In the Know

Introduction; Section 1. The Nature of Intelligence: 1. Intelligence is whatever collection of tasks a psychologist puts on a test; 2. Intelligence is too complex to summarize with one number; 3. IQ does not correspond to brain anatomy or functioning; 4. Intelligence is a western concept that does not apply to non-western cultures; 5. There are multiple intelligences in the human mind; 6. Practical intelligence is a real ability, separate from general intelligence; Section 2. Measuring Intelligence: 7. Measuring intelligence is difficult; 8. Content of intelligence tests is trivial and cannot measure intelligence; 9. Intelligence tests are imperfect and cannot be used or trusted; 10. Intelligence tests are biased against diverse populations; Section 3. Influences on Intelligence: 11. IQ only reflects a person's socioeconomic status; 12. High heritability for intelligence means that raising IQ is impossible; 13. Genes are not important for determining intelligence; 14. Environmentally driven changes in IQ mean that intelligence is malleable; 15. Social interventions can drastically raise IQ; 16. Brain-training programs can raise IQ; 17. Improvability of IQ means intelligence can be equalized; Section 4. Intelligence and Education: 18. Every child is gifted; 19. Effective schools can make every child academically proficient; 20. Non-cognitive variables have powerful effects on academic achievement; 21. Admissions tests are a barrier to college for underrepresented students; Section 5. Life Consequences of Intelligence: 22. IQ scores only measure how good someone is at taking tests; 23. Intelligence is not important in the workplace; 24. Intelligence tests are designed to create or perpetuate a false meritocracy; 25. Very high intelligence is not more beneficial than moderately high intelligence; 26. Emotional intelligence is a real ability that is helpful in life; Section 6. Demographic Group Differences: 27 Males and females have the same distribution of IQ scores; 28. Racial/ethnic group IQ differences are completely environmental in origin; 29. Unique influences operate on one group's intelligence test scores; 30. Stereotype threat explains score gaps among demographic groups; Section 7. Societal and Ethical Issues: 31. Controversial or unpopular ideas should be held to a higher standard of evidence; 32. Past controversies taint modern research on intelligence; 33. Intelligence research leads to negative social policies; 34. Intelligence research undermines the fight against inequality; 35. Everyone is about as smart as I am; Conclusion.