Thanks Val. I wasn't impressed with this study either, but you could describe the flaws with the study better than I could.
Howler Karma - yes, about doctors. We, as consumers, expect a certain level of competency. But we also expect doctors to think outside-of-the-box and get creative if they lack the knowledge with a certain diagnosis or problem. There is a certain level of content knowledge with doctors, but I'd have to say they also need a certain level of confidence and creativity to go beyond the standard course of treatment, for instance. They've got to be able to question the status quo, though many are hesitant to do so out of fear of a lawsuit.
Really, I think they could do the same study with babies/toddlers and those in a structured kindergarten class who are told where to sit and when, given numerous worksheets, and only 15 minutes for lunch. No IQ testing needed for these results.
Somehow we think that there's some mystical way to learn that differs when we get older. Um, no. It's just some people get used to taking a rather passive and disengaged role with their learning in formal settings (e.g. they become like sheep or followers). Take them outside of it, let them talk about their interests, and the situation often changes dramatically.
Colleges and universities (or primary/secondary ed leaders) do not want to recognize the inherent problems with the educational system and formal learning as it stands today. It still rests with motivation. You have to be motivated to sit, listen, and pay attention to a lecture whether it is on a computer or not. You have to see that there is inherent meaning in the lecture. Those are BIG problems for most college students today. They see lectures as being pointless so why bother to sit through them and waste your energy.
Stephen Hawking, apparently, wasn't overly motivated to study or be academically inclined at times. It wasn't because he couldn't learn the material. He wasn't self-motivated to do so. He was an underachiever, for periods, instead.
The current educational system from primary through to higher education is unsustainable, in my opinion, until we address the fundamental principle of internal motivation or self-motivation.
Even with primary education, teachers think they can better motivate kids to basic math facts with digital technology. But too often, the kids are simply being directed by the software program and, again, become passive in their learning and not actually in control of their learning. Worse, the software program is often based on a series of built-in external motivations (rewards/punishments) for using or playing the software program.
