Finger 22

Intelligence is a word that can seem to take on a different meaning every time it is used.  This could explain part of the problem with the education system today.  We all know what smart looks like, but we don't fully understand how to obtain it.  David Robson digests what he thinks makes a person intelligent and summarizes it down to a concise list. The title works to draw the reader in by using a word not often found in news headlines let alone on the BBC.  It alerts the reader that this will be a casual piece that will not try to make any heavy handed points that may disturb audiences and that it will probably be an entertaining read.  It also suggests that the advice is not meant to change the reader compleltly but to get them to approach situations in a different way. 

The ideas hinted at with the title of the article are further developed with the structure that follows.  The article is formatted in a list structure that is easy to digest, but does not subtract from the overall quality.  For example #2 is entitled "be ready to eat humble pie"and a picture of an actual pie is shown.  The audience knows what is coming and they can form an opinion before they read on that Robson plays off of.  He does not just rely on this reaction, however, as he links to outside information and develops his argument with multiple paragraphs for each point.  This is uncommon for internet lists and that makes it all the more effective and noticable.

 Obviously Robson's relatively short article cannot make anyone into a genius but it does provide a relaxing introduction to the idea that believing you are intelligent may be the first step.