# Is having a good memory the same as being intelligent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299 "2013-05-14T06:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/21 "2013-05-14T19:03:59Z")
Memory helps, but it is definitely not the same thing as intelligence. A simple example would be with the quadratic forumla. Memory is just being able to recite it without looking it up, but intelligence would be knowing what it means, how to use it, and likely being able to derive it. In fact, this is one of my biggest complaints about our public education system, is that so much of it is just straight memorization, but there’s less concern about actually understanding it. Anyway, even with that differentiation, there’s often a correlation between intelligence and memory because an intelligent person will exercise his memory because it’s advantageous, he probably has an interest in learning new things and a certain minimum amount is straight up necessary and I’d imagine that minimum amount is higher as intelligence gets higher, at least to reasonably apply it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/22 "2013-05-14T19:05:59Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Artistic talent is more important than memory or intelligence for someone getting through a collage. Ouch, that makes me want to dye. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/23 "2013-05-14T19:08:52Z")
I agree that memory is helpful but that intelligence is seeing how the facts you remember are interconnected. When I taught data structures I had some test questions that were memory based, like on sorting algorithms, and some which were understanding based, like more or less essay questions on data structures. It was a good way to sort the intelligent from the less intelligent from those who didn’t even try to memorize the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/24 "2013-05-14T19:34:52Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Conversely, though, as you age, your memory becomes worse. Even if you had high intelligence, developing a poor memory will make you appear (and feel) much less intelligent than you were. > > J. > > p.s. yes, personal experience. As I age, my long-term memory is increasing, while my short-term is decreasing. I can remember more from my childhood than I ever previously remembered, and these memories have been corroborated by older relatives. Now where did I put my keys? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/25 "2013-05-14T22:53:35Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It used to be that you were thought to be intelligent, or not. Today’s models of intelligence are more nuanced and we understand that a man can make good decisions with his big head and bad decisions with his little head. Seemed to have worked out well enough for him. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/26 "2013-05-15T14:46:37Z")
…just to throw something else into the mix… For me, I have seen a distinction between what I call “brains” and what I can “intellect”. I have met people who are very smart, have high IQs, analytical, great recall for facts, reach effective conclusions - but they have no intellectual subtlety or curiosity. I have often observed these people in leadership roles. They don’t read (or have a desire to read), don’t have any interest in anything resembling culture (high or low), don’t posses creativity, are unversed in philosophical concepts and human behavioral psychology, etc. To me they have “brains” but lack “intellect”. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/27 "2013-05-15T15:57:15Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I agree that memory is helpful but that intelligence is seeing how the facts you remember are interconnected. When I taught data structures I had some test questions that were memory based, like on sorting algorithms, and some which were understanding based, like more or less essay questions on data structures. It was a good way to sort the intelligent from the less intelligent from those who didn’t even try to memorize the stuff. [Fluid and crystallized intelligence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_intelligence). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299/28 "2013-05-15T16:42:15Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I agree with this, but as a kid in high school clearly the students with the best memory often did the best on examinations, since most examinations require at least some amount of recall for facts, figures or formulas. > > Since the students with the highest scores are called ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’, you can see where there might appear to be a link between memory and intelligence, but true intelligence isn’t just memorizing facts but being able to reason and solve problems that you have never encountered before. Especially by the high school level, many tests are requiring more than recall. For example, there are essay portions of the tests that will ask things like “Compare and contrast the ways that Hitler and Stalin obtained and kept power.” If all you can do is recite facts, you can’t get an ideal score on a question like that because it calls for analysis and processing of the information. You need to have some facts memorized, of course, so those who do best on these exams will excel in a combination of traits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-good-memory-the-same-as-being-intelligent/658299.md?page=1)