What makes one person more intelligent than the other.
What makes one person a genius, like Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone with nothing to do, they are likely to become dull and unintelligent.
Parents should also be careful what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did” or “You are such a smart child.”
HOW TO BRING UP A SUPERSTAR
Great talent has always been a mystery. Where does it come from? How does it grow? Recently, educational researcher at the University of Chicago B.Bloom, completed a five-year study of 120 superstars – Olympic champions, tennis players, concert pianists, sculptors, world-class mathematicians and scientists. Psychologists found out that superstars aren’t simply born – they are brought up that way. Their talents may differ, but their childhood experiences are similar.
Bloom says that the potential talent is more common than we think. The majority of children, if they are given the right conditions may learn anything. “Human potential,” he says, “is greater than we can measure in IQ or aptitude tests.” To find more about “the right conditions”, they chose individuals who were still young, mostly under 35, who had parents and teachers still living and able to tell their part of the story.
The influence of home on the superstar process is really big, but parents usually didn’t have a special plan – they did what they thought was good for children. One mother says how she left her baby’s pram by the tennis courts, while she and her husband played. “The ping of the tennis balls may be the first sound my daughter remembers hearing,” she laughs. He daughter grew up to be a tennis star.
Another mother recalls family trips to art museums. The son of the art lovers grew up to be a famous sculptor.
Bloom discovered that although those children showed their gifts at an early age, they were not considered prodigies. What those children did have beyond the basic physical and mental abilities, were caring parents. The earliest signs of a talent were quickly noticed and encouraged. In such small ways something extraordinary may begin. Parents praise or ignore an activity, and children respond.
A swimmer recalls that, as a little boy, he often watched his father doing carpentry. If a piece wasn’t done just right, his father would start all over again. The boy never forgot. Ten years later, in a room filled with silver trophy cups and Olympic medals, he told an interviewer, “My father taught me that if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”
The success didn’t come overnight. All of the superstars went through the same three stages. Stage one is a time of playfulness, of “falling in love” with a chosen activity. Next stage is the stage of technique. Then comes the stage of “making it your own”, when a personal style is developed.
The parents tried to give their children experiences that seemed right at each stage. To encourage the first flash of talent, the children were given lessons by a teacher who was “good to children”, not necessarily the best pianist or tennis player, but someone warm, quick to give praise. At the second stage the teacher was more demanding, he kept students working at a piece of music or a swimming stroke until it was right. The final teacher was master and model – an outstanding trainer of outstanding talents.
At every step of this process, the parents managed to find time, energy and money for the necessary lessons and equipment. Like most children, these young stars had to be reminded to practise. But a parent always sat with them. They cheered their children when they won and comforted them when they lost.
There is a talent hiding in almost every child, according to Bloom, and parents can develop it. And even if a child will not become a superstar, he will remain a lifelong lover of sport, music or intellectual activity. Is it worth time and energy?
BEAUTY ATTRACTS, BUT IT’S BRAINS THAT COUNT
It turns out that the best way to produce an intelligent son is to marry an intelligent woman, because the genes which carry intelligence are passed down through women rather than men. Shakespeare, Mozart, Einstein and Newton all owed their genius to their mothers.
According to Professor Gillian Turner, brain power is passed through the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes and men have one. The mutation of the intelligence gene in the X chromosome will influence men more strongly than women, as women have a second X chromosome to balance the first. This explains why there are more cases both of mental retardation and genius in men than women, says Professor Turner. Some people understood it long ago. For example, Judaism is passed down through the mother, not the father.
And certainly, geniuses throughout the ages were influenced by their mothers.
Charles Dickens’s grandmother was famous for her story-telling.
Pablo Picasso’s father was a rather mediocre painter. His mother Dona Maria Picasso was a different story: she had two painters among her ancestors.
Winston Churchill is another example. Recently published documents show that his adoration of his brilliant and sophisticated mother Jenny was the key to his later greatness.
Designer Yves Saint Luarent adored his mother: ”I have shared with her great moments of real happiness”.
Bill Gates inherited his brains from his mother who was a teacher.
Sigmund Freud analyzed his own passionate love for his mother Amalia. Recalling his childhood, he wrote: “A man who has been the indisputable favourite of his mother keeps for life the feeling of a conqueror, that confidence of success which often includes real success.”
DO MEN REALLY KNOW BEST?
Scientists proved that men are better at general knowledge than women. The reason, they say, is in the genes. Males are genetically programmed to retain factual knowledge because it is a skill they need to compete with other men for status and power.
Women, on the other hand, put greater value on understanding relationships and family life and feel less need to prove themselves publicly.
Professor Richard Lynn and Dr. Paul Irwing from the University of Ulster carried out two studies involving 1500 men and women. First they questioned students about six subjects: current affairs, health and recreation, art, science, family and fashion. They found that men did better in all subjects except family and fashion.
Dr. Irwing said: “Women are more people-oriented, men are more object-oriented and interested in the public world.”
However, in traditional exams such as A-levels, girls do better.
Research ay Edinburgh University showed that women underestimate themselves. The study of 502 women and 265 men showed that women estimated their IQ at 120 while men estimated themselves at 127.
“General knowledge isn’t about intelligence, it’s about having a fantastic memory, and I think women are good at it because they notice things around them more. But women aren’t as competitive as men. You don’t see as many women on things like “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” because they just don’t apply.”