A growing body of empirical data suggests that there may be a true psychological distinction between academic and practical intelligence. If there is, then conventional ability tests used alone may reveal substantially less than we want to know about people's competence in everyday practical situations. Evidence to this effect is reviewed from mainstream U.S. culture and from Brazil, Morocco, Kenya, and Russia. A study of 261 Yup'ik Eskimo children in grades 9-12 assessed the importance of academic and practical intelligence in rural and urban Alaskan communities. Academic intelligence was measured with conventional measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Practical intelligence was measured with a homemade test of tacit knowledge relevant to the environment in which most Yup'ik people live. The test measured tacit knowledge in five content areas: herbs, fishing and fish preparation, survival, folklore, and hunting. Adults and peers rated the children in terms of being a good thinker who could survive and in terms of being a great hunter. Urban children generally outperformed rural children on a measure of crystallized intelligence, but the rural children performed better on the measure of Yup'ik tacit knowledge. The test of tacit knowledge was superior to the tests of academic intelligence in predicting practical skills of rural children. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/SV)