book, I was struck by Christopher’s possibilities. Here’s a boy who solves complex quadratic equations whenever he gets into a jam, passes his A level in maths, likes the Monty Hall Problem, watches Blue Planet videos, can identify the constellation Orion, but has a tough time understanding people’s emotions or picturesque figures of speech, and hates people touching him.
I realized all of us resemble Christopher on many levels. We are plain good at certain things and just miserable at others. For starters, try asking me what’s 10 times 292 and you won’t be surprised seeing me all flustered in trying to come up with the right answer! But try asking me to read two books at a go and I won’t bat an eyelid. And then I came across an article on Howard Gardner which smoothed away all the relatively new-found confusion.
Howard Gardner, an American psychologist proposed the theory of multiple intelligences (MI) in 1983. Through his theory, Gardner has attempted to define the concept of intelligence and also to validate the scientific veracity of the prevalent methods which try and measure intelligence. According to Gardner, intelligence, as it is "traditionally defined", does not comprehensively include the wide extant of human abilities. For instance, Gardner reasons that a child good at memorizing multiplication tables does not necessarily mean he is more intelligent than a child who is in knots in his attempt to do so. (Is my maths teacher reading this?) Gardner opines that the second child may in fact, be stronger in "another kind of intelligence" and may:
1) learn the same material by way of a different approach
2) do exceedingly well in a subject other than mathematics, or
3) "even be looking at the multiplication process at a fundamentally deeper level, which can result in a seeming slowness that hides a mathematical intelligence that is potentially higher than that of a child who easily memorizes the multiplication table".
Keeping this in mind, Gardner went on to propose the following eight categories of intelligence:
Bodily-Kinesthetic (Body Smart): Those with strong bodily–kinesthetic intelligence learn best through moving around and excel in physical activities such as dance, athletics, etc. Such people are good at making and doing things and would generally put up a fight if asked to learn something simply by reading or listening. They seem to "use what might be termed muscle memory - they remember things through their body such as verbal memory or images".
In a classroom, a bodily–kinesthetic intelligence child may be prompted to recognize a circle by cutting out circle shapes from a book.
Interpersonal (People Smart): People who have a high interpersonal intelligence thrive on interactivity, are extroverts, and seem to empathize with other people’s moods and feelings. They communicate successfully in a group and learn best when working in a team, delighting in discussions.
A pre-schooler, displaying interpersonal intelligence can be taught to recognize a circle by letting him slide his hand through a bangle.
Verbal-Linguistic (Word Smart): This type of intelligence revolves around the written or spoken word. People with high verbal-linguistic intelligence are good with languages, excel in writing, memorizing passages, and dates. They learn best through reading, writing of notes, listening to lectures and are usually good orators with excellent "verbal memory and recall", and find it easy to understand syntax.
A pre-schooler with verbal-linguist intelligence can be prompted to mouth the word circle, repeatedly.
Logical-Mathematical (Number/Reasoning Smart): A person excelling in "logic, abstractions, reasoning, and numbers" is supposed to display logical-mathematical intelligence. Don’t be surprised if they naturally do well in maths, chess, and other activities linked to numericals, scientific thinking, and solving of complicated calculations. People with such intelligence are traditionally regarded as those with high IQ.
Pre-schoolers displaying logical-mathematical intelligence can be taught to recognize the circle by pointing to different circles sizes.
Naturalistic (Nature Smart): This area of intelligence deals with anything to do with nature, "nurturing and relating information to one's natural surroundings", and analyzing. Gardner included this type of intelligence into his theory in 1997. People displaying such intelligence are in greater commune with nature, are able to nourish and sustain things, show remarkable ease in caring for and interacting with animals, and can easily classify types and different species. In order to learn, they usually "connect a new experience with prior knowledge" to understand something new.
A naturalistic pre-schooler can be encouraged to find circle shapes in nature.
Intrapersonal (Self Smart): People with Intrapersonal intelligence are introverts, preferring self-reflection, and are perfectionists by nature. They usually prefer to work alone, are highly self-aware and are in tune with their own emotions and musings. They have philosophical leanings and learn best when they can concentrate on a subject by themselves.
Children with intrapersonal intelligence can be encouraged to make circles using their own bodies/fingers.
Visual-Spatial/Spatial Reasoning (Picture Smart): People with strong visual-spatial intelligence are good at visualizing and mentally assimilating things and are also good at solving puzzles. Such people are good with directions, artistic, have strong visual memory, and demonstrate good hand-eye coordination. In fact, it seems spatial and mathematical intelligences are often intertwined.
A pre-schooler can me made to identify circle shapes in books.
Musical (Music Smart): This area has everything to with people with a natural tendency towards music, rhythm, sounds, and hearing. People with musical intelligence are good at singing, playing instruments, and composing rhythms. Such people learn best through auditory stimulation—as in lectures, or even with his i-pod plugged in.
Musical pre-schoolers can be taught to sing songs such as "round and round the mulberry bush/ring-a-ring-a-roses".
Going forward, Gardner and his colleagues suggested other intelligences including spiritual, existential and moral intelligences, but which were excluded due to their criteria limitations.
If we apply Gardner’s theory of intelligence in schools, where emphasis is given basically on reading and writing, students with wider abilities can thrive and learn at their own pace. In fact, through MI-oriented teacher training, a broader educational base can be built with various forms of active learning weaved in. The theory of multiple intelligences also strongly correlates with possibilities for adult learning and development. Many of us often find ourselves in careers that do not make use of our intelligences (for example, a linguistic individual stuck in a bodily-kinesthetic work area that of a PT teacher). Through MI, adults can tap avenues which will allow them to pursue their inner capabilities. Simply put, multiple intelligence teaches us how to learn effectively by being better able to connect with it. For example, if you are trying to learn about gravity you can read about it (linguistic), study formulas (logical-mathematical), go through pictorial examples (spatial), observe the law in the natural/human world (naturalist/interpersonal); examine the law physically (e.g. jump from a stool to see what happens (bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal)); or even compose a tune that explains the law (musical). It’s all about understanding and tweaking what works best for you!
So while in the real world we may limit Christopher Boone, in Gardner’s eyes he would be viewed as having exceptional spatial/mathematical intelligence but with interpersonal limitations, for, you see, Gardner used case studies of autistic savants to present his theory on MI. To me, this seems like a validation of Gardner’s strong belief: "I balk at the unwarranted assumption that certain human abilities can be arbitrarily singled out as intelligence while others cannot".
Click this link to know which intelligences are strongest for you. Have fun!
(Banshori Bhattacharya is Instructional Designer at C2 Workshop)
