The human race has evolved over time, allowing for many changes to occur to the body both physically and mentally. Chemically all human beings have a different genetic make-up, which permits for people to think, learn and grow at their own pace. Not everyone can excel in certain areas of life at the same rate because we are all on different levels intellectually. Before going into further detail about Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, we have to look at the word itself, intelligence. It is defined in the Webster's Pocket Pal Dictionary as, "the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria" (90). Knowing that, Gardner took it one step further and said that we as humans have what is called Multiple Intelligences. The eight intelligences that Gardner described are, logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Snowman and Biehler 121). The, "Multiple Intelligences theory is framed in the light of the biological origins of each problem-solving skill. Only those skills that are universal to the human species are treated" (Gardner 359). .
As stated in the assignment handout, some kinds of intelligences are culturally linked and of special importance in some cultures but not in other cultures. Gardener relays this idea when he says, "An intelligence must also be susceptible to encoding in a symbol system - a culturally contrived system of meaning, which captures and conveys important forms of information. Language, picturing, and mathematics are but three nearly worldwide symbol systems that are necessary for human survival and productivity. The relationship of a candidate intelligence to a human symbol system is no accident" (360). He is saying that without these intelligences, we would not function the same was as a human race.