It’s Not Stupid If It Works: 75 People Share Their Creative Hacks That Made Life Easier

It doesn’t necessarily take a genius to solve a simple problem. And yet, an adventurous, curious, scientific mindset can really help when you’re up against unusual issues. People often have different specializations, talents, and ways of thinking. Some folks might be more likely to experiment with various solutions until they find something that works.

Or, in other words, many people have good ideas, but not everyone is willing to put them into practice and test them out.

Human intelligence is still difficult to get to grips with. Saying that you’re smart isn’t saying all that much because you might be amazing in some areas and lacking in others. And your IQ score might not accurately depict your full range of talents and abilities and how they interconnect.

According to a theory developed by psychologist Howard Gardner, individuals possess varying strengths across (at least) eight types of intelligence. These include: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic intelligence. The ninth proposed type is so-called existential intelligence, Verywell Mind explains.

Though Gardner’s theory is popular in education, it’s also often criticized for being far too broad. Critics argue that these intelligences, proposed by Gardner, are simply talents, abilities, and personality traits. What’s more, the psychologist’s theory lacks strong supporting empirical research.

That being said, even if you don’t necessarily classify these abilities as types of intelligence, they are still individual areas of strength and excellence that are worth being aware of.

For example, someone with good visual-spatial intelligence is great at things like working with and interpreting directions, maps, charts, videos, and photos. These individuals tend to be good at putting puzzles together, enjoy drawing, painting, and the visual arts, and recognize patterns easily. Career-wise, they would make great architects, artists, and engineers.

Meanwhile, someone who has awesome linguistic-verbal intelligence excels in writing stories, memorizing information, and reading. They’re good at debating or giving persuasive speeches, are adept at using humor when telling stories, and they make great writers, journalists, lawyers, and teachers.

Individuals with good logical-mathematical intelligence, on the other hand, are experts at analyzing problems and doing mathematical operations.

They are great at thinking about numbers, relationships, and patterns conceptually, enjoy thinking about abstract ideas, and like doing scientific experiments.

Naturally, they make great mathematicians, engineers, accountants, scientists, and computer programmers.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence refers to being good at body movement, physical control, good hand-eye coordination, and dexterity. People who excel in this area tend to become dancers, crafstpeople, builders, sculptors, actors, or surgeons.

Musical intelligence means that a person excels in thinking about patterns, rhythms, and sounds. Not surprisingly, these individuals make great musicians, singers, composers, conductors, and music teachers.

Someone who is good at interpersonal intelligence is wonderful at understanding and interacting with other people. They’re great at assessing other individuals’ emotions, motivations, desires, and intentions, Verywell Mind explains.

They’re skilled at nonverbal communication, empathy, and conflict resolution, and they make good psychologists, counselors, politicians, salespeople, and philosophers.

On the flip side, someone with intrapersonal (not to be confused with interpersonal) intelligence excels at introspection and self-reflection, understanding their own emotional states, feelings, and motivations, and enjoys self-analysis. They understand their motivations and personal strengths and make great writers, theorists, philosophers, and scientists.

Meanwhile, naturalistic intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to find patterns and relationships in nature. It means that someone is more in tune with nature, exploring their environment, and learning about other species. These people can make good biologists, gardeners, conservationists, and farmers. However, this part of Gartner’s theory has been met with more resistance by other researchers.

Existential intelligence, the ninth type of intelligence proposed as an addition to Gardner’s original theory, revolves around a person’s ability to delve into the deeper questions about life and existence. Individuals who excel here potentially make good philosophers, theologians, and pastors.

Which of these out-of-the-box, DIY, bizarrely brilliant life hacks impressed you the most, dear Pandas? What’s the weirdest, dumb-looking yet effective solution that you’ve ever come up with for a basic problem in your life? Would you say that you’re willing to experiment with unusual and novel approaches in life, or do you prefer doing what’s already tried and tested?