Three years ago I listened to a lecture on cognition (认知) that changed the way I think about intelligence. There are two types of cognition. The first is normal cognition: the ability to regain knowledge from memory. The second type of cognition is metacognition: the ability to know whether or not you know.
Does this affect intelligence? In traditional education, intelligence is measured by cognitive ability. Some people can easily produce everything they know on a test. But others are awarded with poor grades and considered inferior. But does this inability make them any less intelligent? If the question came up on a task, they could refer to a book or a quick Google search. In reality they’re just as effective as the people that ace a test. They just can’t prove it as easily.
Metacognition is more important to success than cognition. A person with poor cognitive ability, but great metacognitive ability might do poorly in school, but when faced with a challenge, they understand their abilities and
take the best course of action. For example, when faced with a question, a person with strong metacognitive
ability will deal with it like this. If he knows the answer, but can’t come up with it, he can always do a bit of research. If he knows for sure that he doesn’t know, then he can start educating himself. Because he’s aware of his ignorance, he doesn’t act with foolish confidence. These people might not seem intelligent at first glance, but because they know what they know, they make better decisions and learn the most important things.
However, people with great cognitive ability but poor metacognitive ability may be considered excellent at a young age for acing every test and getting great SAT scores. Unfortunately, they’ve been ruined by poor metacognition: they think they know everything but they really don’t. They are overconfident, fail to learn from mistakes, and don’t understand the slight differences of personal relationships, showing disregard for persons with lower cognitive ability. They may make the worst decisions.
The most important mental power is the ability to know what you don’t know. The recognition of a fault is the first step to improvement. Don’t try to hide a lack of knowledge. For intelligent people this is the toughest lesson to learn.
小题1:People with great cognitive ability tend to _________.
| A．do well in tests | B．be considered inferior |
| C．be more effective than others | D．do research when faced with a task |
小题2:The underlined phrase “take the best course of action” probably means _________.
| A．starting educating himself | B．taking action during the course |
| C．making the right decision | D．coming up with many ideas |
小题3:People with poor metacognition may not succeed because they_________.
| A．lack basic moral values | B．have improper self-evaluation |
| C．fail to communicate with others | D．show little respect for others |
小题4:The author probably supports the idea that _________.
| A．intelligence is measured by cognitive ability |
| B．cognition is the most important mental power |
| C．the toughest lesson is to distinguish the two types of cognition |
| D．the awareness of one’s ignorance contributes to one’s improvement |