Humans are the most intelligent known organisms. As a general definition, intelligence is a measure of one's ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. From a theoretical perspective, there are many ways of defining and measuring intelligence. "General intelligence," which is often measured through traditional IQ tests, is correlated with success academically and professionally. Here are some other theories of intelligence:
Cattell's Two Intelligences: humans have crystallized intelligence (acquired knowledge and the ability to access that knowledge) and fluid intelligence (ability to see complex relationships in order to solve problems)
Gardener's Multiple Intelligences: human intelligence can be measure on eight indices--linguistic, logical & mathematical, bodily & kinesthetic, musical, visual, naturalistic, interpersonal, andintrapersonal
While intelligence is heritable to some degree, the degree of heritability is dependent on the environment that a child is raised in. In families from a high socioeconomic status, there is a strong correlation between children's intelligence and their parents' intelligence. In families from a low socioeconomic background, where opportunities to nurture intellectual growth are very limited, the correlation between parent and child intelligence is almost non-existent. Furthermore, studies show that academic success can be enhanced when children see intelligence as changeable rather than fixed, and that student performance can be influence by how intelligent teachers think a student is (teachers treat students differently based on perceived intelligence). This last point has negative implications because teachers may inadvertently base their judgments on prevailing stereotypes (for example, the stereotypes that girls are bad at math ).
The effect of these judgments are compounded by the fact that when people are aware of the negative stereotypes associated with a group they belong to, they tend to underperform and live up (or down in this case) to these lowered expectations. This phenomenon is known as stereotype threat. It helps explain why there is a significant achievement gap between white & asian students (who have a "smart" stereotype) and black and Hispanic students (who have a "not smart" stereotype), and why this gap persists even within the same socioeconomic classes.
In this clip from 8 Mile(2002), Jimmy falls victim to a different stereotype--that white people can't rap. Despite being prepared, he chokes and is unable to perform. (Note: Video contains explicit language).