The Difference between being Literate, Educated, and Intelligent

Literate: [lit-er-it] able to read and write.

Educated: [ej-oo-key-ted] having undergone education.

Intelligent: [in-tel-i-juhnt] having a good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend.

People often think that all these are the same thing and that, because you graduate from school, you obviously know how to read and write. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Education, 32 million adults in the U.S. can’t read, and only 21% of adults can’t read above a 5th-grade level. The difference between the three words and the elaboration on the importance of each one is often misunderstood and commonly misplaced under the same category.

Being literate means that a person knows how to read, write and do simple mathematical computations. No, one does not need to know how to write an essay to become literate. Only the simple knowledge of writing his/her name, short simple sentences or even just phrases to be considered literate. It is also as simple as being able to read street signs, and count money. It is the minimum amount of education needed to do activities in our modern world.

Being educated is higher than being literate. We can say that here a person needs to know how to write an essay, read essays and do more complex algebraic operations. But there is more to being educated than having the proficiency to do higher school skills. On top of this, a person should also have the manners and mentality which are associated with having an education. An educated person should also have a civilized and refined behavior and way of thinking.

There are many ways of being intelligent. A person may be intelligent academically or practically. Being intelligent can mean excelling in school or doing things in the outside world with a more brilliant way of thinking. One can be intelligent even without education or literacy. However, having a proper educational background enhances intelligence or magnifies it.

Literate vs. Educated

To be literature means to be able to read and write. Most toddlers typically know how to write their names, but they are generally not educated on even simple things. They haven’t started schooling and their knowledge of educational topics is very limited.

Educated vs. Intelligence

Education is providing you with access to information for you to learn. Intelligence is the way we process that information, create connections, inferences, and extensions that take learning to new places that education didn’t necessarily lead us to. Intelligence, however, is a poorly defined concept. People who write tests claim it is a measuring potential, but in fact, intelligence tests measure knowledge, not aptitude. Education is a much more easily ascertainable thing, simply be asking people their education degrees can already suggest their level of learning. But even more importantly, you can see what they bring to the conversation by the reference they make and the knowledge they apply to it.

For more information visit: Sooper Articles, DifferenceBetween.net, and The Huffington Post.