Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, adapt to and shape one’s environment, and solve problems.
A common definition describes intelligence as “a general mental capability that involves the ability to learn from experience, apply acquired knowledge to reason and solve problems, and adapt one’s behavior according to the situation.” This capability integrates cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language, and planning, and can be measured using standardized intelligence tests.
In general, intelligence has the following characteristics:
- Understanding and reasoning about information from oneself and the external world
- Responding flexibly to new tasks and environments
- Solving problems and making decisions
- Growing and changing behavior and knowledge through learning
Intelligence is also applied beyond living organisms to machines and artificial intelligence, understood in the broader sense as “the ability to process information and adapt in order to achieve a goal.”
There is ongoing debate among researchers about how intelligence should be defined and measured, and some hold the view that it is difficult to explain with a single definition.