Multiple Intelligence Theory was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that traditional ways of testing for intelligence may be biased to certain types of individuals. Think back to the good old school days. Do you remember the girl who was always picked for the lead role in musicals? Who could forget the boisterous class clown? Or whatever happened to the boy who never stopped drawing detailed doodles of cars and planes? Much like then, the perception still exists that intelligence can be measured in relation to reading, writing and arithmetic skills alone, and a person’s future success is judged accordingly. Dr. Howard Gardner, a Harvard Psychologist and Professor of Education, has demonstrated through his extensive research that this notion is, and always has been ridiculous. Instead, he became one of the first to express how we should not judge others according to this narrow definition of intelligence. The original Multiple Intelligence theory was developed in 1983 and first published in his book, ‘Frames of Mind.’ The book strongly suggests that everybody has a different mind, and no two profiles of intelligence are the same. Therefore, the traditional concept of measuring intelligence by I.Q testing is far too restricted. From the 8 primary intelligences, an individual may excel in one, two or even three of these, but nobody’s good at them all. Equally the same rule applies to a child prodigy or mentally/physically disadvantaged person. A brain damaged child could have a severely impaired use of language, but be able to paint or play music magnificently. Dr Gardner indicates that by introducing a broader range of learning methods, (known as the intelligences) educators and indeed parents, can home in on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses by determining their preferred learning style. This would consequently give them the opportunity to learn in ways more productively to their unique minds. A good way to measure this theory is to try the free Multiple Intelligence Quiz at BoffinSquad.co.uk.The results may show a higher achiever who rarely struggles in any school subject may get a less varied graph of results, and may need less individual attention than someone who stands out musically but shows very little logical understanding. This person would probably benefit much more if they could incorporate musical rhythms into maths and not be bombarded by numbers alone. “If a child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns." (Rita Dunn, - from Anne Bruetsch's Multiple Intelligences Lesson Plan Book)Recently Gardner has posited the existence of a 9th intelligence he calls "Existential". Although Existential is positioned to be identified as an intelligence, at this time Gardner feels that there isn't any neurological evidence of a separately functioning biological existential ability. That is a central criterion in identifying an ability as an "intelligence.Read on to understand about each of the 8 intelligences.