I've heard it explained as practical intelligence vs. abstract intelligence. Understanding calculus won't help you frame a house, produce slate tiles for its roof, cast the iron for a potbelly stove that keeps it warm, etc., but it will help to calculate the trajectory of a space probe that your country is using to investigate an asteroid, or tap the stock market, do your own taxes without error, strategize saving/investment for your retirement, calculate the dimensions for a culvert that keeps a property from flooding, etc.