Howard Gardner and His Theory of Multiple Intelligences According to Howard Gardner, many mental abilities are not adequately measured by traditional intelligence tests. As Gardner (2003) explains, “Different tasks call on different intelligences or combinations of intelligence. To perform music intelligently involves a different set of intelligences than preparing a meal, planning a course, or resolving a quarrel.” Examples might include the spatial intelligence reflected in the sculptures of this talented Cambodian artist, the extraordinary bodily-kinesthetic intelligence of Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, and the musical intelligence of Grammy award-winning jazz musician Esperanza Spalding.