The Element - Think Differently

So we have identified what The Element is, and if you're like me, you want it, but aren't sure how to get to it.  The first piece of advice from Sir Ken - Think Differently.  (Also the title of the second chapter of the book, The Element.)  Here are my thoughts on what it means - and how Sir Ken suggests we go about it.

Rhonda

One of the first things you learn when you work with kids with learning disabilities is that they're really smart, but they learn differently.  They often think differently too.  But often, their ability to learn (or maybe, their inability) is taken for granted.  The kids often take those abilities (or lack of) for granted too. 

Take the example Sir Ken offers - Mick Fleetwood (yes, the Mick Fleetwood of the band Fleetwood Mac).  He struggled in school with academics, thanks to a learning disability.  By the definitions of intelligence that we take for granted (academic performance), he wasn't considered "intelligent."  Luckily, his family knew intelligence came in many forms, and not being very good in math wouldn't doom anyone to an inconsequential life.

What Mick could do was drum.  His dream to become a drummer started when he was young, the first time he saw music being performed live.  When he was 16, he finally went to his parents to talk about leaving school to pursue his dreams.  His parents agreed, and he headed to London to pursue his dream.

His lucky break came when a neighbour heard him practicing in a garage and invited him to a gig at a youth club.  One break led to another, and another, until he met the other members of what was to become Fleetwood Mac.  Consider the opportunities that might never had happened had his parents insisted he finish school!

The moral of this story, and one of the key principles of the Element, "is that we need to challenge what we take for granted about our abilities and the abilities of other people."  As Sir Ken points out, it can be tough to identify the things we take for granted because we don't know we're taking them for granted in the first place. 

We also take intelligence for granted, or at least the definition of what it means to be intelligent.  Sir Ken believes this is, "one of the main reasons why so many people underestimate their true intellectual abilities and fail to find their Element."  For most, intelligence means academic ability or IQ.  But, as you probably have guessed, Sir Ken believes otherwise.  Instead of asking how intelligent you are, you need to ask, "How are you intelligent?"  This question lets us consider the variety of ways we can express intelligence, which no scale could ever measure.

Sir Ken shares quite a bit of research in this chapter on the history of the current definition of intelligence and those who questioned the status quo.  I won't go into those here, but would suggest picking up the book if you're interested in more detail.

So how should we define intelligence.  Sir Ken aruges there are three features of human intelligence: it's diverse; it's dynamic; and it's distinctive.  Here's a bit more about what he means...

Diverse - Intelligence expresses itself in a number of ways, and often shows itself in ways that have little or nothing to do with numbers and words.  The diversity of intelligence is one of the fundamental underpinnings of the Element.  "If you don't embrace the fact that you think about the world in a wide variety of ways, you severely limit your chances of finding the person that you were meant to be.

Dynamic - You use many parts of your brain in every thing you do.  Using the brain dynamically - finding new connections between things - creates true breakthroughs.  Sir Ken uses Einstein as an example of dynamic intelligence.  It's fairly well known that Einstein didn't do so well in school, and was often caught daydreaming.  Even later in life, his success in science came from imagination and creativity.

Distinctive - Each person's intelligence is unique.  There may be hundreds of forms of intelligence, but we all use them in different ways. 

So the challenge is to use this new definition of intelligence to see and appreciate your own intelligence.  As Sir Ken says, "Discovering the Element is all about allowing yourself access to all of the ways in which you experience the world, and discovering where your own true strengths lie.  Just don't take them for granted." 

Next week, we'll look at Sir Ken's theories about imagination and the power of creativity.  Don't forget to check out our website for more information about Sir Ken's upcoming visit to Halifax on April 23-24!