Why is memory so often associated with intelligence?

I’ve never heard that people with poor memory are less intelligent…

FYI that wasn’t a memory related joke either.

Working memory does seem to be correlated with general intelligence. Here’s a study published in Trends in Cognitive Science that says something to that effect.

But I think this invites two questions: what kind of memory are we talking about, and what exactly is intelligence, anyway?

I don’t associate the two – savants with extraordinary memories lack certain abilities that would indicate other types of intelligence.

@J0E
I have seen studies showing that american’s can not point out Iraq on a map, and they conclude that americans are dumb. This is an example of what I am talking about.

The cartoon archetype of the forgetful professor comes to mind.

I think memory and intelligence is correlated less as we get older. When we’re young, the smartest are the ones that memorize how to spell a word and ace a test. In college, (hopefully) we’re taught to question things and learn from our questions. Lots of “smart” kids drop out of college because of this. I know lots of successful intelligent people that can barely remember their coworkers names.

How are we defining intelligence? Most psychologists agree that IQ is a metric of how well you do on IQ tests. In order to study, you need to remember, so in order to take an exam, a good memory will be of assistance, but it does not correlate with how smart you are.

It’s well known that I have a freakish memory. Periodic table, geography, prime numbers, ridiculous things like that that I have memorized, not on purpose, but just happened. People always tell me I’m “super smart” because of that, and while I appreciate the compliments, I know that my memory ability doesn’t mean that I am intelligent per se. However, in order to understand and comprehend things, there is going to have to be some knowledge involved. There is going to have be some memorization. Knowledge isn’t all intelligence is, but it is an important part of it.

However, as @pdworkin said, people define “intelligence” differently.

@jackm

It’s not so much that Americans are dumb because they can’t do that, but it shows that they don’t seem to have much knowledge of the world around them. People who do have knowledge about the world (whether or not that shows through geographical knowledge) tend to be more intelligent in the first place.

If memory has anything to do with intelligence then I’m screwed.

I can only say that I have a great memory. I think it got better by studying a lot. I use to be able to memorize what I read. I am not as good as when I was in college.
I think people who comprehend what they read are smarter .
A good memory is learned . I think people who study a lot learn the tricks of how to remember things well.
Maybe people who remember things appear smarter because they easily recall the facts.
I find it upsetting when people read something and do not seem to understand it. Many people read but do not comprehend . You can not retain what you do not fully understand.

Necessarily, the more you remember = the more you know.

Also, memory is a skill that you can improve. Someone who remembers how to remember things well is better off than a version of themselves that doesn’t remember how to remember things. Everyone should focus on improving their memory.

@jackm Well, Peter Griffin can recite all 50 states in a quarter of a second but he’s not very smart.

I haven’t really noticed that so much, in my experience it’s more about your ability to express your point and conjoin concepts and ideas to solve problems. interestingly I think world perception of intelligence is changing a bit, information is becoming more pervasive and it’s depth is increasing rapidly; in time it seems natural that it won’t be so much about what you remember in detail but your ability understand the concepts and draw the correct information to the front in a timely fashion. I know lots of useless crap, that doesn’t make me smart, smart (IMO) is being able to apply said crap in ways that prove useful to myself and those around me. From experience in the business world it’s also know so much about what you know as about how articulately you express it. I know a lot of people who’ve gotten ahead in business that I wouldn’t trust to tie their own shoes in the morning and plenty who take a long time to get going or can’t verbalize their ideas well but who “get it” at every level and blow you away with remarkable solutions.

Same here @Judi

I’m glad you asked this, my husband was just asking me last night if the fact our son has an incredible memory meant anything, and I was really unsure. Lots of insight in this thread though.

I completely agree, that memorizing a bunch of facts doesn’t prove anything except you memorized a bunch of facts…
It’s not the memories, but what you do them, that shows your intelligence. It’s how far you go to understand them, how far you investigate the world to aquire your knowledge…
I switched schools because the one I was at focused so heavily on memorizing formulas in everything. That’s hard enough in math (for me, with no photographic memory,) to memorize a ton of equations without the slightest clue as to why you need them, but to have to memorize essay-writing formats and answers to spanish oral questions… I felt like my brain had been turned off. Like I was a robot. I wasn’t suppose to process and ingest any of it, just swallow, spit back up, repeat.
Memory helps intelligence, but people seem to forget that that’s all it does. It can’t replace intelligence, it can’t beat creativity, figuring things out on the go, understanding the reason things are the way they are, thinking about issues from all sides.
When I see specials about all these 4–7 year olds that have lists memorized by heart, presidents, countries, states, cities, it makes me sad… there’s so much more brain itching to be used!

A lot of people don’t understand that intelligence has more to do with creativity and problem solving than accumulation of information. (Of course knowing certain information facilitates problem solving, similar to the way tools help us perform tasks.)

Let’s put it this way. I can no longer remember the names of things, but I can describe exactly what it is I am thinking about. It makes me feel stupid. It makes me look stupid (when fumbling for the name of a statistical technique in front of a room full of professors). However, I know the thing and how it works. I just don’t know its name any more.

It certainly slows things down. So I don’t know. If I feel like I’m getting stupider, does that mean I am getting stupider? Oh never mind. I don’t know what intelligence is, anyway. Must be stupid.

There are many types of intelligence. Not everyone must excel at everything. Most people are not “dumb” . I think some people are incredibly good at one thing;an yet lack basic knowledge of most other things.
A well rounded person usually seems smarter to me.