On Spatial Intelligence ☄

Spatial Intelligence ☄ 

The ability to perceive and interpret data captured visually.

Its one among the nine multiple intelligences described by Howard Gardner.

You'll likely find people with high spatial intelligence in domains like architecture, augmented reality, game design, retail and transportation. Or amazing 3D street arts!

People who are high on spatial intelligence do not just synthesise information from visuals. In the reverse way, they are also able to create images or design prototypes that explain existing body of information effectively.

It's something like being to explain complex sets of information with a vivid image 🖼 

OKAY, so what?

Within our circle of acquaintances at work or otherwise, notice those individuals who display higher spatial intelligence.

Not just in terms of locations or street views, but also their ability to describe "the current political ecosystem', or perhaps the 'marketing landscape', or the 'situation as a whole in the education sector'.

These individuals are looking at the whole mass of information and are mentally drawing a picture of how things stand.

And in so doing, they are drawing the BIG picture 🌐 

Once you see the big picture, you see new possibilities and alternatives to existing problems.

In the sales team it could be a salesperson who reads the market dynamics in ways others can't. 

Or it could be an educator in the school who "sees" the root cause of why students are lagging in their learning in the overall scheme of things. Examples can be many.

Having team members with high spatial orientation helps to train and increase the overall spatial intelligence of the team. 

Just identify and give those team members the space.

If there are none in the team, then explore activities that help improve spatial intelligence (more on this in the next post).

#multipleIntelligences #spatialintelligence #bigpicture

PS:

There's this interesting book, 'Why men don't listen and women can't read maps' where authors Allan and Barbara Pease describe various differences between men and women. 

As the title indicates, men on average are spatially better oriented than women. Sounds controversial, but then again, that's on average -- we all lie within a certain range. Fun read, do check out!

Image credits - pinterest