by Jason Stotts
I often hear people make fail to make a distinction between two drastically different things: Intelligence and Knowledge.
Intelligence is a capacity for thinking and reasoning; it is analogous to a motor. Whereas knowledge is having actual understanding of facts and justified theories; it is analogous to fuel.
When one calls someone “Intelligent” one means that the person in question is good at using their mind for thinking and reasoning. When one calls someone “Knowledgeable” one means that the person in question knows many facts and justified theories.
Intelligence and Knowledge work together like a motor and fuel: the motor needs fuel in order to operate. Thus, the two terms are often used together. It is from this intimate connection that the problem arises and although the two terms are intimately connected they are not the same thing.
One could be knowledgeable without being intelligent, like a person who knows a lot about sports. One could also be intelligent without being knowledgeable, like an intelligent child ignorant of a specific subject.
So, next time you talk about someone being knowledgeable or intelligent, take a moment to think about the difference between the two and use the right term!