When it comes to intelligence, many people reference IQ. But, as I've said many times before it's not a complete picture of intelligence. IQ tests were designed to determine services for people who have low intellect.
There are so many different ways to be intelligent. I'm not sure it's all quantifiable. Such as the child that can pitch a ball with speed and precision, the ability to sense emotions, or just general social skills often go unmeasured.
And, I often hear people say they know someone is intelligent. Sometimes, I think people use it to say "I agree with this person."
So, how do you decide whether or not you think a person is intelligent?
We live in different environments . I think a person is intelligent if they can succeessfully navigate the environment they're in , or perhaps move to an environment where they can be more sucessful . A fish doesn't need a bicycle , as they say . The IQ tests are based largly on , " book learning , " which can be very useful and can help a person succeed in higher level environments , where they can get higher paying careers - programmers , computer experts , lawyers , doctors , actors , etc. Lower paying jobs , waitresses , garbage collectors , are physically demanding , yet repiticious and don't require a higher education . Some jobs , can begin as lower paying jobs , and you can advance to better paying jobs , by acquiring a higher education , which , in general , requires reading .
They must be if I like them. Just thought this was a funny answer. As you state there are so many levels tha go into measuring intelligence and all that you mention are good. I include kindness,respect,tolerance, a knowledge of many areas,well read, able to speak well and explain their position on matters logically.
The ability to process data. That's it in a nut shell, but it unpackages into many different sub categories. Generally, it's not what you know, but how you know it.
appropriateness, utility, lucidity, critical thinking and condemning magical thinking all lead me to recognize intelligence from others
if a person is capable & willing to discuss a topic controversially without losing the thread & getting personal, especially personally insulting - that's already a good indicator for intelligence in my eyes. distinguishing facts from opinion, rationale from emotions, personal preference from the big picture & .... humility before everything else.
The ability to question and to not hold to confirmational bias with availability of updated facts is my key indicator of intelligence. A dogmatic belief system loses a large chunk of points if grading on a point scale.
Well what you listed are special skills and talents really. Intelligence is more like wisdom, street and book smarts, common sense and the like. Thing like cunning and creativity sort of straddle the line I think, though...hm. Ah yes, self-awareness is definitely big, and ability to discuss things reasonably even when your opinions may differ greatly. Though things can and do get in the way of that (I am guilty of this too often), such as various mental illnesses and anger issues, and often young age.
Your second to last sentence is...phew! Absolutely, people do that. And they also tend to think they're smart when it's far more likely they're just average, or sometimes even below.
The wise use of knowledge in comparison to ones peers. Believing in as many true things as possible, while diligently trying to reaffirm truths and eliminate falsehoods. When faced with insufficient evidence simple says I" don't know" or "I have reasonable doubt" and continues to seek answers if it is personally warranted. Also the ability to reason through problems, extrapolate and arrive at solutions that are more accurate than random chance
I think there are different types of intelligence. I think being able to read, comprehend, study, and retain information on multiple topics makes one intelligent but I also feel inherent intelligence comes more from learning from all situations and retaining that knowledge.
I rarely find both types in the same person. When I do, I'm delighted. I'm not a well read person because I don't learn that way. I'd rather meet a person that read something and can explain it through their filter for me to absorb. Seeing their passion for a thing helps me not only retain but enjoy learning about a thing.