The Roots of Intelligence

THE  ROOTS OF INTELLIGENCE

We are, it seems, moving toward a mixed assessment of intelligence tests. On the one side, these tests do measure something important; but on the other side, there are important tal-ents and skills not tapped by these tests. Even so, the fact remains that these tests are widely used—by educators deciding which students to admit to a program and by employers deciding which applicants to hire. These are important matters, because these decisions obviously can have large-scale, long-term consequences for all involved. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the test scores have been the focus of fierce debate regarding whether the tests are valid and fair. A large part of this debate has focused on why someone scores the way they do—and more specifically, the role of genetics in shaping intelligence.