A quick Google search of the term succinct revealed a definition, but no mention of why being succinct is important or good, or if it indeed is. And a search of the American Psychological Association (APA) database also returned nothing on succinctness. However, when I did the Google search I noticed several articles that came up under the term “artificial intelligence” that mentioned the necessity of a succinct programming language.
To answer my own question of whether or not being succinct is a type of intelligence, I would say that yes it certainly is. As to what domain it falls under, I tend to think of it as a blend of logical & linguistic types of intelligences. Now, another interesting question is does our current intelligence testing measure succinctness? I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m planning to follow-up on it with my own research and I’ll post back to this blog after I learn more about it. I’m surprised however that I didn’t find more information on this on the APA website. In fact, I found none! But I have a collection of APA journals at my home that I’m also planning on reviewing and look for information on this topic. It could be that the idea of whether or not “succinctness” is a type of an intelligence, and one that is accounted for already by current IQ testing has already been asked and answered, and if that is the case, I’ll be happy to update my blog entry with the information that I find out. However, if it has been asked and answered, it certainly is not well-documented.
Interesting topic, but what does it really matter if succinctness is a type of intelligence or not? Does anyone really put merit into IQ tests anymore? As far as I know they aren’t really used for anything in terms of college admissions, right? I mean maybe the military still uses them, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it is all that relevant anymore. I’ve never had mine tested, I don’t even know what my IQ is but I was still able to go to college and have a good job.
Well James they aren’t called “IQ tests” usually anymore, now we call them “GRE” or “SAT” or “LSAT” etc. These standardized tests that usually determine entrance into more prestigious universities and programs of study in the country are for all intensive purposes IQ tests.
So, what does that have to do with succinctness you ask? Well, I am a proponent of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and so I am proposing here in this blog entry, as I’ve proposed in others, that there are intelligences that are not being accounted for by traditional standardized tests like the GRE, SAT, etc. and I believe that being succinct is one of them.
By the way, if you are interested in learning more about MI Theory, I wrote my thesis on it. You can find that here:
http://danielalandogarcia.com/blog1/2009/10/18/thesis-using-gardner-and-gagne-to-effectively-design-individualized-instruction/
Thanks!
dan