Applied Multiple Intelligence:The Key to Greatness (Here is a simple self evaluation.)

Jose Rizal, Galilee Galileo, Mother Teresa, Carl Jung, Albert Schweitzer, Loius Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Christian Barnard et al

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
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The most exciting stories in science involve the sudden spark when mundane observation meets sudden inspiration. Such is the case of the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, Galileo watching the swing of a lamp in the Cathedral of Pisa and deduced from it the law of the pendulum, and Sir Isaac Newton watching the fall of a apple and formulating the laws of gravity. It is as humorous as the sudden realization by Archimedes of the law of buoyancy.

But stories of this sort are not coincidental or incidental; they are deliberate efforts of testing a theory and looking for evidences and application. Such is the story of Louis Pasteur whose discoveries in microbiology led to a new field of medicine which is immunization, Christian Barnard revolutionizing surgery when he conducted the world’s first heart transplant. Such stories continue to amaze us. The Human Genome Project has opened before us a new horizon in medicine heretofore unknown - gene therapy.
Juan Luna  Here are four celebrated examples of multiple intelligence in action.

1. Galileo Galilei (Italian pronunciation: 15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), often known mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian physicist,mathematician, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of science", and "the father of modern science".

His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments. (Wikipedia)

2. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great English explorer and the first white man to penetrate the heart of Africa and establish the first hospital for the natives there, was very effective in his mission not only because he was a good physician, but he was gifted with other talents. He was a minister, a musician, a naturalist and a philanthropist. Although he was criticized by his detractors for his philosophy on “reverence for life,” his outdated medical practices, and racial attitude, he was admired by mankind, and his legacy of dedication to others endures. The world will always have the memory of a giant who tried in his singular way to love as Jesus loved, oddly but honestly lived his beloved song: The deed is everything; the glory naught.

3. Carl Gustav Jung was a master of the abstruse. His explorations took him through yoga, alchemy, fairy tales, tribal rites of the Pueblo Indians, Hindu mandalas, extrasensory perception, prehistoric cave drawings – and an estimated 100,000 dreams. But when Dr. Jung was accused of having left medicine for mysticism, he replied that psychiatry must reflect all of man’s experiences, from the most intensely practical to the most tenuously mystical. If the details of his work were sometimes foggy, his overall purpose was clear: to help man live at peace with his unconscious.

4. Mother Teresa required poverty, chastity and obedience but also a fourth vow, service to the poorest of the poor. More than 3000 sisters of the missionaries of Charity joined her to pursue the religious path, aided by brothers in a separate men’s order and a host of lay 

co-workers. Together Sister Teresa and her followers operate a network of some 350 missions, spread across scores of nations, that administer hospices, food centers, clinics, orphanages, leprosariums and refuges for the insane, retarded and aged. What drove Mother Teresa into this deep dedication? She received a “call within a call” – a special vocation in which she felt God directing her to the slums. Such call is reminiscent of the voice that commanded Joan of Arc to lead the French army against the English. She did not live to see the liberation of her native land.

5. Dr Jose Rizal, our national hero, is perhaps the epitome of multiple intelligence among his people and the Malay race. He prodigiously possessed the eight realms and made use of them exceptionally fruitful within his short life. The ultimate expression of such gift that led him to greatness was inspired by a moth that circled a lamp on his study table - then singed itself suddenly into the flame. It was to become the symbol of his martyrdom.

Multiple Intelligence
(The 8 Realms of Intelligence)

1. Interpersonal (human relations) - Sometimes this is referred to as social intelligence. Leaders excel in this field. “They exude natural warmth, they wear disarming smile,” to quote an expert on human relations. Name your favorite characters. I choose Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and our own, the late Carlos P. Romulo.

2. Intrapersonal (inner vision self-reflection and meditation) – Masters in this realm are priests, nuns, poets, yogis. St. Francis of Assisi is a genius in this domain. Didn’t Beethoven compose music with his inner ear and Helen Keller “see” from an inner vision?

3. Kinesthetics (athletics, sports, body language, dance, gymnastics) - Michael Jordan and Roger Federer excel in their respective sports. Now think of your idol in the sports world, or in the art of dance. Lisa Macuja Elizalde is still the country’s top ballet dancer.

4. Languages or linguistics - There are people who are regarded walking encyclopedia and dictionary. The gift of tongue in the true sense is in being multilingual like our very own Dr. Jose Rizal. How fast can you learn the dialect or language of a place?

5. Logic (dialectics, Mathematics) - Marxism is based on dialectics which is a tool in studying and learning social sciences like philosophy. Likewise, this realm includes the intelligence of numbers – mathematics, geometry, accounting, actuarial science, etc. This is the key to many IQ tests. Einstein, Newton, Socrates, Aristotle, Hawkings are popular figures who represent this realm.

6. Music (auditory art) – Frederick Chopin, Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga – name your favorite. Johann Sebastian Bach is the genius of all composers. Tchaikovsky is the master of ballet music. Frederick Handel's Messiah, Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Brahms' Lullaby remain unequaled to this day. I like listening Pangkat Kawayan play Philippine music. I cannot miss hearing the Madrigal singers, the Vienna Boys, and the UST Choral Ensemble.

7. Spatial intelligence (drawing, and painting, sculpture, architecture, photography) - The greatest contemporary artist, Pablo Picasso, was robbed in his studio. Hog-tied, he carefully studied the robber, the way an artist studies his model. After the incident he sketched the face of the robber and gave it to the police. The police made a hundred arrests without succeeding in pinpointing the culprit. The sculptor Rodin wanted his subject to look as if it were melting, like clay softened by rain. What could be a better expression of poverty for his masterpiece, The Burghers of Calais?

8. Naturalism (Green Thumb, relationship with the Natural World) - There are people who are said to have a “green thumb”. Their gardens are beautiful even with little care. There are those who can predict weather, fishermen who know when a fish bites, farmers who pick the reddest watermelon, fullest macapuno nuts, just by feel and sound. Good doctors, I am sure are not only good because of high scholastic records, but have the green thumb as well.

Here is a simple exercise to find out how you fare with Multiple Intelligence. With a piece or paper,  list down the eight realms on the left column. Through self-analysis score each realm using the Likert Scale of 1 to 5, where five is very good (VG), and 1 is very poor (VP); 2 is poor (P), 3 is fair (F) and 4 is good (G). Work on this exercise individually and quietly. It usually takes 10 to 20 minutes.

What are your top three realms? Can you see their inter relationships? Relate them with your strength. On the other hand, in what ways can you improve on the other realms with lower rating? Now relate your score with your present work, your family, and community.

Yes, you can be a Galileo, Schweitzer, Jung, Mother Teresa, Fleming, Darwin, Rizal, et al in your own right. And, remember there are early and late bloomers. ~