Spatial intelligence is an area in the

theory of multiple intelligences The theory of multiple intelligences (MI) posits that human intelligence is not a single general ability but comprises various distinct modalities, such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, and spatial intelligences. Introduced in Howar ...

that deals with spatial judgment and the ability to visualize with the mind's eye. It is defined by

Howard Gardner Howard Earl Gardner (born July 11, 1943) is an American developmental psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University. He was a founding member of Harvard Project Zero in 1967 ...

as a human computational capacity that provides the ability or mental skill to solve spatial problems of

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

, visualization of objects from different angles and

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, faces or scenes recognition, or to notice fine details. Gardner further explains that Spatial Intelligence could be more effective to solve problems in areas related to realistic, thing-oriented, and investigative occupations. This capability is a brain skill that is also found in people with visual impairment. As researched by Gardner, a blind person can recognize shapes in a non-visual way. The spatial reasoning of the blind person allows them to translate tactile sensations into mental calculations of length and visualizations of form. Spatial intelligence is one of the nine intelligences on Howard Gardner's

, each of which is composed of a number of separate sub capacities. An intelligence provides the ability to solve problems or create products that are valued in a particular culture. Each intelligence is a neurally based computational system that is activated by internal or external information.

Intelligences Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...

are always an interaction between biological proclivities and the opportunities for learning that exist in a culture. The application of this theory in the general practice covers a product range from scientific theories to musical compositions to successful political campaigns. Gardner Howard (2006). ''Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons.'' p 6-7. Gardner suggested a general correspondence between each capability with an occupational role in the workplace, for examples: for those individuals with

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

intelligence he pointed journalists, speakers and trainers; scientists, engineers, financiers and accountants on logical-mathematical intelligence; sales people, managers, teachers and counselors on the

personal Personal may refer to: Aspects of persons' respective individualities * Privacy * Personality * Personal, personal advertisement, variety of classified advertisement used to find romance or friendship Companies * Personal, Inc., a Washington, ...

intelligence; athletes, contractors and actors on bodily-kinesthetic intelligence; taxonomists, ecologists and veterinarians on naturalistic intelligence; clergy and philosophers on

existential Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

intelligence and designers, architects and taxi drivers, astronauts, airplane pilots and race car drivers and stunt people on spatial intelligence.

Different approaches

Newcombe and Frick

In the article, Early Education for spatial intelligence: Why, What and How, Nora Newcombe and Andrea Frick apply the concept of spatial intelligence to the educational realm. Newcombe and Frick approached the concept in different ways: *Spatial intelligence has evolutionary and adaptive importance. Any mobile organism must be able to navigate in its world to survive and must represent the spatial environment in order to do so. Moving further along the evolutionary timeline, the human ability to make tools is one of the hallmarks of our species.Newcombe Nora S and Andrea Frick (2010). ''Early Education for Spatial Intelligence: Why, What, and How.'' *Spatial thinking is the principal complement to verbal thinking. *Spatial thinking aids reasoning in domains that are not, on the surface, obviously spatial. For example, spatial metaphors and diagrams can be used to understand ordered relations (e.g., the ranking of Gross National Product among developing countries) or complex hierarchical relations (e.g., social relationships and biological taxonomies). *A critically important application of spatial thinking is to the

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

(STEM) disciplines. For example, Watson and Crick’s discovery of the structure of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

occurred when they were able to fit a three-dimensional model to

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal ...

’s flat images of the

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

—clearly a spatial task. Similarly, a geoscientist visualizes the processes that affect the formation of the Earth, an engineer anticipates how various forces may affect the design of a structure, and a neurosurgeon visualizes particular brain areas from magnetic resonance imaging that may determine the outcome of a surgical procedure. *Spatial intelligence provides the ability to imagine transformations of the orientation of objects (e.g., mental rotations) and the ability to imagine the consequence of observer movements around arrays of objects (i.e., perspective. taking). Mental rotation is the skill for which the strongest evidence exists currently for positing relations with STEM learning, and both mental rotation and perspective taking have been extensively studied from a variety of approaches, including research that has adopted developmental, cognitive, psychometric, and neuroscientific methods.

Ness, Farenga, and Garofalo

Daniel Ness, Stephen Farenga, and Salvatore Garofalo argue that along with verbal intelligence and logico-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence is one of three cognitive domains on which individuals are assessed at some point in their lives. Unlike verbal and logico-mathematical intelligence, however, spatial intelligence is often not assessed on most standardized tests and secondary-level or tertiary-level entrance examinations. Its lack of inclusion on these assessments is problematic because success on questions based on verbal intelligence and logico-mathematical intelligence may fail to tap populations skilled in spatial relations and orientations. Ness, Farenga, and Garofalo also posit that experiences with certain physical objects allow for greater dividends in spatial intelligence. To this end, objects with greater affordance, such as certain LEGO bricks, may impede spatial intelligence while objects with limited affordance, such as cuboidal blocks (i.e., planks) provide for increased spatial intelligence.

Van Schaik

The architect Leon van Schaik formulates the adoption of spatial intelligence in the field of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

. His first assumption relates to the origin of architecture in the human computational capacity to organize themselves spatially; based on people's own ideas about space, histories in space and communal mental space; all have been a combination that has evolved into society over millennia.Van Schaik Leon (2008). ''Spatial Intelligence: New Futures For Architecture.'' John Wiley & Son Inc Great Britain. (hb) 978-0470-72323-4 (pb) Van Schaik explains how spatial intelligence works and how it is linked to the way individuals assess their surroundings. His comments are based on the research done by

Roger Penrose Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, Philosophy of science, philosopher of science and Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics i ...

, Shadows of the Mind. The awareness of what happens around someone comes from cells in the human body with enormous calculating capabilities, "intelligence is a distributed system: not something held like a command centre in the brain and then distributed, but something that is present throughout the organism, and linked together through the nervous system". An example to explain this human capability is similar to the ways spatial intelligence works in kinetic environments. Like the ability in which football players compute and execute the exact angle and force required to score a goal from a free kick. Another example of distributed intelligence at work is in the Australian Aboriginal Art. Aboriginal dot painting is a representation of the landscape inhabited by them with a surprising resemblance to the real space. It shows watercourses, animal shelter, where the edible plant are and all dimensions and spatial arrangement has been learned through a constant exposure to the world surrounding them, by walking, hunting, stalking, spearing. Van Schaik argues about the influence of spatial intelligence in the creation of engaging spaces. His assumption is to create a better relation between internal and external environments, and it requires the use of the best available knowledge, which in his opinion, involves the designer's spatial intelligence and mental space; the new informational environment that enables the professional designer to communicate more interactively and inclusively. In van Schaik point of view, this new process of understanding space will provide the chance to forge new kinds of unity between architecture and the communities it seeks to serve: the commission of spatial intelligence is leading architecture's domain into a new discipline that venture into new spatial formulations, new roles and new approaches. Van Schaik also pointed that architecture has to be more than the production of branded consumable, it has to be capable to influence the individuals deeper history, a benign and malevolent influence in people's lives. For van Schaik, some of the most influencing architects using spatial intelligence in combination of their community's mental space are:

Peter Zumthor Peter Zumthor (; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm and not being a prolific architect, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Pri ...

, Sean Godsell, Herzog and de Meuron,

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

an
Kathryn Findlay.
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Komninos

Nicos Komninos applies the concept of spatial intelligence to cities, and defined the idea as the ability of a community to use its intellectual capital, institutions and material infrastructure to deal with a range of problems and challenges. Spatial intelligence emerges from the agglomeration and integration of three types of intelligence: the inventiveness, creativity and intellectual capital of the city's population; the collective intelligence of the city's institutions and social capital; and the artificial intelligence of public and citywide smart infrastructure, virtual environments and intelligent agents. Using this spatially combined intellectual capacity, cities can respond effectively to changing socio-economic conditions, address challenges, plan their future, and sustain the prosperity and well-being of citizens.

Gopnik

Adam Gopnik defines spatial intelligence as the ability to grasp a changing whole and anticipate its next stage; the ability to make quick decisions; to size up all the relationships in a fast-changing array and understand them. A related notion is that of situational awareness: a heightened consciousness of the individual's surroundings and both the intentions of the people around and their anticipated actions. Gopnik claims that the power of spatial intelligence and situational awareness are fully explained in the practice of hockey. Gopnik explains that hockey reveals and rewards situational and spatial intelligence like no other sport. Gopnik's example refers to the ability of the hockey player

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

as a gift of spatial and situational intelligence: knowing what is going to happen in three seconds, anticipating the pattern approaching by seeing the pattern instantaneously, sussing out the goalie's next decision and other players' eventual trajectories in what would be a single glance if a glance were even taken. “Gretzky is the extreme expression of the common skill the game demands”.

Rendell and Rawes

Jane Rendell
and Peg Rawes research on Spatial Imagination in Design demonstrates that an individual's sensory and perceptual engagement with an environment or space is, in part, constructed by their powers of imagination.This spatial imagination works within spatial intelligence and is understood as part of the design process. For Rendell and Rawes spatial imagination works in a specific political and cultural imagination as belonging to the individual designer and user. The results of this contextual understanding will inform and reflect the specific cultural, historical and political diversity and value of the architectural and built environment to the design community and beyond.Inns Tom (2007). ''Designing for the 21st Century: Interdisciplinary Questions and insights.'' Gower England. pp 13, 205-207

References

External links

Australian Indigenous ArtKathryn Findlay, architect in charge of the early designs for The HillNicos Komninos, Intelligent CitiesDr. Jane Rendell Spatial Imagination in Design
{{Human intelligence topics Curricula Psychological theories Intelligence by type Spatial cognition