some people say that people are born with their intelligence and outside factors do not affect intelligence?

Question

They believe that nature(wht we are born with) is more important than nurture (environment).and other people think the opposite.they believe that intelligence is mostly the result of interaction between people and their Environment.they say that nurture is more important than nature.so who do you deffend and why?

Answer 1

It's both what you've got and what you do with it. It's both what kind of computer do you have and also what programs and data have you loaded on it?

From birth to age 22, there are a couple of critical periods of brain development, the most important of which are in the frontal lobes. Around age 8, then again during adolescence. What happens is the brain spontaneously develops a very dense "forest" of brain cells. But then, this is followed by a period of "pruning" when the cells that aren't being used are allowed to die back. It's as if the body knows lots of brain cells are needed, but if they aren't being used, it's better if they aren't in the way.

So if a kid gets heavy into learning how to think, associate, learn, problem solve, evaluate, imagine, decide, etc. during these critical periods, he or she will end up with more brain cells to work with. Translate that into thinking power, i.e., intelligence.

So...both inborn and developed by practice. The sad thing is, these findings haven't made their way into to the schools...teachers aren't aware of these critical developmental periods.

Answer 2

Both in a way.
If you are born without the capacity to learn, such as with some cases of Downs Syndrome and mental retardation, then, it is Nature.
But everyone else has the capacity to learn constantly.

Many people believe once they reach a certain point in their learning, they do not need anymore. This is simply arrogance.

I was told, many times during childhood that I was stupid, therefore I started acting that way.
Later on in life, I decided to get my GED and continue in school.
I then was excepted at a college. Due to an unsettled home life, I was not able to continue past the first semester. But, having finished the first semester, I proved to myself that I was NOT stupid. I, in fact, had a 3.75 average. Since then I have proved over and over to myself, probably because I still need reassurance, that my I.Q. is, in fact, not average, but above.
Therefore, through my own personal experience, I would say Nurture, as I nurtured myself, has much more to do with intelligence that Nature.

Answer 3

Nurture.
Everything is taught to you by either, someone or life experiences through interaction among other people. Where else but environment?
People are born with a brain, not intelligence; everything else is learned.

Answer 4

i don't defend anything, because i guess both the situation i.e nurture and nature complements each other. if you are born intelligent however didn't get proper nurture, you end up no where.

Answer 5

They have very, very recently changed their thinking on IQ's, now they are saying they can be changed with proper input, (in other words nuture) but IQ's are also inherited, so I think the answer would be both.