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This question has recently appeared on Quora in various forms, as Americans see a gradual decline of the US on the world stage. American economic and military dominance originally emerging from its strength in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is now seen to be in serious decline as the Asian countries embrace …
Why do US Students Lag in Math in Comparison with Other Nations? Read More »
In the intellectual corridors of theoretical physics we find those who are gifted with a special capacity for abstract thought. Cooperating and collaborating in the fight to wrest nature’s secrets from her closely guarded bosom, these intellectual gladiators simultaneously compete for “top-dog” status in achieving the breakthrough insight that yields a new paradigm. Anyone who …
Why is Einstein Considered the Quintessential Genius of the 20th Century? Read More »
As the 20th century came to a close and the 21st century emerged, our species began to expect increasingly more of artificial intelligence. It appeared to many that for the first time in human history, carbon-based intelligence (i.e., human intelligence) might be surpassed by silicon-based intelligence, making us no longer the smartest entities on the …
The Chessboard Showdown between artificial and human Intelligence: AI vs. IQ. Read More »
In a previous post, we explored how your brain developed in your first decade of life, beginning at conception. The next dramatic phase in your brain growth occurred just before puberty when a proliferation of neurons and synapses appeared in your prefrontal lobe. This is the part of the brain associated with rational thought and …
An evolutionary asset of the human brain is its adaptability. About 4 weeks after your parents enjoyed a few moments of sexual passion, a neural plate began to form at one end of the fetus that would become you. (A 35-second time-lapse video showing the conversion of a stem cell into a neuron is accessible …
Many people believe that the ability to do mathematics is limited to a few people gifted with a special “math gene.” While it’s true that some people learn mathematics much more easily than others, mathematics up to freshman college level is within the grasp of almost all college students–provided they are prepared to work at …
Mathematics is Difficult–Is it Worth the Effort? Read More »
Each of us is little more than a brain receiving information through our senses from an external world. Between us and the stimuli that reach our receptors is a large abyss that must be bridged by a process that “makes sense” of the incoming data. From birth we are gifted with a growing cognitive capacity …
In 1993, psychologist Anders Ericsson challenged the concept of innate talent, asserting: Individual differences, even among elite performers, are closely related to assessed amounts of deliberate practice. Many characteristics once believed to reflect innate talent are actually the result of intense practice extended for a minimum of 10 years. Analysis of expert performance provides unique …
Are We a Community of Intellectual Equals? –Sturgeon’s Law Read More »
Recently, the egalitarian movement has attempted to diminish the concept of “talent” or “giftedness” by promoting the idea that we are all essentially equal in most, if not all, respects. This is an attractive proposition in its potential to mollify the feelings of inferiority that many suffer when they see the achievements of others paraded …
In November 2011, 68-year-old physicist Paul Frampton was feeling lonely and despondent. Years of chasing top-dog status among Nobel laureates in elementary particle physics had left him without a family, and languishing in the emptiness of a life devoid of relationships. Since his divorce 3 years earlier from Anne-Marie, his only connections to the outer …
What is an Example of a Hi-Q Person who is not Wise? Read More »
