What does “intelligence” really mean? College students tend to think of intelligence only in terms of “school smarts” or academic ability, but that’s a narrow view. Intelligence is usually defined more broadly, such as “the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new experiences” or “the capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment.”

The common theme in all the definitions is the capacity to function well in one’s environment.