• Question: Why are some of us more intelligent than others? Is it just the way it is, or is there some kind of explanation?

    Asked by issiphee1 to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      Intelligence is a funny thing, and a subject that is under intense research. It is very hard to define what intelligence is, and there are big problems with trying to measure it. The IQ test is flawed, but it is one of the best measures we have.

      Intelligence is a mixture of genetics and experience. We can get a feel of how important each of these factors is by looking at twins. Identical twins have the same genes, non-identical twins share a lot of genes, adopted children are usually unrelated. Furthermore, twins can be raised together, and share an environment, or they can be raised apart and have different environments. Twins share the same conditions in the womb and non-twin siblings don’t.

      Now, when scientists chop up IQ data to see how much it varies in these different catagories, they come to the surprising conclusion that at least 50% of you intelligence can be attributed to genetics, about 25% can be attributed to conditions in the womb, and the remainder is due to upbringing.

      So, in answer to your question, more often than not, the reason some people are more intelligent that others is because they were born that way.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      It’s not clear exactly what the basis for intelligence is. But it’s all to do with your brain and how it’s wired up, and in the same way that people have different hair colours, different heights etc, people’s brains are different. A large part of that difference is genetic, but environmental factors can also affect it.

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