Chapter 7 and my beliefs about Intelligence

As I started to read chapter 7, I asked myself what I thought intelligence meant. If I were to write this properly, I would have stopped reading and wrote this post write away. But seeing how I read the chapter several weeks ago, that wasn't going to happen. Now I have to write about my beliefs on intelligence post-chapter and I hope it doesn't shade this post too much.

So, what are my beliefs on intelligence? I guess it would start with an evaluation of my own intelligence. I've never had a proper intelligence test...or at least, I don't recall taking one nor do I recall any "score" given. But then again, I'm assuming that IQ is a measure of intelligence. I've definitely done well academically and scored decently on entrance exams. I have always thought of myself as "smart" although I do recognize, that sometimes, I don't have as much common sense as others: I would definitely say that I'm "book smart." And sometimes, I struggle to find words to express myself.
How do I recognize that others are intelligent? Someone who can "think on their feet" and can recite facts/figures off the top of their head impresses me: someone who can do both is especially intelligent in my book. Improvisational speaking ability is another attribute of intelligence. Although, I know some people who aren't very eloquent yet are very intelligent: the book smart crowd. One thing that I've recently concluded as a sign of intelligence is empathatic capacity. My guess: I think intelligence entails a combination of attributes I possess and that I wish I possessed.

The chapter's beginning discusses the difference between the implicit belief of changeable or static intelligence. Does the belief that intelligence is static or changeable affect academic performance? The assertion put forth by the text correlates a belief in changeable intelligence to higher academic achievement. Belief in static intelligence indicates a belief in "performance goals learning" and this leads to a student who measures success by academic performance (or lack of) to learning: although, just because one has done well in a class, is only a superficial indication that learning occurred! I tend to agree with this, and to be honest, I think I've fallen on the performance goal side of the spectrum, but reading this chapter provoked me to re-evaluate this.