David Shenk makes it clear in his book that nothing is fixed and that we can become more intelligent. "[Some] assert that an individual's intelligence is a fixed quantity which cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism" (198). Shenk also goes to say that natural intelligence "is "not directly measurable," that it is not one general ability which can be scored, and that is not inherently limiting" (231). According to these two statements Shenk has made, do you think that every human individual can succeed in knowing fully when they achieve their level of expertise? How do we know if there is no more room for one to become more intelligent and skills to be modified, for example, when an individual reaches a certain age or time?
Susie Shin (susieshin94@gmail.com)
We can never know because intelligence isn’t fixed and very few people actually reach their potential. As S.F showed, “there is seemingly no limit to memory performance” (55). Perhaps there is no limit to intelligence. Perhaps intelligence is not an end, but a process. This is like the function and structure theme of biology because the memory of the cab driver’s never reached a limit, instead the hypothalamus increased in size to accommodate. The great people are never “satisfied with [their] current ability” (67) and this means that they go through many failures in their life and they always reach to better. Thus, it is a contradiction for one to think he has reached his limit because the mark of greatness is to reach beyond one’s current “limit.”
ReplyDeleteAs Shenk repeatedly argues, greatness doesn’t have a limit. Like Mozart, the Kenyans, or even the Kid, one has to train and train and train to always become better. There is no good enough. There is no limit.
Gabriella Veytsel (geminizire@hotmail.com)
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ReplyDeleteI fully agree with Gabriella. There is no limit to one's intelligence. There is always room to learn, even for the best. In his last basketball game ever, Michael Jordan insisted that he "was still learning something new each game".
ReplyDeleteDavid Shenk argues in his novel how intelligence is not fixed, and it is something that one can always increase. Shenk asserts how "genes don't directly cause traits" and rather your environment, and motivation have a big part to play in your ultimate intelligence (107). Motivation, Shenk stated, was the "single greatest lesson" that previous successful people have taught us (120). In order to become a more intelligent individual, "you have to want it, want it so bad you will never give up", and it is this ambition and motivation that allows people to achieve their goals (120). Psychology Professor Carol Dweck asserted that being able to grow in terms of intelligence is "all in your head", meaning it is up to your mindset to determine how far you will go to achieve your goal, and how much you are willing to sacrifice in order to pursue it (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/su-fvg021307.php).
Intelligence is also created and fostered by the environment that one lives and grows in. The environment that one lives in has the power to "influence behavior through learning" (Campbell 1125). Learning allows kids to divulge into new knowledge, expanding their intelligence. Even as adults and fully grown individuals, people learn something new each day. Learning never stops, even for the "masters" and "professionals" of a particular activity.
So based on this, one's intelligence can constantly increase, and thus I do not think that one can know when they have reached their own level of expertise. There is always more room to grow, especially if you have a growth mindset set upon learning and growing each and every day of your life. If you are motivated, nothing can stop you.
-Arjun Ahuja (aahuja12@gmail.com)