About Genetic Differences In Race/Gender of Human "Intelligence", Would you Expect Them to Be Very Small When-

Question

-Compared to Human Brain Plasticity?

MercurialMe :-), I Think the Above is True, Much of Which is Called "Intelligence" is Culturally Determined, If One is Repeatedly Called "Dumb", they Are Likely to Come to Believe it.

Perseus, I Like the Computer Analogy, but See the Software as Very Important.

Yeah Mad.

Answer 1

I like Mercurial's answer (and name).
Experience can be a good teacher if one is observant.
I've seen very intelligent and not so intelligent humans of every description. Big feet - little feet, tall - short, male - female, and like Mercurial says - integumentary melanin has nothing to do with it. Environmental experience, economic and social advantages, encouragement in school, and the opportunity to even go to a good school all play a role. Perhaps a disadvantaged Einstein will find a way to overcome all these impediments brought about by accident of birth - location in the world, society, culture, economic situation - - but I suspect many potentially gifted individuals fall by the wayside.
As you know in medicine, complex things (like intelligence)
often have multifactorial explanations. I think genetics is a factor - but not necessarily linked to observable physical features such as skin color or genitalia.

Answer 2

Good Morning Greg,

Each individual is unique. Our abilities as "testable" for intelligence vary at all age levels and conditions of environment.

Some at the age of 2-3 show tremendous ability ie: children that read or can play an instrument. Or others that learn skills later math problem solvers etc.

Many who are in the classifications above are treated as gifted others are looked upon as outcasts or geeks-- due to cultural norms.

Intelligence when it comes to learned behavior is only a gage of how well the brain of the person is wired and how well the person has learned to use it.

Innate abilities or instinct, whether genetic, gender or racially derived, are not as easily tested for and as a result will skew any test results derived from any test given.

My grandson made any interesting observation one day when I had a "senior moment". He said "Don't worry Grandpa, Just reboot your windows program and reload your dll files. You'll find what you were looking for once you have done that" I though he was on to something for a moment ie go take a nap -- when he started to laugh.

But you know the human brain has a way of rebuilding links to those things we "forget" unless the cells where the memory was stored are destroyed.
The conclusion of that type of thinking is we are constantly making new connections in our brains -- Question is raised "do we become more intelligent as we make more connections in our brains and create more memories?"

I don't know all the answers but as I get older it sure seems harder to remember where I put my glasses and keys let alone a memory or use my intelligence.

Greg when you get the real answer to your question -- the real question will be -- Will you recongnize it as the answer to your question?

Answer 3

Hello MdGreg.....good question. In standard Psychology text books there are many facets to intelligence (64 or 128......I am not sure). Different races may be gifted with different facets. But as a human race we all possess these aspects of intelligence and that is what makes us a unified race. There was recently an observation that we, humans have evolved faster in the last 5,000 years than for the past 50,000 years or so - do not know what was the yardstick for such evolution.
But still......I think as a highly adaptable animal, we humans are also evolving in quantum leaps in the human intelligence area more than in the physical aspect. Have to wait and see.

Answer 4

I personally don't believe that race or gender play a part in intelligence. I watched a special on the discovery channel and found out that intelligence is passed down from the maternal side of the family.

I do believe you can play dumb for so long you'll actually become dumb, but intelligence is something you are born with. Melanin and gender have nothing to do with it.

Answer 5

I've certainly seen generations of apparently genetically inherited intelligence - but I believe nurture, and culture (family and society) is more important. And I've seen that handed down strongly too. But there are many different kinds of intelligence, as I discover for instance in Mensa as well as in various fields of life. Sadly there seems to be even more forms of stupidity, enhanced by persistent ignorance and "mental myopia" so much encouraged by cultures of fixity, such as religions. The differences traverse all colors and societies, and time, it seems - but in some cultures insight is struggling uphill!

Answer 6

Your question is kind of unclear on exactly what you're asking (esp the part about comparing intelligence to brain plasticity). But "intelligence" is not just culturally determined, but socioeconomically determined. If you're poor, you go to a crap school, and you're simply not as prepared for an intelligence test as an affluent student.

On top of that, intelligence tests are flawed, flawed, flawed! (culturally, racially and gender biased among others) I wrote a research paper on intelligence tests as a psych undergrad. (Stanford-Binet, WAIS, WISC, WAIS-R, etc, etc). The "experts" can't even agree on what "intelligence" is, or how it should be defined! How are they going to pretend to "measure" it??

Answer 7

I think of people like computers. Some are built more powerful, slightly different models, but mostly the same basic operating systems.

Answer 8

Its a myth that women are stupider than men are!!!