Page 64 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

48 • Chapter 2

The intimate knowledge and understanding of your in-
ner self, combined with foresight and insight, are essential to
interpersonal and intrapersonal expertise. Your emotional
behavior and personality, in combination with expert evalu-
ative skills (judgment) also are critical to your relationships
with others. Figure 2-13 indicates the areas of the brain that
regulate these skills.
Self-knowledge can be misleading. Take young children,
for example. At the age of 6 or 7, children become concerned
with the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Peer pressure
and the need to please oneself and one’s parents become
quite influential. Influence by others that can be destructive
at times may include adults and other children dissuading a
young girl or boy from an interest in a nontraditional role.
The child begins to doubt his or her own interests and abili-
ties and chooses a secondary, more acceptable goal. The per-
sonal intelligence might be the one most important for each
person’s satisfaction with life.

ø Naturalist Intelligence
Lately Gardner has been considering other forms of intelli-
gences. The newest is that of naturalist intelligence. Not
much has been written about this while Dr. Gardner refines
his concepts. However, this much is clear: People who pos-
sess naturalist intelligence are attuned with nature. We sus-

“The knowledge of self,
foresight and insight.” “Personality and judgement”

“Emotive behavior ”

Figure 2-13