Intelligence is based on obtaining knowledge, while someone smart shines for his sagacity and immediacy when it comes to acting. Let’s look at the differences between being smart and being smart.
However, it should be noted that the rise of intelligence quotients (IQ) has already passed. Members of New York University’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences (such as Nassim Taleb) and other eminences claim that IQ is a clear example of pseudoscience and therefore lacks statistical validity. The concept of intelligence, from a numerical point of view, requires the analysis of many more parameters.
Interestingly, we can all quickly identify when someone is intelligent, but do we know how to define this term? With all these ideas in mind, we tryto break down the main differences between being smart and being smart. As in any linguistic confusion, there are as many bridges as disparities between the two terms. Don’t miss it.
- We recommend you read: “Emotional intelligence: what it is and how it helps us in life”
What are the differences between being smart and being clever?
Intelligence, often conceived on the earth plane as a wise, knowledgeable, and knowledgeable person, is confined almost exclusively to humans. Intelligence is believed to be something that develops from the moment of birth to old age, since the human being never stops learning and establishing neuronal synapses (although the critical moment for this is the first years after birth).
In any case, ethology, the branch of biology that studies non-human animal behavior, increasingly defies the rule that intelligence is something exclusively reserved for the species Homo sapienstag. As we will see in the following lines, the differences between being intelligent and being smart go far beyond humans, even the group of hominids. Do not miss it.
1. Being smart implies a more instinctive connotation than being smart
Before breaking down both terms, let’s go to their definitions. Intelligence is a much more complex concept to deal with, but although we are reductive, it can be described as the individual ability to understand, solve problems, know and present ability, skill and experience. In more general terms, it is conceived as the ability to receive information and retain it in the form of long-term knowledge.
On the other hand, being smart refers to a much simpler human construct. According to the Royal Spanish Academy of Language (RAE),someone smart is shrewd, smart, perceptive, prepared, diligent and expeditious , among other things.
As you can see, an intelligent person is one who is capable of processing information, retaining it in the form of knowledge and applying it in the most effective way possible. On the other hand, a smart person is one who is quick to deal with different life situations. Simply put, intelligence is more geared toward theoretical knowledge, while being smart focuses on a more practical, day-to-day sense.
2. There are many types of intelligence, but there are no classifications for the smart
The psychologist Howard Gardner, alive today, postulated in 1983 what is now known as the “multiple intelligences theory”, which explores the different types and abilities derived from this capacity for perception/understanding/application. According to this thinker, intelligence can be divided into the following fronts:
- Linguist-verbal: greater ability to write, read, speak and communicate in a multimodal way.
- Spatial: spatial cognition, ease of working with objects, visual arts, and navigation in the three-dimensional environment.
- Musical: highlights musical perception, the linking of music with emotions and music production.
- Kinesthetic: an improved perception of the body, its harmony and movement.
- Naturalist – Recognition of patterns in the natural environment, as well as an understanding of ecosystems, their parts, and how they work.
- Logical-mathematical – The concept most often associated with traditional intelligence, reasoning, numbers, and complex problem solving.
We could mention up to 6 more types of intelligence (today there are a total of 12), but we believe that the idea is quite clear. Being smart means responding quickly to life situations, while intelligence is made up of many variants applied to different fields. In any case, it should be noted that not all professionals agree with Gardner’s classification.
3. Other animals may be smart, but not smart.
Adjectives such as “awake”, “cunning”, “fast” or “shrewd” are not applicable in the animal kingdom, since all these concepts are encompassed in a much more primal reality: fitness or biological aptitude. It does not occur to us to say that an animal is clever, but rather that it is faster than the rest due to its muscular constitution and, therefore, is capable of leaving its predators and competitors behind.
Intelligence, on the other hand, conceived as the perception of oneself and the ability to know and solve problems, has been demonstrated in other living beings beyond humans, even outside hominids. Today, intelligence is being studied in cetaceans, elephants and primates, although the field is also being extended to dogs, cats, raccoons, rodents, birds (psittacines) and corvids.
Put more simply, an animal can never be smarter (but more apt), since the abilities that are conceived within this quality are those that explain the individual biological aptitude of a species. On the other hand, certain species could become intelligent, as this entails self-perception, knowledge, preservation of information and even culture. Since some of these traits escape pure natural selection, they offer a much more interesting field of investigation.
4. The purpose and the path are different in each train of thought
As we have already established, a smart person wants effectiveness to take precedence over understanding and knowledge. Thus, someone smart will try to maximize her actions to achieve the desired goal, but does not necessarily need to understand the underlying mechanisms of each behavior and consequence.
On the other hand, intelligence is characterized by wanting to understand, regardless of whether the result takes more or less to arrivetag. The most logical and rational course of action is sought, regardless of whether it is not the most effective. Emotional control and pragmatism define smart people, while sagacity and intuition are much more typical of the smart.
5. Being smart usually has a more practical approach than being smart
A smart, cunning and lively person is also usually charming and knows how to integrate into group dynamics without problems. As counterintuitive as it may sound, one can speculate thatsmart people, in general, have more emotional intelligence than ordinary smart people .
If we recover Gardner’s model of multiple intelligences, we will see that some of the latest postulated types of intelligence are intrapersonal and interpersonal, that is, the ability to understand oneself and control one’s own emotions, but also to know how to apply their qualities in a specific context. In other words, a person with logical-mathematical intelligence (typical intelligence) does not have to have skills in the social field, in fact, it is not usually the case.
There are many examples of intelligent people who have not been conspicuous by their social skills, from HP Lovecraft to Newton, passing through many more contemporary personalities. Sometimes smart people focus on studies and data, forgetting the feelings and emotions of the resttag. On the other hand, smart people know how to “read the room better,” even if they haven’t learned the theory.
Summary
The differences between being intelligent and being smart can be concentrated in a single idea: being smart is a trait that embodies intuition, while intelligence reflects the search for knowledgeand its understanding in all possible facets. One wants to apply, and the other to reason. They are two sides of the same coin, because it is of little use to be the most intelligent person in the world if you are not capable of transmitting your ideas to the rest, right?
The ideal is always to be smart and intelligent in equal parts: to want to know tirelessly, but also to know how to transmit it and apply it on a day-to-day basis, beyond theoretical constructs. In any case, both types of people are equally essential in society, because not everything is based on theories, but action without the theoretical basis is impossible.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
