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That's a good thing to remember. We are dealing with degrees; there's not much point in making comparisons along the full spectrum. I think Shari was writing about nourishing his intellectual growth, but the point stands: we can assume someone else would've, too. And especially for a self-directed learner, as long as they have sufficient information to draw from, results may be pretty similar in different environments. (Note that Shari doesn't think it's a 50/50 split either.)


(I know you meant "affect" instead of "boost".) I read things a lot differently. I think that some studies that have been done are flawed, but even those show can show that environment can play a large role; they are in my opinion often summarized incorrectly. So, for example, a study that shows a .74 correlation in IQ between identical twins raised separately doesn't show that the environment cannot influence IQ, although it might not usually do so in a large way (which in my opinion could be explainable in a number of ways-- perhaps as we grow to adulthood we tend to get exposed to similar normative educational forces that can tend to flatten out an earlier spike). I don't think all the identical twins with dissimilar IQs can be explained away by brain injuries, malnourishment and the like.

With the cookie-cutter approach to education in the U.S. and seemingly the rest of the world, I wouldn't expect nurture to provide such a differentiating force on IQ tests as much as it could. I also don't think most parents, at least in the U.S.,do much education of their children after they come home from school. There's just not a lot of time in the day for a working family.