GENERAL  INTELLIGENCE

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a  candidate  for  work,  Mr.  Lambert,  you  usually  have  in
mind  some  particular  kind  of  work,  I  believe?
Mr.  L:  Yes.  Nearly  every  applicant  has  a  certain
choice  and  we  try  to  follow  that  as  much  as  possible.
Mr.  W:  Suppose  a  man  applies  for  work  as  an  engineer.
,  e  have  just  admitted  that  intelligence  is  the  most
important  thing  to  look  for.  Would  you,  in  interviewing
this  man,  look  for  his  general  intelligence—that  is,  for  his
ay erage  knowledge  of  English,  geography,  history,  arithmetic, ­
  engineering,  and  so  forth—or  would  you  be  interested ­
  in  his  engineering  ability  alone?
Mr.  L:  Primarily  the  latter.  As  long  as  he  has  ability
as  an  engineer,  it  wouldn’t  matter  much  if  he  were  below
the  average  in  other  respects.
Mr.  W:  And  if  a  candidate  applies  for  a  job  as  toolmaker,
  would  you  be  interested  in  his  general  intelligence,
or  m  his  ability  as  a  toolmaker?
Mr.  L:  Why,  in  every  case  when  I  interview  a  man  I
°°k  for  some  special  kind  of  intelligence,  because  almost
ever y  job  requires  intelligence  of  a  different  kind.
.  Miss  N:  Then  you  don’t  hold  it  against  a  man  if  his
mtellig ence  i n  other  respects  is  likely  to  bring  his  general
av erage  down?
th‘  R "  ^^tainly  n °t -  We  can’t  all  be  good  in  everyln
 g>  Miss  Nelson,  as  you  yourself  have  just  shown  us.
W:  Miss  Hurlbut,  you  are  the  latest  among  us  to
j C °me  from  college;  you  ought  to  be  able  to  give  us  the
j^ st  w ord  of  science  on  this  subject.  What  does  psychology
aRe  to  say  about  intelligence?
Lss  Hurlbut:  As  I  remember,  most  psychologists
ne  intelligence  as  the  ability  to  profit  by  trial  and
error.
Miss  N:  That  is  as  much  as  to  say  the  ability  to  learn.