The Map of Intelligence
Intelligence Atlas
Twelve canonical forms of intelligence - biological, artificial, collective, and hypothetical - each with its scientific basis, strengths, limitations, and relationships to every other form. The Atlas is the structural backbone of every topic on BRAINMATTER.
Biological Cognition
Human Intelligence
The general cognitive capacity of Homo sapiens - the integrated ability to reason, plan, learn, abstract, and adapt across novel environments.
Open entry
Machine Cognition
Artificial Intelligence
Engineered systems that perform tasks historically associated with human intelligence - perception, language, reasoning, planning, and decision-making.
Open entry
Group Cognition
Collective Intelligence
The shared intelligence that emerges from coordinated groups of agents - from ant colonies to Wikipedia to global scientific collaboration.
Open entry
Affective Cognition
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to perceive, understand, regulate, and use emotions - in oneself and in others - to guide reasoning and behaviour.
Open entry
Interpersonal Cognition
Social Intelligence
The capacity to understand and navigate social situations - including theory of mind, norm inference, and strategic interaction.
Open entry
Generative Cognition
Creative Intelligence
The capacity to generate ideas, artefacts, or solutions that are both novel and valuable in a given domain.
Open entry
Gf - Novel Reasoning
Fluid Intelligence
The ability to reason, identify patterns, and solve novel problems independently of prior knowledge.
Open entry
Gc - Acquired Knowledge
Crystallized Intelligence
The accumulated knowledge, vocabulary, and learned procedures a person can deploy to solve familiar problems.
Open entry
Cognitive Variation
Neurodivergent Intelligence
The distinctive cognitive profiles associated with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other forms of natural neurological variation.
Open entry
Engineered Cognition
Machine Intelligence
The broad category of cognitive capability instantiated in non-biological substrates - encompassing classical AI, deep learning, robotics, and hybrid systems.
Open entry
Domain-General Machine Cognition
Artificial General Intelligence
A hypothetical machine system that matches or exceeds the cognitive performance of a competent adult human across every economically and scientifically relevant domain.
Open entry
Beyond Human Capability
Superintelligence
A hypothetical intellect that decisively surpasses the best human minds across virtually every domain - including scientific creativity, general wisdom, and social skills.
Open entry