9 Types of Intelligence: All of Us are Creative (But Different)

Most people who think that they are not creative say to themselves: “I’m not creative.” It is far from the truth! The truth is: All of us are born to be creative. If we believe we are not creative, we act as if we are not creative and so we become not creative. We make excuses, we don’t give ourselves a chance, we afraid. However, if we think we are creative, we can become more creative, be more confident and have more faith in ourselves. We must first learn to think and say to ourselves: “I am creative!” This is the first step.

Again, all of us are creative. But “we differ only in the degree and scope of our creativity. There is no one person who is creative in all fields of human endeavor,” write Dr. Yew Kam Keong. I can play guitar, but you can’t. You can calculate complex account figures, but I can’t. Does it mean I’m not creative? No. We are just different. Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard University believes that all of us possess nine intelligence to varying extents. You may possess three or more intelligence that may differ from mine (or probably as similar to mine) but nevertheless – you and I are creative. What intelligence do you possess?

9 Types of Gardner’s Intelligence:

1)    Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”). Creativity in the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). 

2)    Musical Intelligence (“Musical Smart”). Creativity in the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone.  This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalist, and sensitive listeners. 

3)    Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart). Creativity in the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. 

4)    Existential Intelligence. Creativity with sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

5)    Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart”). Creativity in the ability to understand and interact effectively with others.

6)    Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”). Creativity in the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. 

7)    Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”). Creativity in the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings.

8)    Intra-personal Intelligence (“Self Smart”). Creativity in Intra-personal in the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directing one’s life.

9)    Spatial Intelligence (“Picture Smart”). Creativity in the ability to think in three dimensions.  Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. 

So, don’t ask are you creative, but how are you creative?

Ask yourself, which of Gardner’s Intelligence dominate in you?

How can you develop your dominants intelligence?

And how can you improve other intelligence and be more creative?

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)