Thomas Armstrong's Blog, page 10

Multiple Intelligences in Prehistoric Times

Were people intelligent in prehistoric times?  There’s no reason not so think so, given the fact that the times haven’t been long enough to account for significant genetic changes one way or the other. There’s a field of study called cognitive archeology that attempts to hypothesize the inner cognitive processes of our prehistoric ancestors. An […]

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Multiple Intelligences and the Value of Lifelong Learning

The old adage ”use it or lose it” seems to apply to the human brain according to findings in neuroscience.  Studies of lifelong learners (most famously, a group of nuns in Mankato, Minnesota) show that engaging in a variety of stimulating activities throughout adult life can result in lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and better […]

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Multiple Intelligences and Neuroscience

The brain is an incredibly complex organ.  Someone once suggested that if the brain was so simple we could understand it, we’d be so simple that we couldn’t.  However, Dr. Howard Gardner gives us one window into better understanding the brain in his theory of multiple intelligences, which posits the existence of eight (or possibly […]

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Multiple Intelligences and Symbol Systems

One of the most remarkable aspects of being human is our ability to symbolize.  Simply through a mark on a page, a sound from our voice, or a gesture from our hands, we can convey ideas that are not immediately present to our senses (we essentially ”re-present” them).  Dr. Howard Gardner, the creator of the […]

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Multiple Intelligences and Savant (Rainman) Syndrome

Most people are familiar with the 1988 movie Rainman starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.  This movie, based on a true story, dealt with a male adult who had remarkable mathematical/computational abilities, yet had major deficiencies in other areas of his life such as socialization and language.  Experts describe this phenomena as ”savant syndrome” – […]

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Multiple Intelligences and Cultural Diversity

Asked to define what an ”intelligence” is, Dr. Howard Gardner replied that it is the ability to solve problems and to fashion culturally valued products.  This introduction of culture into his theory offers us the opportunity to explore the application of the theory of multiple intelligences to cultural diversity.  Some people have made the mistake […]

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Diversify Your Assets, Diversify Your Brain

Most people know how important it is to diversify your financial assets in your investment portfolio (if you’re lucky enough to have one).  Too much money invested in the stock market may pack a wallop to your portfolio if the stock market crashes.  The same thing goes with mental assets, and more particularly, the asset […]

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Enriching Your Brain Using All 8 Intelligences

As we age, the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia increases. The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease doubles about every 5 years beyond age 65. About one-third of all people age 85 and older may have Alzheimer’s disease.  However, many people live into their 90s and beyond without ever developing dementia. (Click […]

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Getting In Tune With Music Smart

In this brief video (2 minutes), I discuss musical intelligence or Music Smart, one of the eight (or nine) intelligences in Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences.  People usually think of musical capability as a talent (hence the ”talent show” often being a place where people show their musical abilities).  But Dr. Gardner is […]

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Getting Back to ”Nature Smart”

I’ve been producing short videos to describe the eight (or nine) intelligences in Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences.  In this video I describe the ”naturalist” intelligence.  In 1983 Gardner wrote about seven basic intelligences in his book Frames of Mind.  Several years later, he added the naturalist intelligence (which I like to call […]

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