Complex Problems Require Complex Tools

Intelligence is a mechanism to solve problems (especially the ones related to survival). It includes the ability to gather knowledge, to learn, to be creative, to form strategies, or think critically.

It manifests itself in a huge variety of behaviors.

Because we as humans are able to work together and share knowledge across generations, we can overcome challenges beyond any single individual's ability. This allowed us to shape the planet on our liking.

We also created new problems in the process: tax forms, but also cl...

Learning is the process of putting together a sequence of thoughts and actions.

It is a series of repeatable behaviors that can be diversified and adapted.

Information is the basis of action for all living things.

Without it, we are not able to control and predict our surroundings, or to react appropriately and flexibly to them.

• Not all scientists agree on what counts as intelligence.
• We think of intelligence as a trait (like height or strength) but we find it difficult to define it.

Information is much more powerful if we can keep it and save it. This is where memory enters.

Memory is the ability to save and recall information so we don't have to go back to square one every time we perceive something as important.

We can think of intelligence as a flexible set of skills: a toolbox. And the most basic tools in the intelligence toolbox are:

• The ability to gather information through senses, to navigate and react to the external world in the right way.
• The ability to

Being creative translates into building something new and valuable from apparently unrelated things. In the context of intelligence, this means making new and unusual connections: pairing input with memories and skills, to come up with a unique solution to a problem.

Anoth...