THE METAKNOWLEDGE ADVANTAGE by Rafael Aguayo

Author:Rafael Aguayo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FREE PRESS
Published: 2004-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Psychological Type and Multiple Intelligences

We have introduced two distinct notions of human differences: psychological type and multiple intelligences. Each theory deals with categories that are to some extent independent. It is possible, for example, for a person to be intelligent both mathematically and musically. It is also possible for another person to be very intelligent in one and have little talent in the other. Likewise with psychological functions, it is possible for someone to be able to access feeling and thinking but it is more common for a person to be able to access one but not the other in a given situation.

How do these two theories relate? Jonathan P. Niednagel, an expert in the Myers-Briggs System of psychological types mentioned in Chapter 11, believes our psychological type has such a profound impact that it even affects the way we move. He prefers to use the term Brain Types. He has used it in athletics to evaluate who will make the better athlete under different conditions. Some types work best when the pressure is on. These are the ones you send in during a do-or-die situation. He has also used it to evaluate which college players will eventually make it in the pros. In his book Your Key to Sports Success he covers each of the types, their athletic skills, and the optimal coaching method for each type as suggested by the theory.

In Chapter 11 I used one type, INTP, to make a statistical point concerning the distribution of types in an organization. For a moment let’s focus on that one type again. INTP stands for Introvert, i Ntuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving. Niednagel says the nickname for this relatively rare type is “Logician,” but I think “Theoretician” is more accurate.

Niednagel has identified several well-known people as INTPs. Among these are Albert Einstein, the great physicist; Mikhail Baryshnikov, the great dancer; Arthur Ashe, the tennis champion; Steven Spielberg, the renowned movie director; Jane Goodall, the eminent naturalist and leading expert on chimpanzees; John Lennon, of the Beatles; Nelson Mandela; and Leonardo da Vinci. It’s pretty clear that Carl Jung, the eminent psychiatrist, and Charles Darwin, the naturalist, also belong here. I chose these out of a more extensive list to highlight the differences in intelligences within the same type.

Is one more intelligent than the other? Is Einstein more intelligent than Jung? They were both Swiss citizens and had some contact. In one of his writings Jung said that Einstein talked to him about physics and he was quickly lost. But then Jung started talking about the psyche and it was Einstein’s turn to be totally befuddled. Is Mikhail Baryshnikov more or less intelligent than John Lennon? For me, at least, when the question is posed in this way and with the benefit of the knowledge of multiple intelligences, these questions become nonsense and certainly not worth answering or pursuing.

Rather, much more interesting and important questions come up. Why have some people reached such heights in their chosen fields? What must we

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