This is a paper I wrote for my final submission to Dr. Frank Lee’s CS630 Cognitive Modeling class in Fall 2010 at Drexel University. I have tried to format it well for the web, but some links and DOIs are missing. Expect updates soon!
Introduction
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The measure of intelligence in itself is quite controversial. Since the early beginnings of psychometry and Spearman's G Factor [18] to modern times, questions about measures [2, 15] as well as the possibility of measuring intelligence itself have been raised from time to time.
There are many definitions of intelligence, but if they all agree on one thing it is this: the measure of intelligence* varies from person to person. For an average person, in layman's terms, a general class-wide idea of intelligence is common sense. Common sense is distinct from wit and wisdom: it does not make one exceptionally smart or particularly successful at accomplishing any given task in an exemplary manner, nor does it give one the instincts or far-sightedness or imagination necessary for handling long and complex situations. It simply allows us to do everyday tasks in an everyday manner. Common sense does not separate us from animals and other creatures: it is our advanced conceptual, linguistic, mathematical and other such abilities which do that. Furthermore, animals can be said to have some amount of common sense, as they familiarize themselves with laws of nature such as gravity.
