However, many people will equate intelligence with IQ, especially when they were students. Because school is the main task, other abilities cannot be reflected, so intelligence can be equated with IQ.
So, which subjects can tell whether students are smart or not?
First, the definition of intelligence.
In fact, scientists have different definitions of intelligence or IQ, but they are basically the same. For example, some people think that intelligence is composed of several basic abilities, which are: language understanding ability, reasoning ability, understanding speed, number ability, vocabulary use, associative memory and spatial imagination.
Some people also divide intelligence into two kinds, one is abstract logical reasoning ability (fluid intelligence) and the other is crystal intelligence (crystal intelligence). Solving problems requires logical reasoning ability and knowledge and experience level, and these two things can work together to solve problems better. Generally speaking, fluid intelligence decreases with age, while crystal intelligence increases with age.
Simply put, intelligence refers to a person's reasoning ability, understanding speed, numerical ability, spatial imagination and so on. This definition is more in line with our understanding of "intelligence".
Second, physics and mathematics can better reflect a person's IQ.
In key high schools for many years, I have been exposed to excellent students. Even these students can see that their IQ is different. According to my observation, whether a student is smart or not is mainly reflected in two subjects, one is physics and the other is mathematics. Which is more difficult, math or physics? Different students have different understandings. There are students who are good at physics but not good at mathematics, and there are students who are not good at mathematics but good at physics. At different stages, the embodiment is different. For example, in high school, students think physics is more difficult than mathematics, but in college or higher stage, they think mathematics is more difficult than physics.
For example, physicist Yang Zhenning once told such a joke. He said: There are two kinds of math books. The first is that you don't want to read the first page, and the second is that you don't want to read the first sentence. As a contemporary physicist who likes mathematics very much and uses it extensively, Yang Zhenning thinks mathematics is hard and difficult to understand, not to mention ordinary people.
I think physics is more difficult to understand than mathematics. Although Yang Zhenning doesn't agree with the statement that "mathematics is a tool of physics", for ordinary people, mathematics can solve many problems as long as it does more problems, while physics needs not only better mathematics, but also many processes of "brain", which requires more abstract thinking. Chaplin once joked with Einstein: "People welcome me because they can understand me, and people welcome you because they don't understand you."
Many students in high school choose liberal arts, which is basically the reason why mathematics and physics are not good. If physics is not good, they can escape. If they are not good at math, they must face difficulties. Some students have greatly improved their math scores after choosing liberal arts, and even got full marks in the college entrance examination. I wonder if they can persist in studying physics.
As for Chinese and English, although they are not easy to learn, they rely more on accumulation than reasoning, so there is a phenomenon in high school: students who learn math and physics well do not learn Chinese and English well; Students who are good at Chinese and English and bad at math and physics are everywhere.
Of course, just because a student has a high IQ and is smart doesn't mean he gets good grades. Some students have poor grades because they don't mind, and some students have poor grades because they are weak in Chinese or English subjects, so IQ greatly affects their grades, but it can't completely determine their grades. If in the long run, people with high IQ may not be smart, don't you think?