Your words fly in the face of Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner and Sir Herbert Read's research. As a practical Teacher whose products have to produce rather than pontificate I find these three to "work" much better in the real world than the world of "standard Intelligence." In fact, the post facto statement that the Great geniuses of the West would score well on standard IQ tests is pure speculation. Sort of like the Christians and Moslems claiming Abraham was one of them and that his Jewishness was an anachronism.
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 7:44 AM Subject: Not IQ only (was Re: Bifurcation?) > Harry, > > There's a great deal of truth in what you write. IQ is far from being the > only important component in individual creativity and achievement. > > Personality is important, too, as are childhood environments, as is the > ability to concentrate on a problem and persistence in solving it. From the > results of Terman's longitudinal studies of bright children, it is certain > that most exceptionally high-IQ individuals don't become recognised as > geniuses even though they usually do well in life. An unknown number of > very high-IQ individuals -- far brighter than any of the peers or teachers > they are ever likely to meet -- become troublesome at school, socially > isolated and never enter normal society. In some instances they can be > dangerous. > > Nevertheless, there *is* a relationship between general achievement and IQ > scores, even though IQ tests involve only a few parameters of mental > efficiency. This is why they've been so widely used. It's also true that > creative geniuses in the arts and sciences -- and outstanding artistic > performers -- invariably have IQs of at least 120-130, that is in the upper > 10% of general mental abilities. > > However indefinable the concept of IQ is, it has been clearly shown to have > high heritability and it certainly has something to do with mental > efficiency and speed of reaction in dealing with perceptions and concepts. > Whenever compared, IQ scores have a high correlation with chronometric > tests whereby individuals have to react to very simple perceptual prompts > (that is, tests that are understood by even the dimmest subjects of > whatever culture). > > The problem is that discussion about IQ has become swamped in recent > decades by a tide of egalitarianism and political correctness which > maintains that everybody should not only have equal civic rights but also > equal outcomes in life. This apparently equitable doctrine has wide appeal, > of course, and has thrown proponents of IQ on the defence, tending to make > the concept more prominent than it ought to be. > > The irony is that the more egalitarian the education system, and the more > uniform the curricula with industry-like selection methods -- as has > happened increasingly in state supervised schools in advanced countries > over the past century -- the more stratified society becomes (even though > it is certain that many creative geniuses are lost by this process). As > those who are most strident about egalitarianism are themselves usually > high-IQ individuals who are well satisfied with this credentially-rigid > state of affairs, they remain silent about this. > > Keith > > > At 17:01 02/10/02 -0700, you wrote: > >Keith, > > > >Heinlein wrote about this in a short story - the marching Morons - in which > >the speedometers of the cars showed 70 - but the car was only going 30. As > >I recall, the world was being run - to protect the low IQs - from an > >underground complex under Antarctica. > > > >That must have been 20-30 years ago. > > > >Yet, it's just science-fiction. > > > >The professional class are trapped in their necessary debts - mortgage, > >insurance, university costs. They can't really get out from under - at > >least not while they feel responsibilities on their backs. > > > >Also, IQ's are not everything. Many PhD's are hired by people who haven't > >finished high school. > > > >I remember some years ago a Canadian article that pointed out that not one > >of the Canadian bank presidents across the Dominion had completed > >university. (How do you like Dominion, fellers!) > > > >Some might say: "So that's why we have the problems." > > > >True or not, I think that high IQ's as related to professional competence > >are not the be all, and end all, of the discussion. > > > >There are certainly gradations of competence, no matter the IQ or the > >educational qualifications, of people. Maybe - and here's a thought - there > >are super-people who really keep everything going in spite of the less than > >competent majority of high IQ's. > > > >I had better stop. I'm frightening myself. > > > >Harry > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > ------------ > > Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com > 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England > Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ________________________________________________________________________
