Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: Turning Your Reasoning Into a Study and Decision Habit
Your profile points to logical-mathematical reasoning: you look for pattern, cause and coherence, and a leap in an argument bothers you. In study and work, this shows up as the person who finds the sign error on line three, dismantles a campaign promise with back-of-the-envelope math and prefers to see the steps over hearing "trust me".
It is worth remembering that this is one of the most sensitive points of Gardner's theory: research such as Visser, Ashton and Vernon (2006, Intelligence) found that measures of several "intelligences" tend to correlate with general intelligence, which weakens the idea of fully separate modules. The quiz measures what you prefer and practice, not a fixed amount of talent.
Take the quizAction plan
Estimate before you calculate
Before opening the calculator, write a guess with an order of magnitude. How many liters of water does a city of 100,000 use a day? Then check. In two weeks you know when your numerical intuition is reliable and when you need data.
Make your assumptions visible
In each problem, list what you are assuming (constant rate, random sample, no transaction cost). A model is weakest where the assumption is weakest. A rule of three, for instance, only holds if the relationship is truly proportional.
Decide one thing a week with a spreadsheet
Pick a real decision (rent or buy, switch plans, take the job) and build columns for cost, benefit and weight. The point is to argue the weights with yourself. If an option only wins when you inflate a weight, you had already chosen.
Train with deduction puzzles, not only arithmetic
Sudoku, propositional logic and counting problems train step chaining. Training only arithmetic trains speed. Try different number bases now and then: converting 255 to binary and hexadecimal is a good warm-up.
Ask: what would change my mind?
Before locking in a conclusion, write the data that would knock it down. If there is none, the conclusion has become a belief. Also consider chance: a result that looks like a pattern may be coincidence in a small sample.
Common pitfalls
Treating everything as a single-answer problem
Taste, relationships and ethics do not close with arithmetic. Accept a range of good answers and ask the other person what they feel before proving them wrong.
Analysis paralysis
Set a deadline and an acceptable confidence level (80%, say). After that, decide and record what you learned.
Frequently asked questions
No. School math also depends on teaching, practice and confidence. The profile describes a preference for reasoning with patterns and steps, which can exist in someone who did badly at school.