What is intelligence? Who is intelligent?

Do we sometimes confuse intelligence with education, or is intelligence the talent to learn something very quickly?

Is someone who finds it very difficult to learn mathematical tasks considered dumb, while someone who can quickly learn these tasks but cannot learn to draw a portrait of a face still considered intelligent?

Is the mastery of certain talents favored and defined as intelligence more quickly?

As a self-employed craftsman, I encounter people from different groups.

For example, a friend who studied physics before starting his own business and graduated summa cum laude, turning down job offers from several universities to become a carpenter. Especially when you learn that he bought a used milling machine for about €30,000, but the necessary software for operating the machine was missing, which would have otherwise cost nearly a million euros. However, he managed to learn how to write the required software himself within six months, alongside his professional activities.

If you were to encounter this carpenter in his workshop without this knowledge and saw that he had difficulties organizing a somewhat orderly workflow in his hall, you might not consider him very intelligent due to his simple vocabulary and appearance, including his inability to determine left from right.

I witnessed firsthand that his intentional use of simple language to be better understood just yesterday when we had an appointment together at a construction site with a university professor. This professor attempted to portray himself as superior by using a collection of foreign words in his sentences and to belittle my friend. Unfortunately, I am unable to reproduce my friend's response, as I, like the customer, did not fully understand it, judging by the surprised expression on his face. But I couldn't help but suppress my laughter.

How do you empty an elevated water container?

The architect: Draws a plan for a drainage system.

The physicist: Plans drainage through a hose using suction.

The politician: Debates the responsibility for execution.

The bureaucrat: Searches in vain for a suitable form for the matter.

The teacher: Asks colleagues and students for a solution.

The chemist: Considers the plan of evaporating the water.

In the meantime, the cleaning lady took the bucket off the table and emptied it.

Sometimes I feel that educated people prefer a complicated solution path to prove that there is another way.

But who is intelligent then?

From my perspective, I would say that the least foolish person is the one who has realized their own stupidity. Or to put it differently,

Until we understand how foolish we all are, I would rather avoid the term intelligence and not judge anyone for lacking a specific talent. Perhaps they have a talent that we have not yet recognized, but with this talent, they would not destroy the Earth. In that sense, every animal would be more intelligent than humans, even if they cannot read or calculate. But are we intelligent when we destroy our livelihoods just because we can write?

Are you smart enough to understand this post, or did I express myself poorly?