Intelligence

10 Pages 2453 Words

idea of "dog" and the idea of "mammal". But this definition faultily assumes that those two ideas have already been distinguished one from another. In fact, the two ideas are not given right away as distinct. Given the judgment: "milk is white", it is obvious that a child does not perceive milk on one side and the whiteness on the other. He grasps holistically the "white-milk" or the "milky whiteness". The discernment of the relationship implies, on the contrary, the discernment of the two terms between which dissociation must be established. Analytical thinking, which distinguishes, dissociates, classifies is the first condition of judgment. But for the relationship to be perceived, the two terms must be consciously put together, united by the mind. This implies a synthetic activity of the brain capable of maintaining the two terms simultaneously present in consciousness.
The same two functions of analysis and synthesis are at work in the discovery of relationships (invention) but only more so. Our mind is usually a prisoner of old relationships, which have a tendency to repeat themselves in thought. We have an inclination to use the same expressions, gestures or combinations of ideas. But the inventive mind is precisely opposed to such laziness. The discovery of new relationships implies that the mind is first capable of breaking old systems and of freeing itself from pre-established connections. This dissolving power of the brain is a necessary beginning to escape from obsessive routines and habits. (As a consequence, innovation is often ridiculed or condemned by a threatened establishment.) The analytical part of our mind is always at the core of any invention or discovery. Yet, obviously, to demolish is not enough, to build is also required. For de Broglie: "invention is the ability to discover relationships that are more or less hidden among ideas or difficulties". Indeed, in the ability to bring together seemingly remote elemen...