DEFINING INTELLIGENCE - Pat Keogh

It may be unethical or a person to conduct an intelligence assessment on another human being. Human intelligence is unquantifiable. Observing or analyzing behaviour, appearance, personality, beliefs or acquired knowledge cannot produce a quantifiable measure of a person’s intelligence.

The brain can perform millions of billions of calculations per second. This gives the person enormous power and incalculable potential. Yet, saying I use my brain to thing awards the I (the mind) a priority over the brain.

We are thinking beings. We are compelled and condemned to think. Thinking is process. We cannot analyse thinking but we can analyse thoughts and ideas, the products of thinking.

The mind can reflect on the past, live in the present and plan for the future. Intelligence involves abstract, purposeful, logical thinking and the ability to create and execute ideas. It also includes unconscious thinking. The mind functions best when the body is at rests. The mind never sleeps.

The Bru na Boinne megalithic burial tombs in County Meath, particularly New Grange testify to the brilliance in observation, the thoughtful plans by our Neolithic ancestors of five thousand years ago. Modern day communication technology, space exploration and the development of artificial intelligence with sophisticated machines and robots are contemporary testimonies to human genius.

Primary education should allow time in the curriculum for student to daydream purposefully. In early schooling greater emphasis should be placed on creativity, music composition, innovation and artistic pursuits.

DR. PAT KEOGH is a retired Principal Teacher of a large Dublin primary school. He believes that children from an early age should be encouraged to think independently. There should be less emphasis placed on facts and formulae and more time given to analysis particularly in subjects like History, Art, Music. And Religion.

While Mathematics, Geography, Geology, and Science are more fact-based subjects, understanding and analyzing the concepts and facts should take precedence over rote learning of facts, figures, and formulae.

Pat is a staunch advocate of child-centered education. Each child is different, with different needs and proclivities. We should cater for the child, not the system.

Dr. Keogh has a master’s degree in Philosophy and a Doctorate in Education. His doctoral thesis is entitled THINKING CRITICALLY. The human brain has incredible calculating potential but the elusiveness and ingenuity of the mind is beyond comprehension. The creative mind works best when the body is at rest.