Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was discussing Donald Trump with a pair of fellow progressives whom I love and respect. To my surprise, they both claimed that the president is "smart." This wasn't the first time I'd heard a liberal make such an utterance. The typical defense is, "Look where he is. He couldn't have gotten there without a little bit of intelligence. No matter how he comes across and like him or not, he's a smart man." Well, let's take a deeper look at that declaration, shall we?
In 1983, American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener described 9 types of intelligence:
1) Naturalist (nature smart)
2) Musical (sound smart)
3) Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart)
4) Existential (life smart)
5) Interpersonal (people smart)
6) Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)
7) Linguistic (word smart)
8) Intra-personal (self smart)
9) Spatial (picture smart)
Okay, so let's go through each of the nine forms of intelligence and decide whether or not Donald Trump meets its criteria.
1) Naturalist Intelligence: "Naturalist intelligence designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef. It is also speculated that much of our consumer society exploits the naturalist intelligences, which can be mobilized in the discrimination among cars, sneakers, kinds of makeup, and the like."
Hmm... The only thing Trump is good at discriminating against are people of color. So I'm not sure he fits Mr. Gardener's criteria. Come on, could you ever hear The Donald accurately describe the differences of rock configurations? "That rock is big. The other one is like not so big, so it's, eh, smaller maybe."
2) Musical Intelligence: "Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone. This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalists, and sensitive listeners. Interestingly, there is often an affective connection between music and the emotions; and mathematical and musical intelligences may share common thinking processes. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are usually singing or drumming to themselves. They are usually quite aware of sounds others may miss."
Have you ever heard this man hold a tune? Does he have any cognizance of just how loud and angry he comes across to people with functioning ears? I don't think so.
3) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: "Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. It enables us to perceive relationships and connections and to use abstract, symbolic thought; sequential reasoning skills; and inductive and deductive thinking patterns. Logical intelligence is usually well developed in mathematicians, scientists, and detectives. Young adults with lots of logical intelligence are interested in patterns, categories, and relationships. They are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments."
In the Thesaurus, the first antonym listed under Logical-Mathematical Intelligence should be a picture of the president. He often views debunked conspiracies as facts and facts as bunk. Melting ice caps don't signal to him that the earth might be warming. To him, gun violence has nothing to do with guns. The man wouldn't know logic if it was that thing on top of his head.
4) Existential Intelligence: "Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why we die, and how did we get here."
An empty shallow-end of the pool is deeper than Donald Trump. The man is about as philosophical as Socrates was sexy. Actually, Socrates was sexier than Trump is philosophical. My apologies to Socrates.
5) Interpersonal Intelligence: "Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to note distinctions among others, sensitivity to the moods and temperaments of others, and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives. Teachers, social workers, actors, and politicians all exhibit interpersonal intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are leaders among their peers, are good at communicating, and seem to understand others' feelings and motives."
This will probably be the trickiest one yet. On one hand, Trump does anything but understand the feelings of others. He's also a terrible communicator according to most people. However, he was apparently able to reach a certain segment of the population with this atypical form of communication. If a person only talks about themselves when around others and the audience takes a liking to this presenter, does that necessarily make the performer intelligent? When a cult leader persuades a dozen individuals to believe their every word, does this quantify as intelligence? I don't think so, but I could see the other side of this argument, at least in rare, specific situations.
6) Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: "Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind-body union. Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and crafts people exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence."
I've honestly never seen the words Trump and athletic in the same sentence. I rest my case...
7) Linguistic Intelligence: "Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. Linguistic intelligence is the most widely shared human competence and is evident in poets, novelists, journalists, and effective public speakers. Young adults with this kind of intelligence enjoy writing, reading, telling stories or doing crossword puzzles."
Well, according to Donald Trump, he knows the best words, but according to anyone with half a brain, he doesn't. Need I remind him of covfefe? The man has been reported to possess the vocabulary of an 8-year-old. No, that's not a typo. Hell, chances are he thinks linguistic is a way to sexually pleasure a woman...
8) Intra-personal Intelligence: "Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and one's thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one's life. Intra-personal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologists, spiritual leaders, and philosophers. These young adults may be shy. They are very aware of their own feelings and are self-motivated."
Donald Trump's thoughts, feelings, and life go every which direction. The man has changed his political affiliation more times than he can count (yes, more than 2). Yes, but does he have an appreciation of the self? With the way he gobbles up fast food, chugs soft drinks, doesn't exercise, sleeps around, etc., I have a strong hunch he doesn't. ...and shy? That's a laugh. Yeah, shy people always go up to others and grab them by the genitalia without any conscience or fear of repercussion. Riiight...
9) Spatial Intelligence: "Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence may be fascinated with mazes and jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing or daydreaming."
The Donald has admitted that he learns better via pictures than rhetoric. Even then, though, he has displayed quite the presidentially unparalleled lack of information retention. When shown the larger crowd at President Obama's inauguration than his own, he either refused to believe what was right in front of his eyes or he decided to revise history and photoshop his inauguration photos. There are times Trump's lies are so outlandish I have to wonder if he has an active imagination, but I digress. Imaging and attempting to create an alternate reality because one can't deal with actual reality typically isn't code for genius; it's code for a loony bin.
Conclusion: According to American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener, there are 9 types of intelligence. Donald Trump fails the criteria bigly in 8 of the 9 intelligences. The only one a person could make any kind of argument for in favor of The Donald is with regard to interpersonal intelligence. Even then, however, I think Trump falls short. Let's think about this for a moment. Donald Trump has truly never had to work for anything in his life. The man was born into a rich family. His father, like most uber-wealthy individuals, had connections. Through this wealth and connection, Donald Trump was set for life. Even after spending millions upon millions of dollars of his father's money on failed business ventures, Trump was bound to succeed, at least from a financial standpoint. His father had him set up for a lifetime of wealth, surrounded by people who knew how to make the most of tax loopholes and the like, all but guaranteeing him financial stability until the day he died. That's the one form of intelligence people keep pointing toward when attempting to make an argument in favor of Donald Trump. They claim he's business-smart: "Of course he's business smart, because the guy is a billionaire." It's not as simple as that. Hand a kid a seemingly never-ending stream of money, surround him with business savvy individuals, see him attain a lifetime of financial stability, and that doesn't make him business smart. It makes him lucky. Some people don't believe in luck. I do. Lottery winners. That isn't some divine intervention by a higher power handing a person in need with a lifetime supply of money. Most people spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on lottery tickets throughout their lifetimes, and guess what? No jackpot winners. As much as I hate to say it, it's about being in the right place at the right time. Donald Trump had no control over who his parents were going to be. He's had little control over the money he's made over his 70+ years on this planet. The guy simply got lucky. He wouldn't have been on a reality television show decades ago, rewarded for being a notorious loudmouth and strangely entertaining, almost like watching a slow-motion car crash on the big screen. During elections of yesteryear, he wouldn't have had a cable news channel, radio talk shows, and conspiracy-oriented websites supporting his every word and move. For whatever reason, the stars seemingly aligned for Donald Trump to become president. It had nothing to do with him being intelligent. Donald Trump is an incredibly ignorant person. You can't even convince me he's business-smart. Hand me hundreds of millions of dollars, connect me to individuals who can help me make the most of the money I've been given, and we'll see what I can do. Heck, when all is said and done, we may even see the people who Trump entrusted with his money didn't handle all of his transactions legally (or he himself didn't), and that he greatly exaggerated his overall value and wealth. Sadly, our president speaks at the level of an 8-year-old. It's been said that he knows absolutely nothing when it comes to foreign relations, US history, the Constitution, law, even money. The only thing Donald Trump can do well is talk about himself in front of people. That's it. He's a narcissist through and through. He's insecure. He craves constant attention. Unfortunately, he typically receives this very attention. That doesn't mean he's smart. It sadly just means there are a lot of people who are unhappy, uneducated, vulnerable, desperate, and drawn to him as a cult-like figure, hoping that the stars will align for them one day, finally having luck on their side as he's had on his.
https://blog.adioma.com/9-types-of-intelligence-infographic/
In 1983, American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener described 9 types of intelligence:
1) Naturalist (nature smart)
2) Musical (sound smart)
3) Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart)
4) Existential (life smart)
5) Interpersonal (people smart)
6) Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)
7) Linguistic (word smart)
8) Intra-personal (self smart)
9) Spatial (picture smart)
Okay, so let's go through each of the nine forms of intelligence and decide whether or not Donald Trump meets its criteria.
1) Naturalist Intelligence: "Naturalist intelligence designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef. It is also speculated that much of our consumer society exploits the naturalist intelligences, which can be mobilized in the discrimination among cars, sneakers, kinds of makeup, and the like."
Hmm... The only thing Trump is good at discriminating against are people of color. So I'm not sure he fits Mr. Gardener's criteria. Come on, could you ever hear The Donald accurately describe the differences of rock configurations? "That rock is big. The other one is like not so big, so it's, eh, smaller maybe."
2) Musical Intelligence: "Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone. This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalists, and sensitive listeners. Interestingly, there is often an affective connection between music and the emotions; and mathematical and musical intelligences may share common thinking processes. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are usually singing or drumming to themselves. They are usually quite aware of sounds others may miss."
Have you ever heard this man hold a tune? Does he have any cognizance of just how loud and angry he comes across to people with functioning ears? I don't think so.
3) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: "Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. It enables us to perceive relationships and connections and to use abstract, symbolic thought; sequential reasoning skills; and inductive and deductive thinking patterns. Logical intelligence is usually well developed in mathematicians, scientists, and detectives. Young adults with lots of logical intelligence are interested in patterns, categories, and relationships. They are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments."
In the Thesaurus, the first antonym listed under Logical-Mathematical Intelligence should be a picture of the president. He often views debunked conspiracies as facts and facts as bunk. Melting ice caps don't signal to him that the earth might be warming. To him, gun violence has nothing to do with guns. The man wouldn't know logic if it was that thing on top of his head.
4) Existential Intelligence: "Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why we die, and how did we get here."
An empty shallow-end of the pool is deeper than Donald Trump. The man is about as philosophical as Socrates was sexy. Actually, Socrates was sexier than Trump is philosophical. My apologies to Socrates.
5) Interpersonal Intelligence: "Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to note distinctions among others, sensitivity to the moods and temperaments of others, and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives. Teachers, social workers, actors, and politicians all exhibit interpersonal intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are leaders among their peers, are good at communicating, and seem to understand others' feelings and motives."
This will probably be the trickiest one yet. On one hand, Trump does anything but understand the feelings of others. He's also a terrible communicator according to most people. However, he was apparently able to reach a certain segment of the population with this atypical form of communication. If a person only talks about themselves when around others and the audience takes a liking to this presenter, does that necessarily make the performer intelligent? When a cult leader persuades a dozen individuals to believe their every word, does this quantify as intelligence? I don't think so, but I could see the other side of this argument, at least in rare, specific situations.
6) Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: "Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind-body union. Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and crafts people exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence."
I've honestly never seen the words Trump and athletic in the same sentence. I rest my case...
7) Linguistic Intelligence: "Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. Linguistic intelligence is the most widely shared human competence and is evident in poets, novelists, journalists, and effective public speakers. Young adults with this kind of intelligence enjoy writing, reading, telling stories or doing crossword puzzles."
Well, according to Donald Trump, he knows the best words, but according to anyone with half a brain, he doesn't. Need I remind him of covfefe? The man has been reported to possess the vocabulary of an 8-year-old. No, that's not a typo. Hell, chances are he thinks linguistic is a way to sexually pleasure a woman...
8) Intra-personal Intelligence: "Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and one's thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one's life. Intra-personal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologists, spiritual leaders, and philosophers. These young adults may be shy. They are very aware of their own feelings and are self-motivated."
Donald Trump's thoughts, feelings, and life go every which direction. The man has changed his political affiliation more times than he can count (yes, more than 2). Yes, but does he have an appreciation of the self? With the way he gobbles up fast food, chugs soft drinks, doesn't exercise, sleeps around, etc., I have a strong hunch he doesn't. ...and shy? That's a laugh. Yeah, shy people always go up to others and grab them by the genitalia without any conscience or fear of repercussion. Riiight...
9) Spatial Intelligence: "Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence may be fascinated with mazes and jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing or daydreaming."
The Donald has admitted that he learns better via pictures than rhetoric. Even then, though, he has displayed quite the presidentially unparalleled lack of information retention. When shown the larger crowd at President Obama's inauguration than his own, he either refused to believe what was right in front of his eyes or he decided to revise history and photoshop his inauguration photos. There are times Trump's lies are so outlandish I have to wonder if he has an active imagination, but I digress. Imaging and attempting to create an alternate reality because one can't deal with actual reality typically isn't code for genius; it's code for a loony bin.
Conclusion: According to American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener, there are 9 types of intelligence. Donald Trump fails the criteria bigly in 8 of the 9 intelligences. The only one a person could make any kind of argument for in favor of The Donald is with regard to interpersonal intelligence. Even then, however, I think Trump falls short. Let's think about this for a moment. Donald Trump has truly never had to work for anything in his life. The man was born into a rich family. His father, like most uber-wealthy individuals, had connections. Through this wealth and connection, Donald Trump was set for life. Even after spending millions upon millions of dollars of his father's money on failed business ventures, Trump was bound to succeed, at least from a financial standpoint. His father had him set up for a lifetime of wealth, surrounded by people who knew how to make the most of tax loopholes and the like, all but guaranteeing him financial stability until the day he died. That's the one form of intelligence people keep pointing toward when attempting to make an argument in favor of Donald Trump. They claim he's business-smart: "Of course he's business smart, because the guy is a billionaire." It's not as simple as that. Hand a kid a seemingly never-ending stream of money, surround him with business savvy individuals, see him attain a lifetime of financial stability, and that doesn't make him business smart. It makes him lucky. Some people don't believe in luck. I do. Lottery winners. That isn't some divine intervention by a higher power handing a person in need with a lifetime supply of money. Most people spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on lottery tickets throughout their lifetimes, and guess what? No jackpot winners. As much as I hate to say it, it's about being in the right place at the right time. Donald Trump had no control over who his parents were going to be. He's had little control over the money he's made over his 70+ years on this planet. The guy simply got lucky. He wouldn't have been on a reality television show decades ago, rewarded for being a notorious loudmouth and strangely entertaining, almost like watching a slow-motion car crash on the big screen. During elections of yesteryear, he wouldn't have had a cable news channel, radio talk shows, and conspiracy-oriented websites supporting his every word and move. For whatever reason, the stars seemingly aligned for Donald Trump to become president. It had nothing to do with him being intelligent. Donald Trump is an incredibly ignorant person. You can't even convince me he's business-smart. Hand me hundreds of millions of dollars, connect me to individuals who can help me make the most of the money I've been given, and we'll see what I can do. Heck, when all is said and done, we may even see the people who Trump entrusted with his money didn't handle all of his transactions legally (or he himself didn't), and that he greatly exaggerated his overall value and wealth. Sadly, our president speaks at the level of an 8-year-old. It's been said that he knows absolutely nothing when it comes to foreign relations, US history, the Constitution, law, even money. The only thing Donald Trump can do well is talk about himself in front of people. That's it. He's a narcissist through and through. He's insecure. He craves constant attention. Unfortunately, he typically receives this very attention. That doesn't mean he's smart. It sadly just means there are a lot of people who are unhappy, uneducated, vulnerable, desperate, and drawn to him as a cult-like figure, hoping that the stars will align for them one day, finally having luck on their side as he's had on his.
https://blog.adioma.com/9-types-of-intelligence-infographic/
As President of the Loony Bin Inn, I must confess my people resent being associated with this "person." I propose that he should instead be associated with something more fitting. Something fungal perhaps, like mold, ringworm, or of course, hopefully the closest we'll ever get to seeing Trump and Athletic in the same sentence, athlete's foot. You're welcome... haha :)
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