Page 74 - Biblical Counseling II

Intelligence

Connect…

Read the following stories about intelligence:

“Albert Einstein didn't speak until he was four years old. Einstein didn't have the best childhood. In fact,
many people thought he was just a dud [useless]. He never spoke for the first three years of his life, and
throughout elementary school, many of his teachers thought he was lazy and wouldn't make anything of
himself. He always received good marks, but his head was in the clouds, conjuring up abstract questions
people couldn't understand. But he kept thinking and, well, he eventually developed the theory of relativity,
which many of us still can't wrap our heads around” (Jacques, p. 1, 2017).

“Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before creating the lightbulb.
Although the exact number of tries has been debated, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 attempts, it's safe to say
Edison tried and failed a whole lot before he successfully created his beacon of light. His response to his
repeated failures? ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work’” (Jacques, p. 2, 2017).

“Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at age ten. Franklin's parents could only afford to keep him in
school until his tenth birthday. That didn't stop the great man from pursuing his education. He taught himself
through voracious reading, and eventually went on to invent the lightning rod and bifocals” (Jacques, p. 2,
2017).

The Lesson ...

Introduction to Intelligence

What is intelligence? To what extent does it result from heredity rather than environment?

“Intelligence is a socially constructed concept: Cultures decide what is 'intelligent' as whatever is successful
in those cultures. In the Amazon rain forest, intelligence may be understanding the medicinal qualities of
local plants; in a United States high school, it may be superior performance on tests. In each context,
intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new
situations. In research studies, intelligence is what intelligence tests measure. Historically, that has been the
sort of problem solving displayed as ‘school smarts’“ (Myers, p. 219, 2009).

“Charles Spearman believed we have one general intelligence (g): a general intelligence factor that,
according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every
task on an intelligence test. He granted that people often have special abilities that stand out. Spearman had
helped develop factor analysis, a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items. He had noted
that those who score high in one area, such as verbal intelligence, typically score higher than average in
other areas, such as reasoning ability. Spearman believed a common skill set, the g factor, underlies all of our
intelligent behavior, from navigating the sea to excelling in school.

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