In every culture and society I have lived in, intelligence has been defined the same way. What is true is that intelligence is not valued in every sociery.

Every IQ test I have ever done (all under the supervision of doctors or other professionals) for the past 63 years have had words in them.

One I did was specifically designed for people who weren't well educated. It used stick figures of men and basic items like a loaf of bread or a bucket. It had between 4 and 6 short words (3 or 4 letter words). Then it asked you a question - a problem to be solved e.g. how does the man get the fish out of the well?

I was given 5 hours (or more time if I needed it). I did the test in 90 minutes. The doctor also attached eeg receptors to my brain to measure how I was thinking.

Apparently I use my whole brain and my brain goes very still while solving the problem. It also wasn't possible to continue ro the next question without getting the current one right. Nor could you go back to the previous question to get needed data.

Was the test cultural because it required one to be able to read? Does the fact that many will not respect the results mean that the test is not able to measure anything?

I think intelligence is valued in technological societies, and it is valued in all societies when it comes to leadership.

My take. :)