Is Intelligence inherited or developed?

When I was in College I remember doing a big computer programming assignment for the end of the semester. I remember I had a real struggle with it. I remember I stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG trying to figure out the lines of code to achieve the objective. Was finally able to complete it with some help from my classmates. Where as there were people who spent a fraction of the time and were able to complete the assignment. Question is, were those people far more intelligent than me? Was my thought process wrong that caused me the delay? Am I not cut for programming/software engineering?

How about in Math Courses where you see kids are acing Calculus exams and is getting 90's and there are kids who are struggling. Are the kids who are struggling a lot dumber than the ones who get's A's. Or are they too lazy? Even if they were to work hard is there an intellectual limit that they can only achieve where they may not get 90's but 80's because there is a "intelligence gap" between kids who get 90's and 80's where kids who get's 80's will never be able to cross the threshold and achieve 90's no matter how hard they tried and not even in a million years?

So, is intelligence inherited/developed or a bit of both?

It's not that black and white. Everyone is different. You also have to take into consideration that everybody has strengths and weaknesses.

It's not that black and white. Everyone is different. You also have to take into consideration that everybody has strengths and weaknesses.

TheFatPerson

This, someone could be mediocre at mathematics, but a complete genius when it comes to analyzing literaturing, stringing words together and evolving thought.

there have been studies done on identical (and fraternal) twins who were both raised apart and together; the two groups shared similar intelligence, no matter the situation they grew up in. this indicates that genes and environment are both factors, but to what extent each factor plays is unknown, afaik.

that said, studies like this shouldn't be taken as fact because there is always variation.

It's not that black and white. Everyone is different. You also have to take into consideration that everybody has strengths and weaknesses.

TheFatPerson

in a real argument i'd say it's inherited while also being developed

you can inherit intelligence but if you don't apply it then what good is it?

at the end of the day your intelligence is what you choose to do with it.

genes and environment are both factors, but to what extent each factor plays is unknown

rocinante_

Intelligence is largely inherited. That doesn't mean a smart couple can't have a kid with down syndrome and an average couple have the next Einstein. However it's more likely than not your children will share your genetics with many of the good and bad attributes you have. That's the reason champion race horses get studded and also the reason so many women want to have my babies. It could also partly be because of my modest nature though.

Combo of the two. Everybody is born with a certain intelligence-potential. Whether or not you achieve your full potential is pretty much up to you. There are obvious exceptions to this (people with severe developmental disabilities, brain trauma, etc...).

It really depends on the person. My folks didn't go to college, and instead went into the workforce. I'm just someone who works very hard. That being said, I'm a Computer Science major in his second year with a 3.533 GPA. I'm happy with that.

It is indeed a bit of both. Genetics will pass from person to person. If only the smartest people were breeding, people would be a lot more advanced. You can also help your children develop critical thinking minds with the right upbringing.

it's obtained through ritual sacrifice

It's both. Intelligence is partially inherited, but it can be modified by other factors such as diet, environment, and activity.

Math Courses where you see kids are acing Calculus exams and is getting 90's

Xtasy26

[QUOTE="Xtasy26"]

Math Courses where you see kids are acing Calculus exams and is getting 90's

gamerguru100

[QUOTE="gamerguru100"]

[QUOTE="Xtasy26"]

Math Courses where you see kids are acing Calculus exams and is getting 90's

almasdeathchild

Depends what you mean by "intelligence" lol.

I'd say intelligence (of any kind, really) isn't just inherited right from the get-go, but I'm sure there's a gene, or w/e, for building intelligence, for instance, wanting to learn, and what not. But that's something that needs to be worked on through life as well.

Both, obviously.

The simplified answer is that I think each person has a maximum level of intelligence and this varies greatly from person to person.

The simplified answer is that I think each person has a maximum level of intelligence and this varies greatly from person to person.

junglist101

"Unfortunately we don't all have the same brain. The spectrum goes from Albert Einstein on one end to Sarah Palin at the other." - Richard Dawkins

After reading throught the thread I think I agree with most of you, I think it's part inherited (genes) and part developed (hard work, motivation, etc.).

Case in point: I had childhood buddy when I was kid growing up. His older brother went on to study Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech). It turns out his father was also a Physicists. While my buddy wasn't like his older brother. I remember him telling me that he is not up to par with respect to studying hard sciences\engineering.

It wasn't like he was lazy or anything. He always did his homework and was onto class on time, it didn't look like he slacked off. I think it's pretty obvious that his older brother inheritied his father's genes of intelligence and the ability to problem solve. And maybe my buddy inherited his mother's genes.

It's kind of like the SAT's where some kids would do very good on the math portion of SAT's and not so well on the English part of the SAT's. Where as some kids would do good on the English part of the SAT's (they may be more into literature, books, etc.) and not so good on the Math part.

Again that's just my hypothesis....

I think it's genetic. I think that Darwinian genetic design is the reason why some are way smarter and also much stronger and more resilient than others. Of course there may be a better physical explanation but I don't know it.

There is no clear answer.

Intelligence it's self is fairly hard to define, there are many different types of intelligences. For instance some people have more emotional intelligence, others have more lingustic or spatial intelligence etc.....much of this depends on what area of the brain is more active/used more. Often people can be intelligent in one part of the brain, but lack intelligence in another.

Many "Genuises" are like this, they often lack skills in other parts of the brain. Autistic people also are an example of this, they tend to be great with numbers and similar logic as that is where their brain is focused at. However they lack emotional intelligence which is why they have a hard time communicating and recognising emotions. They are socially "inept" to put it (can't use the "R" word as it's not allowed under TOU).

Perhaps we may inherit some intelligence or at least something that influences certain parts of the brain more so than others. But that is not enough to really make someone intellgent. You have to learn, you have to be educated, truly intelligent people love learning and challenging themselves.It can be anything, it doesn't have to be math, it can be learning to play a new instument, or a new language etc....this is something that anyone can do. It is a choice, we can choose to become intellgent or not.

Also I don't put much stock in IQ tests. They made us take one in college for certain classes and apparently I scored the highest out of my class. But I did not care, I just threw it away, I didn't even look at it. I don't want to compare myself to some arbitary number. I am so much more than that, as we all are.

I think intelligence can be developed, but talent in a given area or field is something that cannot be taught.Allicrombie

[QUOTE="Xtasy26"]

Math Courses where you see kids are acing Calculus exams and is getting 90's

gamerguru100

And here comes the racism

Developed imo.

Just like when starting out a new sport a trained athlete is advantaged over a complete newbie, a person who already has a certain mental rigor in one field will get good at a new subject much quicker.

I'm very good at programming; I graduated out of a ICT high school and I could finish most of the programming tests in half the given time while the majority of my classmates struggled to finish before the deadline. I enrolled in an engineering physics course; I aced my ICT exam in college without even opening a book, and now I'm good at math too, even though I brutally failed my first calculus exam.

Well here is something interesting. A girl who was homeless was accepted into Harvard:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/us/from-janitor-to-harvard/index.html

She worked as a Janitor at High School to make ends meets. Her parents abandoned her. How many of the kids in her High School who has parents and had much easier life than hers didn't use their opportunity to even make it to College let alone an Ivy League school. She had to work twice as hard as her classmates to achieve what she did. Goes to show with hard work and dedication one can achieve great things.

It's not that black and white. Everyone is different. You also have to take into consideration that everybody has strengths and weaknesses.

TheFatPerson

Both, mostly developed.

It's not that black and white. Everyone is different. You also have to take into consideration that everybody has strengths and weaknesses.

TheFatPerson