In the Evidence section of Shenk's book in footnotes 51, he describes how innate "intelligence is not directly measureable" (231).The tests that our society uses to measure such intelligence is flawed because it's based on how well the person was taught in school with the skills that the test measures. Shenk states that "all we're really learning from intelligence tests is that some kids do better than others in school" (231). Many children in different societies possess different skills such as running businesses and surviving in the wild which our society refuses to acknowledge. Huge tests such as the IQ test, ACT, and SAT define what category of intelligence we're in. According to Shenk, "intelligence is not how good you are at something. It's how good you are on your way to becoming" (235).
Does this mean that there is no way to classify how intelligent a human being is? How would you test intelligence if you could? Does intelligence come from nature or nurture? Both? Does how a person performs on a written test reflect the DNA passed on from their parents? Does this passing of DNA stay relatively constant in relation to intelligence, or does it change from offspring to offspring?
(Anisha Ghosh) nishx6@aim.com
Standardized tests are designed to assess academic ability. They are only testing a small portion of what makes up a human being, and they are only testing the final product. According to Harvard professor, Dr. Howard Gardner, intelligence is broken down into 9 categories. (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html) These types of intelligence include 1) Linguistic intelligence 2) Logical/Mathematical intelligence 3) Musical Rhythmic intelligence 4) Bodily/Kinesthetic intelligence 5) Spatial intelligence 6) Naturalist intelligence 7) Intrapersonal intelligence 8) interpersonal intelligence 9) Existential intelligence. Out of these nine components, only two are tested by a standardized test. Because of the great diversity of intelligence, it is nearly impossible to gauge. To test intelligence, I believe all categories must be included. Not only that, but all categories must be weighted equally in terms of importance.
ReplyDeleteWhile genes passed down from parents can give a slight advantage in intelligence, it is not a given that you will be intelligent. Because genes are dynamic with GxE, genes can change based on how they are used. If intelligence is not cultivated through practice and hard work it will be lost. This applies even to those who have favorable genes passed down from future generations. These advantages mean nothing unless cultivated by practice.
Performance on a written exam reflect very little on the genes passed from parents for various reasons. Firstly, any genes passed from parents can be changed drastically based on hard work, or lack of hard work. Also, a written exam wouldn't reflect genes because it is only taking into account two of the nine components of intelligence.
The passing of genes from generation to generation is extremely difficult to track. This is because there are an infinite number of factors from start to finish. Throughout life, an organism is being affected by biotic and abiotic factors(Campbell Chapter 52). These factors are constantly causing changes in genes. Not only are genes changing from birth to death, but genes are also not passed exactly between generations. In meiosis, much is left up to chance regarding which genes and traits will be passed on through generations (Campbell Chapter 13). Because of this, genes of any trait, especially intelligence are extremely dynamic and fluid between generations.
Jonah May (Jonah2020@aol.com)
As Jonah mentioned, Intelligence is divided into many different categories. Various researchers have different definitions for it. Charles Spearman divided intelligence into 2 different portions- The G-Factor and the S-Factor. L.L. Thurstone categorized intelligence into 7 primary Mental capabilities: Verbal Comprehension, Numerical ability, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory, and reasoning. To truly test intelligence, we must agree on what makes up intelligence and then, as Jonah mentioned, the test must test every category.
ReplyDeleteThough the ACT and IQ tests do reflect how well people learn in school, they were redesigned to include abstract thinking twhich does not reflect an ability learned in school. This is one way of measuring ones intelligence and capabilities rather than the subject matter that the individual has learned while in school. However, Intelligence comes from both Nature and Nurture. Ones intelligence is determined partially by genetics in the sense that the upper and lower limits of of ones IQ are determined by genetics but the specific IQ score is determined by nurture such as the person's upbringing (AP Psychology Textbook). The person's performance on the test likely does not reflect their DNA because by the time they take the test, to many factors have influenced them throughout their life time. Through our knowledge of epigenetetics I believe that people's genetic "intelligence" changes over times because various genes are activated or deactivated throughout the lifetimes of each generation. However, it is nearly impossibly to track how genes will change due to their infinite possible combinations "Each of us produces a collection of gametes differing greatly in their combinations of chromosomes we inherited from our two parents(Cambell 259). Additionally the Flynn Effect as mentioned by Shenk will also make each generation smarter because conditions for learning have been improving over time.
Vlad Miskevich (vladmiskevich@yahoo.com)