Intelligence
In everyday life people commonly refer to each other as being smart or slow. The perception that individuals differ widely in mental adeptness—in intelligence—long preceded development of the IQ test, and there is indeed a large vernacular for brilliance, stupidity, and the many points in between. There has been much sparring over the scientific meaning and measurement of intelligence, both in the rowdy corridors of public debate and in the sanctums of academe. But what do we actually know about intelligence? A lot more in the last decade, and some of it surprising even to experts. Moreover, the data form a very consistent pattern showing that differences in intelligence are a biologically grounded phenomenon with immense sociological import.
Measurement of Intelligence
The effort to measure intelligence variation among individuals is a century old. Two strategies for measuring such differences have emerged, the psychometric and the experimental. Both spring from the universal perception that, although all people can think and learn, some are notably better at both than others. Accordingly, intelligence research focuses on how people differ in cognitive competence, not on what is common to all of us. (Other disciplines such as neuroscience and cognitive psychology specialize in the commonalities.) The aim of intelligence research is thus much narrower than explaining the intricacies of how brains and minds function.
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