09 NOV 2019 by ideonexus
Darwin, Bach, and Professional Decline
What’s the difference between Bach and Darwin? Both were preternaturally gifted and widely known early in life. Both attained permanent fame posthumously. Where they differed was in their approach to the midlife fade. When Darwin fell behind as an innovator, he became despondent and depressed; his life ended in sad inactivity. When Bach fell behind, he reinvented himself as a master instructor. He died beloved, fulfilled, and—though less famous than he once had been—respected.
The lesson for...
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30 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Scientific Reasoning Explains Increases in IQ
The bombshell is that the Flynn Effect is almost certainly environmental. Natural selection has a speed limit measured in generations, but the Flynn Effect is measurable on the scale of decades and years. Flynn was also able to rule out increases in nutrition, overall health, and outbreeding (marrying outside one’s local community) as explanations for his eponymous effect.241 Whatever propels the Flynn Effect, then, is likely to be in people’s cognitive environments, not in their genes, diets...26 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Biggest Gains in g
It is one thing if a child’s IQ is elevated over time because she is drilled daily on vocabulary and basic number facts (two of the subtests of major IQ batteries). But Flynn and others have shown that these are not the areas where IQ has risen much. It is in what Flynn refers to as “on-the-spot reasoning” about relations between objects that are either totally familiar to everyone, hence no one can be claimed to have a prior advantage (e.g., arranging familiar pictures so they tell a coheren...26 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Rolling Triggers and Social Multipliers Explain the Flynn...
The most potent facet of our environment is other people. When something, perhaps the popularity basketball got from television, triggered greater participation in basketball, the average performance rose as individuals played more and got better. Initially, a few people learn to shoot with either hand, then others imitate them. The rise in average performance feeds back into a new challenge for each individual. Those who want to excel have to learn to pass with either hand and this spreads a...26 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Flynn-Dickens Model for IQ Gains
Take those born with genes that make them a bit taller and quicker than average. When they start school, they are likely to be a bit better at basketball. The advantage may be modest but then reciprocal causation between the talent advantage and environment kicks in. Because you are better at basketball, you are likely to enjoy it more and play it more than someone who is bit slow or short or overweight. That makes you better still. Your genetic advantage is upgrading your environment, the am...If g-factor is inherited, then how do we explain the Flynn Effect? This model suggests genetic advantages translates into environmental advantage, the environment feeds back to become more challenging.
24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Solving Xenophobia
The in-group-vs.-out-group double standard, which had and has such catastrophic consequences, could in theory be eliminated if everyone alive were considered to be in everyone else’s in-group. This utopian prospect is remote, but an expansion of the conceptual in-group would expand the range of friendly, supportive, and altruistic behavior. This effect may already be in evidence in the increase in charitable activities in support of foreign populations confronted by natural disasters. Donors ...
2 Marcel Kinsbourne explains how recognizing all human beings as part of our in-group can promote inter-marriage, which will diversify our genes and improve our overall health and well-being.
13 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Using the n-back Game to Improve Children's IQ
Scientists typically describe intelligence as consisting of two distinct components: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence refers to the general ability to solve new problems and recognize unfamiliar patterns. Crystallized intelligence, by contrast, consists of particular kinds of knowledge.
When children learn to count, for instance, they show gains on crystallized intelligence, even as their fluid intelligence remains constant. Scientists have typically regar...The game forces children to focus and streamline their memory processes, resulting in an IQ increase of five points.
