Intelligence is often defined as a mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, adapt to new situations, understand and process abstract concepts, and use knowledge to manipulate the environment.
Although many people have different views on what intelligence actually is, Australian psychology professors Jill Gignac and Eva Zodry pointed out that most scholars agree that human intelligence is a psychological construct. Despite this consensus, I have always wondered whether intelligence, understood and valued in society, is a blessing or a curse.
In the society I grew up in, intelligence is often seen as a trophy, a symbol of success. If you don’t meet this standard of intelligence, your life can quickly spiral into believing you’re worthless.
What makes this standard particularly questionable is that in most cases intelligence is narrowly defined as academic ability. If you are lucky enough to excel academically, you will be praised and presented as a “community role model.”
This sounds exciting, but I fear the reality is much more complex.
driving force for success
For me, it all started in the lower grades of third grade. I won my first academic award because I was the best in math in my grade. I went home, told my mom, and was genuinely happy about my accomplishment. But from that moment on, life took a different turn. Suddenly, I was expected to do more because my teachers, parents, and everyone around me believed in my potential. Always get perfect grades, always get excellent grades, always be at the top of the class.
This may sound motivating, but it wasn’t. From that day on, every assignment, every test, and every school study was accompanied by an underlying fear. “Do I meet society’s expectations of an ‘intelligent and intelligent girl’? I became afraid of receiving a grade lower than an A.
Every time I struggled with a concept or felt like I was failing, I felt like my self-worth was threatened. My entire identity gradually began to revolve around schoolwork and grades.
I didn’t want to use my academic skills in this way. I didn’t want my intellect to be something that enslaved me. Unfortunately, that’s how it turned out.
This was not something I imposed on myself, but due to huge pressure from the society surrounding me. This experience is not unique to me. Many young people and children feel devalued when they think they are not “smart enough” at school. They begin to feel as if they have failed in life simply because they do not meet society’s academic standards.
I do not believe this is how intelligence should be defined and experienced.
Blessing or curse?
When I discussed this with a student at school, he said that he often feels he has an advantage because society believes he is “smart.” However, he felt that people were making assumptions based on this “advantage” rather than actually knowing who they were.
People who don’t fit into this “intellectual” spectrum often have difficulty fitting into certain groups, he said. He gave an example of a teamwork situation where some students join others because they are not “intelligent” enough. These students are often seen as substitutes who cannot make meaningful contributions.
“Intellectual” or not, this social structure seems more like a burden.
Intelligence can be isolating. If you are constantly striving for a certain grade or academic achievement, many people around you may not understand the pressure you face. As a result, their lives become centered around books and academics, leaving little room for life outside of school.
I have close friends, but I often don’t have the time to fully interact with them or freely participate in their lives outside of school. For most of my life, my happiness depended on whether I got good grades, not whether I could live as a human being.
social expectations
This extends beyond students. It also affects parents and teachers. In an interview I conducted with a parent of three children, she explained that intelligence is spiritual, something innate that can be developed in children.
This was her personal belief. However, because society equates intelligence with academic success, she often succumbed to outside pressures and found herself being harder on her children than she had intended.
She shared the example of her son who had to quit math at one point in his life because he didn’t do very well in math. In my society, “smart” children are often associated with studying science subjects and taking top-level math courses.
Although she personally did not consider this a serious problem, society’s expectations led her to question her son’s intelligence and future.
Having grown up academically gifted, she wondered if he was “intelligent enough.” Although she eventually returned to grounding principles, the pressure affected her parenting.
These social standards create a cycle that affects students, parents, and society alike. We find ourselves caught up in the constant pursuit of good grades and academic recognition as a measure of success.
freedom to fail
Should intelligence really work this way? I don’t think so. At this point, society has turned intelligence into a burden rather than a boon.
Like any talent, intelligence should be enjoyed, not something that dictates our worth or consumes our lives. I appreciate my academic ability, but I also want the freedom to fail. Because failure is a natural part of life.
You want to fail without feeling like you’ve let those around you down. Intelligence should be seen as one talent among many, not as the sole determinant of success or prospects.
As a society, we need to redefine intelligence. It’s not just an academic thing. Intelligence means not only being recognized in school, but also using your swimming skills to improve yourself, getting better at the piano, and excelling in interpersonal relationships.
Intelligence was supposed to be a blessing, but society has turned it into a curse. By accepting this way of thinking, the “blessing” of the intellect is restored. We need to value human potential in all its diverse forms. I’m on a journey to embrace that, and I hope you, the reader, are too.
Questions to consider:
1. What does the author mean by “freedom to fail”?
2. How do you think most parents measure their children’s intelligence?
3. How can intelligence be measured other than academically?
