Education vs Intelligence: Difference and Comparison

Education is essential for an individual so that he can confidently communicate with anyone, know his right, have a career, and many more. Education does lead to a healthy and wealthy life.

Otherwise, it is also good to have at least basic education as it will enhance their personality. And intelligence is necessary to survive and be recognized. Both of them are similar when it comes to gaining knowledge.

Further, both of them may not be essential as such, but they have their benefits.

Key Takeaways

1. Education refers to the knowledge and skills gained through formal learning, while intelligence refers to the ability to learn, reason, and solve problems.
2. Education is a measurable quantity that can be acquired through studying and learning, while intelligence is an innate quality that varies from person to person.
3. Education can improve a person’s intelligence by providing opportunities to learn and develop skills, but it does not necessarily make a person more intelligent.

Education vs Intelligence 

The difference between Education and Intelligence is that education is something that is taught and developed with time in an individual, whereas intelligence is an internal force with which an individual is born. Therefore it is not developed but surely enhanced. In education, the individual is taught the knowledge, but in intelligence, no one can make you more intelligent it is something that only the individual himself can achieve.

Education facilitates skills, knowledge, values, morals, etc., which can be developed with training, researching, teaching, or discussing.

It is important as it develops a person’s character and perception of seeing things. It makes him capable of doing different activities and working to live a healthy and happy life.

Intelligence could be defined as an individual’s capacity for learning or understanding. Intelligence is not something attained only by an educated person. It can be attained by any person irrespective of his qualification.

There are multiple types of intelligence. Various psychologists have also given the theory on intelligence and its type.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Education	Intelligence
Meaning	Process of facilitating knowledge/learning	The Capacity of understanding or learning.
Developed	Through some external force	It is not developed
Sources	Teachers or books/texts.	It is an internal force enhanced through learning.
Importance	It is beneficial for a healthy lifestyle.	It is essential for survival.
Example	Education is knowing that tomato is a fruit.	Intelligence knows that tomato is not added to the fruit salad.

What is Education?

The process of learning and gaining knowledge about anything is education. Types of education are:

Formal Education 

It means the type of education that is acquired from an institution where basic or academic skills are taught. 

Characteristics:

1. Structured hierarchically.
2. It is planned.
3. Fees are charged.
4. Syllabus and subject-oriented.
5. Teachers teach the student.

Advantages: 

1. Knowledge is gained from professionals.
2. Systematic learning.
3. Easy access to be employed.

Informal Education

It is simple knowledge or learning that is given by the people in the surrounding, especially family members. It is not bounded to any four-wall institution.

Characteristics:

1. Independent from any institution.
2. Not syllabus or subject-oriented.
3. No fee is charged.
4. Lifelong process.
5. Not pre-planned

Advantages:

1. It can be acquired anywhere at any time.
2. Involve less or no cost.
3. No need for professionals or experts.
4. It can be learned from storybooks or even series.
5. Not bounded by time.

Non-Formal Education:

It is the type of education that is acquired from experience. It includes adult basic education, basic skills, values or morals, etc.

Characteristics:

1. Planned but not take place in school.
2. It is practical.
3. There is no age restriction.
4. A fee is not always charged.
5. Learning or expert skills.

Advantages:

1. Involves training and practice.
2. Flexible.
3. No exams are required.
4. Both public and private sectors are involved.
5. Experience is gained.

What is Intelligence?

The ability to learn or understand an individual is termed Intelligence.

Howard Gardner’s different types of intelligence, which include:

1. Logical Intelligence: it is the reasoning and calculating ability of an individual. An individual with this intelligence thinks conceptually and abstractly. A person who has higher logical intelligence is good with numbers (mathematical and arithmetic problems).
2. Linguistic Intelligence is the ability to use proper words at the right time. This includes having rich vocabulary skills and an easy grasp over different languages. 
3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence: it is the ability to see a three-dimensional picture without any difficulty or, in general, does not find it difficult to see or understand the pictures or art.
4. Naturalistic Intelligence is the ability to read and understand all natural things; this includes loving nature and animals.
5. Musical Intelligence: it is the ability to understand and feel the music and be sensitive towards it. 
6. Existential Intelligence is the ability to ask and solve difficult questions/problems in life.
7. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: it is the ability of a person to use his mind and body simultaneously while performing different tasks.
8. Interpersonal Intelligence is the ability to maintain a healthy balance of emotions between themselves and others.
9. Intrapersonal Intelligence: it is the ability to understand himself and accept it; this includes understanding weaknesses, feelings, strong abilities, and many more.

Main Differences Between Education and Intelligence

1. Education is an external force that is developed in an individual after reaching a certain age, whereas Intelligence is not something that is developed. It is natural that an individual is born with and, of course, can be enhanced.
2. Education is a process that takes place with the help of a teacher or tutor by using texts or books (where the knowledge or information already exists), whereas Intelligence is an internal force of an individual that can be enhanced with training.
3. Education is mostly related to academics, but this is not the same with Intelligence. Intelligence can be related to anything in which the individual is extremely good. 
4. Education is not essential for survival, although it could be beneficial for development, whereas nowadays, intelligence is indeed essential for living.
5. It is not necessary if a person is not educated. He is also not intelligent. Sometimes an illiterate person is more intelligent than an educated person; therefore, being uneducated does not mean unintelligent.

References

1. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb043365/full/html
2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15430421tip3902_2
3. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1962-05639-000
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0160289679900187
5. http://archives.gadoe.org/_documents/doe/legalservices/1982-06.pdf

Last Updated : 21 June, 2023