This article discusses Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner became a hero among educators simply by redefining talents as "intelligences" in a theory first proposed in 1983. Since then, his theory has undergone incremental but not fundamental change, including the addition of one intelligence (bringing the total to eight), the rejection of others, and consideration of the theory's applications. In this article, the author presents the three core claims on which the theory rests: (1) Most psychometricians, those who devise and interpret tests as a way of probing the nature of intelligence, conceive of intelligence as unitary; (2) There are multiple, independent intelligences; and (3) The multiple intelligences theory has applications to education. The author evaluates each of Gardner's claims in turn and discusses Gardner's criteria for defining intelligences. (Contains 2 figures.)