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Are the key points I want to address in my research paper for school. So, please direct me to your favorite references regarding this subject so I can narrow down my focus. Thanks!
They told me "intelligence" is a measure of the ability to learn. I had always assumed it included the flexibility to transfer that ability to any subject, given the right connection with a teacher, but have been told that's not the case. Guess adaptability really isn't a factor because what about the prodigies who are gifted in one specific domain? I also mistakenly believed speed was a part of it but sounds like they're phasing that out of the equation these days. Carol Dweck has some published theories on intelligence. And Katelyn's mom just posted a link to another "nature bs. Nurture" article. That's always a big topic.
Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
Lucounu just made a link in another thread that said my original belief about the adaptive nature of intelligence wasn't completely wrong. There's two things- one's fluid reasoning and one's crystalized logic. Ya learn something new all the time.
That girl just sang Ave Maria on America's Got Talent. �Anyway, maybe this helps decide if "everyone is gifted". �Maybe everyone can be good at something, but I don't believe you can give every ten year old a voice like this with the range and the pitch.
� Here's that little girl Jackie Evanco from a few years ago:
Why am I the only one posting here? �Am I talking to myself again? �At least I haven't answered myself yet. �I like this topic. �It's metacognition, thinking about the way we think.
Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
Read "The Element". He thinks everyone just has to find the crossroad of passion and talent and that is your intelligence. It could be carpentry (I knew a master carpenter that fixed antiques matching the wood, the damage etc.) But does everyone have the level of talent and passion to really have the ability to do extraordinary things. He profiles extraordinary people in every field.
I do not believe everyone is so extraordinary, even if they could find their passion. And every profoundly gifted person is Feynman. He had a zest for life that few people match and with a brain to be envied. Einstein seemed to have broad interests also and enjoyed life and worked his brain.
It seems that most highly intelligent people can find success and contented lives, but not extraordinary lives. So who is more intelligent? A Jackson Pollock or some math genius who sits in a university and teaches math year in and year out and does nothing of note. I think that is his point.
Has anyone read the Psychology of Rational Thought by Stanovich? My library has it - just wondering if it was any good (according to the summary, he argues that IQ tests and SATs don't include a measure of rational thought/judgment as separate from intelligence; I wonder if he has proposed any solution for testing for that)
The Bell Curve has a lot to say about the nature of intelligence and how it's tested. Real Education discusses the idea in less depth and has a whole of good ideas about improving schools.
FWIW, I don't think that everyone is (cognitively) gifted (if everyone is, no one is). Different people have different strengths, but being a natural leader or a gifted athlete doesn't mean you can also learn algebra when you're eight. Conversely, being able to learn algebra when you're eight is no guarantee that you can run the hundred in less than twelve seconds, nor does it mean that you'd make a fantastic line manager.
For me, intelligence refers specifically to how well you perform on g-loaded tests (these tests measure cognitive ability). Obviously, people can have gifts in other areas (athletics, art, the ability to lead others), but that doesn't necessarily make them intelligent.
Why am I the only one posting here? �Am I talking to myself again? �At least I haven't answered myself yet. �I like this topic. �It's metacognition, thinking about the way we think.
I like the topic too, and talking to myself...
Speaking of intelligence/sats, what about gres? I seem to recall a logic score there. Is logic only learned or is it an innate ability?
FWIW, I don't think that everyone is (cognitively) gifted (if everyone is, no one is). Different people have different strengths, but being a natural leader or a gifted athlete doesn't mean you can also learn algebra when you're eight. Conversely, being able to learn algebra when you're eight is no guarantee that you can run the hundred in less than twelve seconds, nor does it mean that you'd make a fantastic line manager.
For me, intelligence refers specifically to how well you perform on g-loaded tests (these tests measure cognitive ability). Obviously, people can have gifts in other areas (athletics, art, the ability to lead others), but that doesn't necessarily make them intelligent.
Val
Exactly! If everyone were (cognitively) gifted, it wouldn't be a gift, it would be the norm. Everyone may have a gift of some sort, although not necessarily everyone will find it or do anything with it. But no matter how much the PC folks would like it, not everyone is intelligent. To me, intelligence is the ability to learn and to apply and adapt knowledge. "Gifted" in the sense in which we generally use it here is roughly the same thing.
