IQ Explained
A recent paper in Molecular Psychiatry … confirms that genes account for about half of the difference in IQ between any two people in a modern society, but that the relevant genes are very numerous and the effect of each is very small. The genes for intelligence are there, but there are thousands of them and each has only a tiny impact. So the old terror, which so alarmed many psychologists and educationalists, that one day people — or governments — would use genes to decide whom to kill, sterilize or prevent being born because of their intelligence, suddenly looks a lot less scary. There are just too many genes.
Entire Wall Street Journal article on IQ here.
Persistence probably has a bigger impact on success than intelligence. Past research has also found that the willingness to forgo instant gratification in return for a bigger reward later is also a major determinant of success.
Yep. All the smarts in the world won’t matter at all if you don’t use ’em.
Very welcome news. A major setback, I would think, for the study of eugenics; not that the discipline itself is bad, but the undisciplined implementation of its findings is all too common.
Thousands of genes, billions of possible combinations…out of which emerges individuality.
If genes account for about half of the difference, I wonder what “nuture” factors are most important in determining the remaining gaps.
I wonder if anyone studying this subject has factored in the difference in how much of the brain is used by any two people being compared. I recall reading somewhere that the average person uses 9 or 14 percent of their brain. Not even sure if that could even be determined with any technology currently available.
Do higher IQ people use more brain mass?
Just because there are many genes that control intelligence does not mean that one day, we won’t be able to make adjustments for all of them. Just because it’s too complicated today doesn’t mean it will continue to be too complicated in 40-50 years.
However, I agree with Buster. Persistence is key.