The 3 Types of Intelligence: Why the “Creator Brain” is Different

3 min readOct 25, 2021

by Elizabeth Weil, Managing Partner, Scribble VC

How would the Federal Reserve be conceived by a “Creator Brain”? Here, a Rube Goldberg-inspired model of our monetary system. (credit: The New York Times)

(Reader Note: This is #1 of 8 “flash content drops” (< 3 min knowledge bombs from amazing people) in collaboration with MOMA artist & entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. We cover The 3 Types of Intelligence, the Future of NFTs, the “Creator Brain”, How to Stoke Risk-Taking, & more. You can follow me on twitter to get them.)

“Many people don’t realize that the part of our brains that create is not the same part that uses logic.” — Paul Budnitz, Founder & CEO, Superplastic

Simply put, you can’t create and think at the same time.
There was a Russian Philosopher in the 19th & 20th centuries named George Gurdjieff and his student P.D. Oupensky who said there were basically three fundamental types of intelligence:
First, intellectual intelligence. This is the kind of intelligence we mostly value in our society, it’s highly analytical.
Second, emotional intelligence.
Third, instinctual intelligence. This is rarely recognized in companies as a distinct type of intelligence. It is creative intelligence. You’ll look at something and say, that doesn’t feel right.
We each have all 3 types, but we have a tendency to lean toward one.
In startups, where by definition you are largely creating, you have to be very aware of these 3 intelligence types.
If you’re not, then what you get is a culture that “kills creativity”. What we’re actually talking about here is when people are using the wrong type of intelligence in the wrong situation.
It feels hurtful, when you’re trying to come up with a new idea and someone stops you from just creating something.
The knowledge of this for anyone building something new is a sharp tool. It’s knowing that in certain discussions, maybe we need to use a different type of language to talk about that right now.
It requires understanding the way language activates our brains and allows for different types of intelligence and different types of outcomes in startups.
As a founder, when you want a certain type of outcome, consider the type of intelligence needed and what you can do to create those conditions — in meetings, group projects, around the office.
How we think is what we produce.