A direct assessment of the trajectory of human intelligence throughout a lifetime came in 1936, when John Raven developed his Raven’s Progressive Matrices tests of intelligence. To norm these tests, i.e., establish baseline data on what scores adults could be expected to achieve as they age, he conducted widespread testing in the United Kingdom, Ireland, …
Do Brilliant people suffer cognitive decline as they age? Read More »
This question presents a challenge similar to the question, “Which wheels on a car are more important: the front or the back?” Both wheels are necessary if the car is to move. Similarly, a certain level of intelligence combined with a certain level of hard work is necessary for success in business, academe or the …
What is more important for success: intelligence or hard work? Read More »
Can you be depressed if you’re intelligent but not very successful in life? You can be depressed whether or not you’re successful in life. On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin reached the pinnacle of success. He became the second human to set foot on the moon. Soon after this stellar Apollo 11 mission, his 21-year-old …
Can you Be depressed if you’re intelligent but not very successful in life? Read More »
In 2011, a large group of researchers published the results of a genome-wide analysis of 549,692 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involving 3511 unrelated adults. (An SNP represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide.) They reported: Our results unequivocally confirm that a substantial proportion of individual differences in human intelligence is …
Can Practising an intellectual skill make you smarter? Read More »
While there are many different IQ tests that use logic and reasoning to measure intelligence, the Raven’s Progressive Matrices have the most widespread usage because they are not “culture-loaded.” That is, they are purely visual, language-independent, and free of knowledge favoring any particular culture. Each test consists of either 48 or 60 items, presented in …
The short answer to this question seems to be, “Some do and some don’t.” A recent study, titled, One Personality Trait Distinguishes Gifted People, and reported in Psychology Today on November 14, 2021, looked at correlations between giftedness and the Big 5 traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism and Agreeableness).* They found the following: …
Do gifted children have difficulty relating to other kids? Read More »
Your intellectual potential and IQ are significant determinants in how your life unfolds. From your early school years, the ease with which you learn will often determine how much you enjoy school. If you have a low IQ, you may struggle with mathematics and other cognitively demanding subjects, preferring to work with “real objects” rather …
How does IQ Affect everyday life & career opportunities? Read More »
For several years, I was Supervisor of Mathematics for a large school board serving over 50,000 students. In that capacity, I ran workshops for teachers providing instruction and resources for teaching mathematical problem solving. On one such occasion, I overheard a teacher saying to his colleagues, “I have one little bugger whom I hate; he’s …
How does an average teacher deal with gifted students? Read More »
The skills demanded of a good writer depend upon the genre. I can speak with some experience on didactic writing, because I’ve written more than 30 non-fiction books and textbooks on mathematics, intelligence, and finance. However, I will only speculate on the intellectual requirements for different types of fiction. Fiction at the highest level, such …
Do you have to be intelligent to be a good writer? Read More »
Absolutely! Debating is a learned skill. Of course, having a high intelligence and a depth of knowledge is an advantage, but a smart person who hasn’t honed a debating skill could be beaten easily in a debate with a less intelligent opponent who understands some fundamental techniques. Here are some examples of debating principles that …
