I and a friend had an argument on the meaning and the relationship between this two words: INTELLIGENCE AND LITERACY.

His thoughts, as a result of his limited knowledge on the subject matter, and stand on the argument was that the two words can be used interchangeably since they convey a similar, if not the same meaning. The whole argument would have been brief and also would have made a lot sense to him had it been we have a reference (Dictionary).

I found out that no only he was ignorant of propagating such a blunder, but also I have heard people misconstrue the words literates for intelligence, illiteracy for stupidity, and vice versa. That's they often mix-up the two words thinking that one can be used in place of the other, or vice versa, unbeknownst to them that the two words are totally distinct from each other.

The word "intelligence" according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is;
1. the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations.
2. the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests).

The layman's definition - intelligence can simply be defined as the ability to comprehend or understand ideas (either complex or simple).

Humans naturally are intelligent beings. Yes, we are. There're basic tasks which require minimal intelligence every human knows how to execute. The execution of these tasks solely depends on the application of knowledge acquired by learning, the ability to manipulate one's environment, and the ability to think in abstract. Almost everyone can boil water, perform basic farming activities, walk (walking requires intelligence because it was learned), communicate as well as comprehending simple ideas, etc. Humans also naturally have the ability to distinguish between a series of things, feelings, and emotions. They can distinguish between right and wrong based on a system of beliefs, herbs, varieties of foods served, qualities of water served, change in time, change in temperature, etc. In addition, these qualities aren't limited to sane individuals only, but even the so called mentally deranged can sometimes distinguish between these things above-mentioned.

Let's use the mentally deranged as an example. I used the mentally deranged because they are often seen as men of absolute-zero intelligence. It's utterly oblivious to the world that the men they considered "mentally deranged" still have remnants of intellect imprinted on them.

How did I come up with such an implausible fact?

Have you ever seen a mad man walk in the middle of an express way disregarding the possibilities of getting knocked down by vehicles moving at a very high speed?

No! Once in a while, I have observed that they either walk along the sidewalks while trekking down an expressway or take a moment to access the traffic to avoid being knocked down by vehicles before crossing the expressway.

Why?
Probably, it's because they have already had this intellection (abstract thinking) that if I walk in the middle of the expressway, I may get crushed by a vehicle which is evenly an undesirable experience any sane individual wouldn't like to have.

From this, we can deduce that mad people are also intelligent, but their intelligence is at its lowest degree. Men of low intelligence are regarded as the stupid ones. However, they're not utterly stupid, but rather from my perspective, I see them as "men of low intelligence."

Sincerely speaking, I haven't seen or heard of a man who's utterly stupid, that's a man of zero intelligence. Nah! I haven't! The mentally deranged which are often regarded as men of null intellect in our society, as I found aren't completely stupid.

In conclusion, everyone is intelligent, no one as I have observed so far is completely stupid.

Humrous one liner: Anyone expecting self glorification will be disabused of the notion by the contents of the article as he/she reads down the article.

Next time, we will discuss "Literacy"

Do you know that I'm an illiterate?

What if I tell you that I'm a hybrid, that's I'm both a literate and an illiterate.

For instance, I was born and brought up in Igbo land, right? I can read and understand articles written in Igbo language, speak the language fluently, write effectively in the language. All these activities above-mentioned make me an Igbo language literate.

What if I travelled to Kano State? A state in Nigeria where the majority of the occupants sprout from a tribe totally different from my tribe of origin. These people write and speak in a language totally different from mine. In that particular environment, will I still be considered a literate?

The word "literacy" according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is the quality or state of being literate, where "literate":
1. able to read and write.
2. having knowledge or competence on a particular field.

The layman's definition - literacy is simply defined as the state or quality of being able to read and write.

From the definition, I know that you have deduced already that I'll be pegged an illiterate in Kano State since communing with the locals verbally and in writing will be impossible.

Why?

I don't know how to communicate verbally and in writing in Hausa or Arabic.

Note: This analogy isn't only limited to our ability to communicate in our diverse languages (orally or written), but it can further be extended to other fields. As an engineering student, I'm a literate in the field of electronics, electrical, and computer engineering since I have wide knowledge and competence in these fields. Inclusively, I'm a computer, physics, and mathematics literate also, since I have a rich knowledge on these subjects as well.

However, regarding the field of Biosciences, Law, Art, Social Science, and other engineering domains such as Mechanical and Chemical Engineering which are totally unrelated to the fields that interest me, I'll be pegged an "illiterate" since I lack the basic knowledge and competence required to make any statement in these fields.

BASIC WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN RELATE INTELLIGENCE AND LITERACY.

Literacy deals with "particular" while Intelligence deals with the "whole." Literacy can be considered as a subset of Intelligence meaning that all literates are intelligent, but not all intellectuals (humans) are "completely" literates. Literacy soley depends on Intelligence because in its absence there's no literacy. It's Intelligence that facilitates one to develop the ability to read, comprehend, and then write.

Yes, there is a difference between intelligence and literacy.

More of our people need to understand that English language is not a measure of intelligence.

Did you know you can learn maths and sciences in Igbo language. That is what I aim to do in my YouTube channel. Will you call somebody who understands nuclear physics in Igbo language unintelligent or an illiterate?

Please check out my YouTube channel and let me know what you think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuyOOyyI10Y

Your assertion is correct. The words 'intelligence' and 'literacy', and their corresponding antonyms don't mean the same thing.

However, one thing stands out for me in this post, and that is Webster's definition of 'intelligence' :
the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations.

Notice the adverb 'quickly' wasn't use there. Most people assert that people who learn and understand things quickly are intelligent, as opposed to those who take their time to process information.

In my opinion, I don't think intelligence is necessarily a function of speed, based on that definition. Again, if we fully accept that definition, how then is intelligence measured and determined? Is it that intelligence is relative or it exists in a spectrum?

@logicDcoder.

dutch84:
Yes, there is a difference between intelligence and literacy.

More of our people need to understand that English language is not a measure of intelligence.

Did you know you can learn maths and sciences in Igbo language. That is what I aim to do in my YouTube channel. Will you call somebody who understands nuclear physics in Igbo language unintelligent or an illiterate?

Please check out my YouTube channel and let me know what you think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuyOOyyI10Y

Intelligence is way beyond being fluent in English language. If truly it's measured by how effective you can commune in English, then what will Chinese engineers be classified as?

Read the article again.