The Art of Tetman Callis

“One of the essential properties of intelligence is flexibility.  What does it mean to be an expert at something?  What makes someone an expert is her ability to respond to a completely novel situation—to solve original problems, for example.  Expertise does not only involve having command of a huge amount of factual knowledge—it does not mean being a human data bank.  It involves the capacity for flexible response.  It is a form of creativity.  This description applies equally to the notion of ‘understanding.’  Understanding is a kind of expertise.  A true measure of intelligence is this capacity for flexible and original response.” – William Byers, How Mathematicians Think