What is Intelligence?

I have been thinking a lot about intelligence lately.

In reading about standardized testing and IQ, I learned that these tests were originally created to identify children who might need support. But somewhere along the way, they became something else. They became a way to rank. To sort. To define worth.

And I keep asking myself:

What is intelligence?

Is survival intelligence different from book intelligence?
Is emotional intelligence different from academic intelligence?
Is memorizing information and getting an A the same as understanding something deeply?

As a music teacher, I see this every week.

I see students who cannot memorize quickly but can feel a phrase of music in a way that gives me chills. I see children who struggle with reading but can improvise melodies that are honest and alive. I see sensitivity, imagination, resilience — none of which can be captured by a standardized test.

Artificial intelligence can now write code, compose songs, generate images in seconds. It can solve mathematical problems faster than any human. Does that mean it is more intelligent? Maybe in one narrow category.

But intelligence without empathy? Without love? Without moral depth? What kind of intelligence is that?