Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves.
Jean PiagetRead
The main functions of intelligence, that of inventing solutions and that of verifying them, do not necessarily involve one another. The first partakes of imagination; the second alone is properly logical.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Intelligence involves both imaginative invention and logical verification, which are distinct processes.
In this quote, Jean Piaget emphasizes the dual nature of intelligence: the ability to generate creative solutions and the necessity of critically evaluating and verifying these solutions. He points out that while imagination allows for innovative thinking, logic is essential for determining the validity of those ideas, illustrating that creativity and reasoning operate independently yet are both vital to the cognitive process.
Themes
IntelligenceImaginationLogicCreativitySolutions
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about problem-solving techniques, you could say, 'As Jean Piaget noted, intelligence isn't just about logic, but also about imagination.'
More from Jean Piaget
All quotes →Logical activity is not the whole of intelligence. One can be intelligent without being particularly logical.
Jean PiagetRead
Children's games constitute the most admirable social institutions. The game of marbles, for instance, as played by boys, contains an extremely complex system of rules - that is to say, a code of laws, a jurisprudence of its own.
Jean PiagetRead
Everyone knows that at the age of 11-12, children have a marked impulse to form themselves into groups and that the respect paid to the rules and regulations of their play constitutes an important feature of this social life.
Jean PiagetRead
Play is the work of childhood.
Jean PiagetRead
The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things.
Jean PiagetRead
Similar quotes
In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it. I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics.
Richard BransonRead
The painful thing is that when we buy into disapproval, we are practicing disapproval. When we buy into harshness, we are practicing harshness. The more we do it, the stronger these qualities become. How sad it is that we become so expert at causing harm to ourselves and others. The trick then is to practice gentleness and letting go. We can learn to meet whatever arises with curiosity and not make it such a big deal.
Pema ChodronRead
It is likely that human beings will find fulfillment and will be rewarded for the same qualities that they have been rewarded for for 5,000 years. And that is intelligence, hard work, honesty, a sense of character, loyalty to family and friends, and above all, love and faith. If you are trying to decide what you should do, those are the things you should do. And you know it.
Fareed ZakariaRead
No enemy is indeed so terrible as a man of genius.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
Essentialism is not about how to get more things done, it's about how to the get the right things done. It doesn't mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.
Greg MckeownRead
Without the aid of trained emotions the intellect is powerless against the animal organism.
C. S. LewisRead