Intelligence

When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or upsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.

For instance, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. And, if he can't make things work out right, he doesn't feel ashamed that he failed; he just tries to learn from his mistakes.

If you look at children, you'll see great difference between what we call "bright" children and "not-bright" children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amount of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life—he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But, the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.