PrinceofWands
Lifer
- May 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: yllus
It's a popular sentiment amongst those growing older to consider the present world to be worse than it was in his/her youth. Truth is, people today are smarter, healthier (not to be confused with in shape) and better educated than ever before in human history.
This also ignores the fact that intelligence is an evolutionary survival trait, which is probably about ~50% heritable - accounting for a large amount of how intelligence is determined, but not the entirety. I have little fear for the future on the human race.
Is intelligence inherited or built on experience?
Evidence from family, twin, and adoption studies shows a heritable component in differences in human ability. These studies are also the best evidence that environment plays a large part. Earl Hunt, an eminent researcher on intelligence, says that the heritability of differences in human intelligence lies somewhere between 40% and 80% and that it does not matter a great deal exactly where within this range.
However, there are counterintuitive details in this crude estimate. The heritability of psychometric intelligence rises as we get older and experience the world more. The big slice of variance that the environment provides is largely unconnected with our family upbringing and mostly to do with the environment we experience that is distinct from our parents? efforts and that shared with our siblings. People often assume that genetics must be connected with stability in intelligence and the environment with change. This is not necessarily so. Genes may affect changes in intelligence too.
I'll agree with this.
It also means that those living in the poorest conditions probably have the worst of both worlds- they more likely inherited genes for lesser ability and in addition their environment will be less than optimal.
Not true at all, since there is no linear correlation between intelligence and wealth/status.