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	<title>scores &#8211; Fountain Magazine</title>
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		<title>Fixing obesity in the brain</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2012/issue-85-january-february-2012/fixing-obesity-in-the-brain/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[The Fountain]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 85 (January - February 2012)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[article]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[authors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[body]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cells]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improved]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Intelligence quotient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mothers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neurons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonverbal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[original]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Science Square]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar cell efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transplanted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[verbal]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2012/issue-85-january-february-2012/fixing-obesity-in-the-brain/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[1- Fixing obesity in the brain Original article: Czupryn, A. et al., Science 334, 1133 (2011). Neurons are a highly specialized group of cells that transmit electrical stimuli to elicit responses in the body. This high specialization comes with a price: with few exceptions, neurons cannot divide to replace nonfunctional ones. Over the past decade, [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3><b>1- Fixing obesity in the brain </b></h3>
<p><em>Original article: Czupryn, A. et al., Science 334, 1133 (2011). </em></p>
<p>Neurons are a highly specialized group of cells that transmit electrical stimuli to elicit responses in the body. This high specialization comes with a price: with few exceptions, neurons cannot divide to replace nonfunctional ones. Over the past decade, cell therapy, that is treatment of a disease by introducing new cells, has emerged as a new hope for neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury, Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, and Parkinson&#8217;s disease, albeit with numerous challenges. One of the major problems in the field is to make the newly-introduced cells integrate into the neural circuitry of the host organism. This proof-of-concept study showed that it is possible for transplanted neurons to functionally integrate into the host brain and cure obesity in a specific genetic mouse model. This genetic mouse model lacks the ability to sense leptin, a hormone that regulates body weight and metabolism. Thus, these mice are prone to obesity and diabetes. The authors transplanted progenitor neurons isolated from the hypothalamus-a part of the brain that regulates numerous functions including metabolism, hunger and body temperature-of normal embryonic mice to the hypothalami of newborn diseased mice. Twenty weeks after the transplantation, cells were shown to be functionally integrated into the native circuitry. Integrated neurons were able to create electrical stimuli, transmit signals and, unlike the native neurons, respond to the hormone, leptin. Amazingly, transplanted mice were 30% lower in body weight and diabetes-free compared to the obese non-transplanted counterparts. The results were dramatic, despite the fact that only a few of the transplanted neurons were actually converted to the neurons that play a role in energy metabolism and leptin response. The authors explain this phenomenon by stating that the transplanted neurons may work as &#8220;antennas&#8221; to sense leptin and regulate other neurons in the native circuitry. Although current research is far from human application, it is still an important step towards treatment of detrimental neurological diseases.</p>
<h3><b>2- A new record in solar cell efficiency </b></h3>
<p><em>Original Article: Yella, A. et al., Science 334, 629 (2011). </em></p>
<p>Since their discovery in 1991, dye-sensitized solar cells (also known as Grätzel cells) have offered great potential despite their low efficiency values. They consist of dye-soaked titania nanoparticles coupled to an iodide-based electrolyte that allows for absorption of light and its conversion to electricity through the fast transport of electrons. According to a report in Science, researchers from ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have substantially improved the efficiency values over 12%, making this type of solar cells a feasible contender to the incumbent silicon solar cells. To store the most sunlight, these cells absorb the colors of the light spectrum with the highest energies and reject the rest such as the green light. In addition to the increase in cell efficiency, Grätzel and coworkers have also reduced their cost by replacing expensive ruthenium dyes with a zinc-based dye. Finally, they have improved the voltage output by using a cobalt electrolyte, a redox system that is more compatible than the previous iodide systems. This new system with improved components has also increased the theoretical maximum efficiency to 30%, which will require further optimization in device design and engineering to achieve. The only major drawback is the use of organic solvents potentially limiting the efforts for large-scale fabrication.</p>
<h3><b>3- IQ can still change in teenage years </b></h3>
<p><em>Original Article: Ramsden S. et al., Nature 479, 113 (2011). </em></p>
<p>Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a standardized measure of human intellectual capacity that takes into account a wide range of cognitive skills. IQ is generally considered to be stable across the lifespan, with scores at one time point being used to predict educational achievement and employment prospects in later years. However Prof. Cathy Price and colleagues have found that verbal and non-verbal IQ can rise or fall in the teenage years. They tested 33 teenagers-19 boys and 14 girls-in 2004, when they were 12 to 16 years old, and again in 2008, when they were 16 to 20 years old. Each time, the teens took IQ tests that measured their verbal and nonverbal abilities. Then, using magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers scanned the teenagers&#8217; brains while they performed verbal tasks, such as reading or naming objects, and nonverbal tasks, such as solving visual puzzles with their hands. The idea was to match their test scores with a picture of their brain structure and activity at each time. The test results revealed dramatic changes between their first testing and their second: verbal and nonverbal IQ scores of participants rose or fell by as many as 20 points (on a scale with an average score of 100). Some teens improved or declined in either their verbal or nonverbal skills, while others improved in one area and declined in the other. The brain scans mirrored the score differences. For example, in teens whose verbal IQ scores had increased, the scans showed increased gray matter density in a region of the brain activated by speech. Teens whose nonverbal skills had improved showed changes in a brain region associated with motor movements of the hand. The authors note that these were the largest changes observed, and that there might be many more that were not noticed.</p>
<h3><b>4- A coordination path from an infant&#8217;s heart to the mother&#8217;s heart </b></h3>
<p><em>Original Article: Feldman, R. et al., Infant Behavior and Development 34, 569 (2011). </em></p>
<p>A group of researchers sat 40 pairs of mothers and 3-month-old infants face-to-face, equipped with sticky skin electrodes on either side of their hearts. Beat for beat, mother and child&#8217;s hearts thumped together almost instantly as they shared loving looks or contented coos. This cardiac coupling worked only for moms with their own babies, and only when the duos synchronized smiles and other cheerful social behaviors. The researchers suspect that when humans mirror each other&#8217;s facial expressions, they may switch on specific areas in the brain that tell the heart when to thump. Melding with mom lasts longer than just a few beats, however. Babies who don&#8217;t tune in with their mothers are less empathetic as teenagers, according to previous work from the same group. Premature infants or those whose mothers have postpartum depression may be most at risk for losing this social skill because they miss out on early opportunities to interact with their mothers. The authors state that future research is required to examine the impact of interaction synchrony on other physiological processes, such as hormonal release or brain activation.</p>
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Measuring Intelligence</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2003/issue-41-january-march-2003/measuring-intelligence/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Louima Cunningham]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 41 (January - March 2003)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analytical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emotional]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[function]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[important]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intelligence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[measured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[measuring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[practical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[results]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sternberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tests]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2003/issue-41-january-march-2003/measuring-intelligence/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Intelligence is such an elusive and relative concept that even the experts cannot agree on its nature. Definitions range from quick thinking under stress and learning a new language or a musical instrument. In this article, we discuss measuring intelligence, which is a function of brainpower. The mental functions involved vary from the objective (e.g., [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Intelligence is such an elusive and relative concept that even the experts cannot agree on its nature. Definitions range from quick thinking under stress and learning a new language or a musical instrument. In this article, we discuss measuring intelligence, which is a function of brainpower. The mental functions involved vary from the objective (e.g., logical problem solving) to the much more subjective areas of creativity. People&#8217;s ability to carry out these functions and even their intellectual performance depends upon the situation and criteria used to judge it. As intellectual ability is a complex phenomenon, influenced by biological and environmental factors, researchers ask: What is the nature of intelligence? Can it be measured or optimized? What do the measured intelligence differences between people mean?</p>
<p>The specific neurobiological processes, brain structures, genes, and other factors involved in human intelligence are still largely unknown. Current research on brain anatomy and physiology suggests that various levels of intelligence may be associated with such things as the number of connections between neurons or the degree of branching in cortical neurons. Important factors may include brain metabolism and how fast nerves conduct signals.</p>
<h3><b>Types of intelligence</b></h3>
<p>Measuring intelligence depends on which of the three intelligences one relies on and uses the most. For example:</p>
<p><b>Static Intelligence: </b>The accumulated knowledge measured by IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests. Psychologists call it cognitive content. Standard IQ tests have changed very little since their first appearance over 100 years ago, while cognitive psychology&#8217;s understanding of how the brain and mind function has made great progress over that same time period.</p>
<p>Fluid Intelligence: How quickly the mind learns and adapts to new problems and conditions. Also known as practical or dynamic intelligence, this important aspect is hardly ever measured.</p>
<p>Brain Intelligence: Also known as BrainQ or cognitive capacity, this is the speed and efficiency at which the brain processes information. In electronics, Q is how efficient and well-tuned the circuit or system is. So BrainQ is how tuned the brain is, which is reflected in mental quickness, memory, and concentration powers. It is fluid and variable, as it is e very sensitive to environmental and lifestyle conditions.</p>
<p>Both static and fluid intelligence depend on BrainQ. Academic, professional, and even personal success depends mostly on BrainQ. In fact, studies have shown very little correlation between one&#8217;s IQ score and monetary success. Most importantly, BrainQ (also known as brainpower) is highly trainable (improvable) with the appropriate type of exercise.</p>
<p>Emotional Intelligence (E-IQ) and BrainQ are correlated. According to Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey, emotional intelligence is composed of being able to identify, perceive, express, and understand emotions in different contexts; emotional understanding; and emotional management.</p>
<h3><b>Measuring intelligence</b></h3>
<p>Abundant research proves that thinking about and testing for human intelligence is no small matter. Yet, Robert J. Sternberg, professor of psychology at Yale University, says that, in many ways, we have it all wrong: There are major problems with conventional thinking about intelligence at best, our notions are incomplete, and at worst, simply wrong.</p>
<p>The dominant psychometric approach to studying intelligence claims to measure intelligence through IQ tests. One&#8217;s IQ is the result of dividing a person&#8217;s mental age by his/her actual age. This procedure has been dropped, but IQ is still used to refer to the scores obtained on intelligence tests and to the tests themselves. Such scores are normally scaled so that the mean is 100 and standard deviation is 15. Ninety-five percent of the population scores within two standard deviations around the mean (between 70-130).</p>
<p>Many IQ tests exist to measure verbal, spatial, mathematical, and analytical skills, while others depend on reaction or recognition time to a visual stimulus. Several IQ tests combine multiple subtests, each testing a specific skill. Regardless of the test&#8217;s nature, many researchers believe that factor analysis can extract a general statistical factor (g) from thes results of to obtain a general measurement of intelligence. There is evidence suggesting that g correlates with academic success and, to some extent, with measuring non-school accomplishments.</p>
<p>Despite its wide acceptance, not all researchers agree with the concept of a general, measurable intelligence factor. Some experts believe that g measures some types of intelligence (e.g., analytical problem solving) but not others (e.g., creativity and practical intelligence). Other theorists have abandoned the idea of accurately measuring intelligence, saying that there are multiple kinds of intelligence that cannot be measured with pen-and-paper tests.</p>
<p>Sternberg has proposed a new definition of intelligence that includes analytical skills (the ability to analyze and judge, compare and contrast) and creative and practical abilities. He adds the second and third factors to make the definition of intelligence more meaningful, although he acknowledges that analytical intelligence is an important component of intelligence. Creative intelligence is measured by problems assessing how well an individual copes with relative novelty and can create or invent new products, while practical intelligence measures the ability to handle daily problems.</p>
<h3><b>Increasing IQ?</b></h3>
<p>Some studies have shown that young children exposed to stimulation-rich environments in kindergarten had higher IQ scores than their non-exposed classmates. However, such increases were mostly gone upon graduating from elementary school. Despite this temporary improvement, evidence suggests that the exposed children tended to perform better in school, were less likely to need special education, and were more likely to finish school. Thus, some cognitive functions as well as one&#8217;s quality of life were enhanced.</p>
<p>The results of such test suggest that stimulation is a key factor in increasing cognitive performance. Could this positive effect be prolonged by continued exposure to enriched environments? Recent studies in neuroscience show that neuronal synapses in a highly stimulated environment tend to grow and expand, at least in the visual system, compared to those that receive only background static (white noise) input. Also, synapses tend to grow stronger with regular stimulation, which suggests that cognitive function may be improved by a variety-rich environment, stimulation, and activity.</p>
<p>Another suggestive study is the Mozart effect. Researchers picked his Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major for its complexity, and showed that college students who listened to it before taking a spatial-temporal reasoning test performed better than control subjects. However, the effect only lasted 15 <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class=" alignright size-full wp-image-6361" src="https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2003/01/41_12_13-5ab.jpg" width="270" height="290" align="right" border="1" hspace="5" vspace="5" />minutes and seems to be specific to the piece of music and to experimental conditions.</p>
<p>Although these results are limited to specific circumstances, they still have promise. The results are temporary, but one can make an analogy between these effects and those of physical exercise, which are also usually temporary. The key in maintaining and potentially improving cognitive function may be the forms of mental exercise. Solving puzzles, reading, learning new language or a musical instrument may have positive effects. Again, the important point may be in optimizing overall cognitive function rather than in increasing measured IQ scores, which research shows to be relatively stable after childhood.</p>
<p>Physical exercise clearly provides optimal results when combined with a proper diet. The same is likely to hold for mental exercises. Severe malnutrition while a child can have negative effects on intelligence, and the brain requires nutrients to function properly on a daily basis. Also, physical exercise seems to have a positive effect on mental performance. For example, aerobic exercise appears to increase memory retention, improve some types of creative problem solving, and has positive effects on general well-being. Also, exercise can help relieve stress, which has a negative impact on learning and memory. Various relaxation techniques are also beneficial.</p>
<p>Overall, it does not seem likely that measured IQ can be increased permanently. But other supporting factors of cognitive function might be enhanced, thereby optimizing overall mental performance. The best ways to do this seem to be combining physical and mental activities to create a stimulating environment, and to get enough nourishment.</p>
<h3><b>Sternberg&#8217;s theory of intelligence</b></h3>
<p>Sternberg has made some interesting points that have been borne out by research results. For example, he has demonstrated that people can handle cognitive challenges in real-life situations. For example, housewives and Brazilian street children have difficulty calculating in a classroom, but not in a supermarket or while making a deal on the street, respectively.</p>
<p>Another consideration is the importance of family expectations on children&#8217;s learning. For example, Kenyan families typically do not value formal Western, but do value knowledge of the indigenous environment. He found that when Kenyan children were tested on their knowledge of the indigenous environment, those who scored high on the indigenous tests scored low on conventional IQ tests.</p>
<p>Sternberg also has shown, in a study of Yale students, that students in the high-analytical group were much less diverse in terms of racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds than those in the high-creative and high-practical groups.</p>
<p>Sternberg&#8217;s research has critical impacts on teaching. He asserts: First of all, it is important to note that all three abilities analytical, creative, and practical can be taught. When students are taught in a way that best fits how they think, they do better in school. Children with high levels of creative and practical abilities, who are almost never taught or assessed in a way that matches their pattern of abilities, may be at a disadvantage in course after course, year after year.</p>
<h4><b>Abusing IQ test scores</b></h4>
<p>However, Sternberg is aware that resistance to change in measuring intelligence is great and widespread. He adds: The U.S. has developed a multi-million dollar testing industry whose tests are based on conventional notions of intelligence. The modern version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence tests or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales have not evolved much over the years. Whereas old computers and old VCRs and old telephones rapidly go out of date, old tests never seem to die, except for updating of norms and cosmetic changes.</p>
<p>Sternberg is confident that conventional notions of intelligence can be surpassed, despite the reluctance and opposition to change, and that doing so will benefit everyone. He concludes: In fact, the most important abilities for science are creative abilities, and if we continue to measure students with conventional tests and do not value creative abilities in training, the result may be that we are picking the wrong people. People who are highly creative may be denied the opportunity to go into science, and science may lose its best potential to advance.</p>
<p>The current misuse of IQ or similar tests is not as problematic as the ones in past. Murray and Herrnstein&#8217;s controversial The Bell Curve summarizes research allegedly purporting that blacks are innately less intelligent than whites. This conclusion depends on culturally biased IQ tests or content-oriented SAT tests. However, these conclusions neglect the social limitations, unequal conditions, underprivileged situations, low-quality education, malnutrition, and poverty. The famous Milwaukee Project of the 1970s showed that nurturing plays a vital role in a child&#8217;s intelligence. And Goddard&#8217;s results, obtained in the early 1900s and based tests given to newly arriving immigrants who had spent months on a boat, who were mainly laypeople, and often had little if any grasp of English, has been disproven by those very people and their descendants, many of whom went on to build quite successful careers in America.</p>
<p>IQ tests are culturally biased. However as Reynolds points out: The argument is whether the brain&#8217;s processing speed determines how well one can do in an IQ test. The IQ tests and SATs are very content-oriented. If you weren&#8217;t taught some important element, you&#8217;d be at a disadvantage (Report From Biomedical). Rather than this, an IQ test should check how quickly one&#8217;s brain can process information.</p>
<h3><b>Conclusion</b></h3>
<p>In conclusion, intelligence depends on many things: daily diet, physical and mental exercise, emotional state, stress, and so on. It is not fixed or static, so one can improve it by a combination of techniques that suit the individual. In spite of the developments in cognitive science and medicine, measuring intelligence is still in its crawling stage and open for research. One can be filled only with awe before such a vital yet mostly unknown organ, whose functions have tantalized humanity for centuries. Thus, each person should appreciate having such a distinguishing feature and thank the Creator.</p>
<h3><b><em>References</em></b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Herrnstein, Richard J. and Charles Murray. The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Free Press: 1996.</li>
<li>Mayer, J. D., D. Caruso, and P. Salovey. Selecting a Measure of Emotional Intelligence: The Case for Ability Scales. (Second submission version), 11 January 2000. Chapter in: R. Bar-On and J. D. A. Parker (eds.), The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence. Jossey Bass: 2000.</li>
<li>NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences, NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Seminar Series, 1999.</li>
</ul>
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		<title>On Intelligence, Effort, and Success</title>
		<link>https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2000/issue-30-april-june-2000/on-intelligence-effort-and-success/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Louima Cunningham]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2000 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Issue 30 (April - June 2000)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effort]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eugenics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[factors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hereditary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intelligence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psychometric]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2000/issue-30-april-june-2000/on-intelligence-effort-and-success/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This article discusses the sources of differences on intelligence and their effects on desirable outcomes in people&#8217;s lives. The questions of whether intelligence is hereditary and whether an individual&#8217;s performance is determined by a general factor of intelligence are very controversial topics. The reason is that the answers given impact political and social programs. After [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This article discusses the sources of differences on intelligence and their effects on desirable outcomes in people&#8217;s lives. The questions of whether intelligence is hereditary and whether an individual&#8217;s performance is determined by a general factor of intelligence are very controversial topics. The reason is that the answers given impact political and social programs. After surveying possible explanations of intelligence, the relationship between intelligence and success is analyzed. Arguments against the heredity of intelligence and the lack of conclusive evidence for the &#8220;intelligence determines success&#8221; motto follow. An emphasis on personal effort for achieving desired outcomes concludes the discussion.</p>
<p>If you find something hard to grasp, do you immediately conclude that you have reached the limit of your cognitive ability and give up? Do you usually associate successful outcomes with smartness and failures with lack of intelligence? Do you consider intellectual ability an indispensable component of every accomplishment, or it is the effort-plain, sweaty hard work-that brings about the desired outcome?</p>
<p>The above questions tackle the dilemma of effort versus ability. Although it can be relevant to more than one topic and domain, this article will elaborate on the dimension of intelligence. Is intelligence a fixed, innate talent bestowed by heredity? Is it an accumulated, cognitive reservoir constructed through such personal factors as effort and motivation, and such environmental factors as held in common by family and community members?</p>
<h3><b>A Historical View</b></h3>
<p>The effort/ability dilemma has been very controversial in the West. It has not been a mere academic debate, but one with political and social implications and a very eager public interest. The publication of Darwin&#8217;s The Origin of Species (1859) had a major impact on biology and other fields.</p>
<p>Francis Galton, a cousin of Darwin, advocated applying Darwinian principles to human society and coined the term eugenics, from the Greek words of &#8220;good in birth.&#8221; In his Hereditary Genius (1869),(1) he argued that mental features are as hereditary as physical features, and that a selective breeding of human beings (similar to horse breeding) could raise the proportion of people with a better-than-average genetic endowment. This new approach helped Darwin extend his evolution theory in The Descent of Man (1871).(2)</p>
<p>Galton believed that intelligence and ability are fixed, innate, and determined by heredity. This idea is proven by accomplishments in competitive careers.(3) He proposed the encouragement of good marriages as a way to create a superior human race, not so much as a way of &#8220;unwanted&#8221; ones. Gregor Mendel&#8217;s work on genetically transmitted dominant and recessive traits increased interest in eugenics.</p>
<p>The first half of the twentieth century witnessed an overwhelming belief in eugenics in academia and among intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen.(4) It became &#8220;an established fact&#8221; that single-unit genes determined such traits as alcoholism and mental incompetence.</p>
<p>Such conclusions naturally had political and social implications. For example, beginning in 1911, the United States tested arriving immigrants to assess their &#8220;worthiness.&#8221; Since many of those tested did not speak English and had just endured a long and difficult sea voyage, scores were low, and particularly lower for certain ethnic groups.(5) As a result, the US Congress passed the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924, which enforced quotas for unfit ethnic groups. Many American states also passed laws mandating sterilization of inmates judged to be genetically inferior.(6)</p>
<p>The fiercest implementation of eugenics happened in Nazi Germany. The 1933 Eugenic Sterilization Law required compulsory sterilization of all German citizens deemed to be suffering from presumably hereditary defects, including offensive physical deformities. Sterilization of the unfit was later transformed into many of the war crimes committed during World War II.</p>
<p>Eugenics&#8217; association with World War II era war crimes and genocide ruined its popularity and reputation. However, some parts of its principles are still considered valid by some scientists in various fields. Two examples are the nature and causes of difference in human intelligence, and whether intelligence is hereditary or not. In other words, people are not identical to each other in the areas of comprehending complicated material, reasoning, learning, and solving problems. Researchers do not agree on the sources of these differences, and hence ask: &#8220;Is there a general mental ability called &#8216;intelligence&#8217; that causes these differences, or is the underlying cause something else?&#8221;</p>
<h3><b>Theories about Intelligence</b></h3>
<p>Presented below are some contemporary theories about intelligence and its determinants.</p>
<p><b>The Psychometric View:</b> This view claims that individual differences in human cognition or mental ability can be measured adequately by intelligence tests.(7) Many widely used tests seek to measure some closely related criteria, such as scholastic aptitude and academic success-not intelligence itself. Examples of such tests in the Unites States are the SAT or ACT (college admission), GRE (graduate school), and GMAT (graduate business school) exams. Although test administrators try to distance themselves from testing one&#8217;s actual intelligence (namely, one&#8217;s I.Q.), it is generally accepted by the research community that one&#8217;s IQ and the above tests are closely related.(8)</p>
<p>IQ tests are offered in many verbal and non-verbal forms. The general practice for IQ scores is to scale them around 100 in such a way that 95 percent of the population falls between 70 and 130.</p>
<p>Psychometricians assert that people are born with unequal intellectual potentials, just as they are born with different physical potentials, such as height and eye color. They also state that no amount of social engineering can make individuals with different mental competences into intellectual equals.(9)</p>
<p>One American social engineering program is Affirmative Action. This program encourages underrepresented minority groups in society to pursue education and business through required quotas. For example, state universities are required to accept a certain percentage of minority freshmen. If the psychometric view is true, these programs will fail and amount to discrimination against the capable. In their controversial book, Hernstein and Murray maintained this view together with the heredity of intelligence and genetic IQ differences between races.(10)</p>
<p>In short, this view states that a single factor known as &#8220;intelligence&#8221; can be measured with IQ tests and predict success in life.</p>
<p><b>The Cognitive-Psychology View:</b> Adherents of this theory view intelligence as a process, not an innate ability. The process consists of creating a mental representation of problems encountered, retrieving apparently related information, and devising a solution. In short, it emphasizes experience for success in life, but does not completely eliminate the relation between general intelligence and experience.</p>
<p><b>Gardner&#8217;s Multiple Intelligence Theory:</b> In his Frames of Mind, Gardner argues that psychometric tests ignore several aspects of intelligence. He also claims that the tests&#8217; paper-and-pencil format rule out many kinds of intelligence performances that are important for success in life.</p>
<p><b>Sternberg&#8217;s Triarchic Theory:</b> This view asserts three dimensions of intelligence: Analytic intelligence (similar to the psychometric, IQ-based view); creative intelligence (involves insight, synthesis, and intuition); and practical intelligence (the ability to grasp, understand, and solve real-life problems).(11) Although Sternberg does not reject some heredity in intelligence, he strongly believes that all three aspects of intelligence can be developed.</p>
<h3><b>Problems with the Psychometric View</b></h3>
<p>The psychometric view claims that intelligence is the single best predictor for individual performance at school and on the job, as well as for chances of divorce, dropping out of <img decoding="async" class=" alignleft size-full wp-image-6376" src="https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/04/30_26-e41.jpg" width="350" height="188" align="left" border="2" hspace="5" vspace="5" srcset="https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/04/30_26-e41.jpg 350w, https://fountainmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/04/30_26-e41-300x161.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />school, unemployment, or having illegitimate children.(12) However, the interactions and correlations of various factors in social studies make it very difficult to draw such conclusions. One cannot know for sure if intelligence is the cause or the result of the above-mentioned factors. It may very well be the case that some other criteria contribute to both the outcomes outlined above, and to the high scores as measured by IQ tests. Here are some remarks on the psychometric view of intelligence and its relation to success in life:</p>
<p>• Many people with high IQ scores fail to become successful due to a lack of motivation, personality, laziness, or short attention span. In contrast, some people with low IQ results succeed due to personal dedication, vision, systematic effort, and motivation. A low IQ score can be changed through conscious choice and effort. As an analogy, consider a gifted athlete. Some athletes have special talents for a particular sport. However, they fail to perform as well as those without those talents, for the latter depend on systematic effort. Readers familiar with sports can name several specific examples of this phenomenon. • An IQ test may be a speed issue. That is, it may measure only how quickly people learn or solve complex problems. It is a well-known fact that once something is learned, the performance of a person with a lower IQ is not significantly different from that of a person with a higher IQ.</p>
<p>• A certain amount of intelligence seems to be needed to gain entry into an intellectually demanding field. However, beyond that point, success is determined by the effort put into the job, social support, and experience.</p>
<p>• Average IQ test scores have been increasing in the West for several decades. However, school performance has remained almost constant, if they did not actually decrease. This clearly indicates that success in life is not directly related to IQ scores.</p>
<p>• People can improve their test scores by becoming familiar with the test. This implies that expending the necessary effort can affect the outcome.</p>
<p>• Cultural and family environments (e.g., beliefs, oppression, poverty, fear, and lack of health care) together with such biological factors as nutrition and exposure to toxic substances (e.g., alcohol), affect IQ scores. Flynn analyzed Asian Americans&#8217; IQ test scores and found that they were always around 97 or 98. However, their academic and professional achievements were remarkable; equivalent in achievement to people with IQ scores of over 120! This can be attributed to a cultural belief in learning, as summarized in Gorner.(13) According to Claxton, Western cultures focus on ability as the major determinant of success. If you fail, it is probably because you were not smart enough. Asian cultures, however, emphasize effort and generally consider failure the result of a lack of effort.</p>
<p>• A common error is to assume that something heritable is unchangeable. Infants adopted into advantaged families tend to have higher IQs in childhood than would have been expected, had they been raised by their birth parents.(14) This is further proof that how a child is raised and what he or she is exposed to have very long-lasting effects. Further, and individual&#8217;s personal choice has considerably more impact on one&#8217;s life than usually thought. A recent initiative at the University of Chicago, the RealAge Program led by Michael F. Roizen, stresses the importance of an individual&#8217;s choice on how long and how well they will live. He claims that 70 percent of this is determined by one&#8217;s personal choice.(15) So even if heritability is high, intervention is possible.</p>
<p>• Some claim that IQ tests measure nothing more than cultural conditioning, education, and language fluency. As these are not inherited in the same way as eye color and other physical factors, they can be modified.</p>
<h3><b>Conclusion</b></h3>
<p>Considering the above remarks, it is very difficult to conclude that intelligence can in any way be a fixed, innate ability that determines success in life. If the very few exceptionally gifted and mentally retarded people are left out, most people have an almost equal potential for success in life. Men and women were created for the purpose of learning. This lifelong learning process and its outcome are closely tied with the effort expended. Anybody can become better at anything, provided that they strive for it with the means available to them. Encountering difficulties should not prevent people from trying harder. Learning to learn is possible, and depends upon the willingness to stay engaged when faced with uncertainty. Without rejecting the effect of genetic factors, we can have a significant effect on our own well-being and success in life through conscious choice and effort.</p>
<h3><b><em>Footnotes</em></b></h3>
<ol>
<li>Francis Galton, Hereditary Genius, reprint (Peter Smith Pub., 1990).</li>
<li>Encyclopedia Britannica, &#8220;Sir Galton Francis.&#8221;</li>
<li>Leslie Jones, &#8220;Social Darwinism Revisited,&#8221; History Today (August 1998).</li>
<li>Paul Gray, &#8220;Cursed by Eugenics,&#8221; Time, 11 January 1999.</li>
<li>Rawat Rajiv, &#8220;The Return of Determinism,&#8221; Cornell Science and Technology Magazine (summer 1995).</li>
<li>Sterilization is defined by American Heritage dictionary as follows: &#8220;To deprive (a person or an animal) of the ability to produce offspring, as by removing the reproductive organs.&#8221;</li>
<li>Earl Hunt &#8220;The Role of Intelligence in Modern Society,&#8221;American Scientist (July-August 1995); Report of a Task Force established by the Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7 August 1995.</li>
<li>For historical reasons, intelligence tests are termed IQ, which stands for &#8220;Intelligence Quotient.&#8221;</li>
<li>Linda S Gottfredson, &#8220;The General Intelligence Factor,&#8221; Scientific American, (November 1998).</li>
<li>Richard Hernstein, and Charles Murray, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (Simon &amp; Schuster, 1995).</li>
<li>Frank Miele, &#8220;Interview with Robert Sternberg on The-Bell Curve book&#8221;, Skeptic Magazine, 3, no. 3 (1995).</li>
<li>Guy Claxton, &#8220;Wise Up,&#8221; Bloomsbury (September 1999), 26.</li>
<li>Peter Gorner, &#8220;Interview with Dr. Richard F. Roizen,&#8221; Chicago Tribune (Perspective section), 28 November 1999.</li>
<li>Report of a Task Force established by the Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7 August 1995.</li>
<li>Gorner, &#8220;Interview.&#8221;</li>
</ol>
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