A scientific paper recently published in Nature Neuroscience shows differences in brain scans between intelligent & slow people
Maybe someday we can skip standardized testing and just scan people like groceries at the supermarket checkout.
As a purely gut reaction (since my area of study is Eugenics) references to IQ, inherited “intelligence,” and/or “genes” connected to “intelligence” just make my skin crawl…
ETA: Both of my parents say that I’m far and away more intelligent than they are. My mom calls me her alien child.
Geez, colleges don’t always want kids with the most raw intelligence. They like vision, energy, perspective and more.
Best as we can figure right now, genetics accounts for about half of the differences in intelligence.
Important to choose your parents wisely. 
1~ Great genes
2~ Love of reading, throughout life, a habit also modeled by parents.
3~ A home environment which loves learning and is intellectual by nature
4~ A school environment which communicates that learning, and learning deeply, is much cooler than resorting to the easy way out (during those years especially)
This is true, @lookingforward
But things like vision and perspective are often stimulated environmentally (home and school), through opportunities to explore and through thoughtful discussions.
I have a question for those familiar with the research: in the spectrum of IQ scores, how big is the range of scores where most functioning people fall?
Unless your child falls into one of the outlier categories (the genius at one end and the intellectually disabled at the other), isn’t it true, that in all likelihood, your child falls somewhere in the vast middle described as “normal?” I’ll grant that “normal” covers a wide range of IQs.
But I’ll challenge the notion that the difference among “normal” kids is something we can discern as parents. If two “normal” kids have the same environment - same access, same resources, same family income…etc. but two different IQ scores, how is that difference manifest in real life (other than the IQ test itself)? Do they do better in school? Do better in their careers? Is the difference in their two performances sufficient to justify the attention we’re giving it? Or is the manifestation of their smarts also a range considered “normal?”
In other words, should we instead be asking, “what makes your kid so normal/non-distinctive?”
Do the genetic-superior parents have an answer?
@pragmaticmom - Wow - one way to end a conversation is to say ’ do the genetic superior parents have an answer? I will try to answer your question without aspiring to the ‘genetic superior’ label.
http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/occupations.aspx
From this chart it is clear that there are functioning people in all kinds of occupations with a very wide range of IQ scores. I wish they had put homemaker or Mom in the listing.
I didn’t think the original question was about ‘normal’ kids unless you are saying that all of the respondents are seeing above normal in what are really normal kids. A Garrison Keillor/Lake Wobegon kind of misconception.
My anecdotal response is that I think that there are discernible differences between normal kids as well as observable differences between normal and above normal intelligence kids. In the same way that you can see differences in a person’s athletic ability along a spectrum of ability and effort. You ask if the difference in their performances is sufficient to justify the attention we’re giving it? I believe that every kid deserves an individualized response from their parents that takes into account their unique circumstances. I think we all want our kids to be happy, content, safe and fulfilled in their lives. We hope that our efforts on their behalf aid in that outcome.
http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-you-dont-want-to-know-iq-2011-11?op=1
The above article lists ways that more ‘intelligent’ people have an advantage in our current economic./social. environment. I hypothesize that you can find research that says height, athletic ability, normal weight or beauty confer benefits.
So - do I pay attention to my children and their ‘distinctiveness’? Yes, happily.
Do I recognize that there are ‘normal/non-distinctive’ aspects to them? Yes, happily.
Do I think their differences justify the attention I/we are giving them? Yes, happily.
Are you trying to ascertain "how did your kid become so darn smart’ or some other question?
Numbers – thank you for your post. My “genetic-superior” comment was short-hand for those who have pointed to studies connecting intelligence to genetics. I’m sorry for coming across like I was challenging smart people. I was trying to make the point that I don’t think the IQ difference between otherwise normal children is manifest in real life (except on an IQ test). My kids have different IQs (about 10 point difference ), but I can’t tell by their actions/decisions that one has a higher IQ than the other. So I was hoping to learn an example of “the discernible differences” when identifying a kid who demonstrates above normal IQ. In the example of athletes, one can appreciate differences in height/weight, strength and speed. There are also races and competitions to separate the truly elite from the average. IQ is different because it is not manifest in obvious ways, especially not in ways that cannot be attributed to other non-genetic factors. In short, I’m trying to ascertain how parents know their kid is so darn smart (if not for the IQ score).
Your link had very insightful info. Predictably, janitors are at one end of the spectrum and doctors are at the other. But still, janitors and doctors overlap in IQs. I tend to still think that, excepting the rare genius and the intellectually disabled, the rest of us live up to “normal.”
The discernible differences that I was referring to are almost all in the academic sphere not in the long term life outcomes area which is what I think you are discussing. I need a few more years to see long term outcomes!
:)]
Under the most common systems, IQs have a standard deviation of 15 or 16 (the two most common measures use 15 and 16, some use different systems) points and a mean of 100. I’m not sure if you were under the impression that IQ is defined by some natural measure, but it’s not. They’re defined by the system that’s being used to measure. IQ is 100% relative.
We normally define Genius as 3 standard deviations from the norm, but I’ve also heard 3.33. If we go with 3 that means 0.135% of people are geniuses. If we go with 3.33 then 0.0434% of people are geniuses.
Commonly 1 standard deviation from the mean is the “normal” range. Though someone 2 standard deviations above the mean isn’t all that special really. But if you took someone 1 standard deviation below the mean and someone 1 standard deviation above I believe almost certainly if you talked to both of them for 20 minutes you’d easily be able to tell the difference between them. In terms of their abilities, someone who is one sd below the mean would struggle tremendously in the typical gamut of AP courses, while someone who is one sd above should be totally fine.
Well, the majority of Janitors and a large portion of Doctors (more than 25%, less than 50%, can’t tell more than that from the graphic) fall into “normal” so if nothing else that should show how vast a region “normal” is.