by Branton Shearer, Sept. 29, 2010 The theory of multiple intelligences (MI) was first described by Howard Gardner in 1983 as a product of his neuropsychological research, work with gifted children and investigations into the reasons for inadequate arts education by public schools. MI theory describes human intelligence as being comprised of eight relatively autonomous sets of skills and abilities. This entry describes the Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Kinesthetic, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal intelligences and outlines their implications for individuals, institutions and public policy. A New Construct Redefining Intelligence Intelligence is an abstract concept that is defined by each culture according to its prevailing zeitgeist. Since Alfred Binet devised the first intelligence test in Paris, France in 1904 it has been assumed by most Western cultures that human intelligence can accurately be defined as a single entity (e.g, g , or gen