Google has added 30 points to most people's IQ. And the brighter the person, the greater the boost.
There are lots of interesting automatic abilities out there that don't seem to relate to training.
Like Mr W being able to fluently read music after a few weeks of exposure. Or do the set game faster than I can. I also recently introduced the ideas of complex numbers and acoustics to him.
But the latter also begs the question of exposure, too. As the result of the above, he will have a developed, innate feeling for certain kinds of mathematics at a very early age.
Given the biological nature of intelligence and knowledge, if the receptive pathways in a kids mind are not stimulated, then do those wither? I think so based on the research.
I'm reading a lot about the biological basis of intelligence. The key graph from all of it is that 50% of the ability to learn is developed in the first 5 years, hits 80% at age 8, and after age 12, the brain is pretty much set.
This is why it is so damaging to bright kids to hold them back. They have a limited amount of time to grow their abilities.
This is a good summary.
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=60One book with references to others.
http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Brain-Revolutionary-Discoveries-Works/dp/0836232895
