The politics of IQ? Smart bombs and the nature versus nurture 'wars'...

I came across this incredibly thought provoking, and detail filled, post on the relationship between IQ and power, a discussion of the debate between those who advocate nature as more powerful than nurture, and of course those who propose the contrary view.

In the light of what I have been reading recently (Malcom Gladwell's Outliers and Zachary Shore's Blunder) this has brought an entirely fresh perspective on the complexity of the relationship between individual identity and ability, and the complexity of social forces (particularly as they relate to success and power). For example, persons with a high IQ don't necessarily become successful - some are extremely intelligent in a linear sense, but lack the basic social graces and abilities to establish meaningful relationships. Of course the reality is that very little in life happens without being able to do it with others, or because of their favour, help and grace. Conversely, there are some persons who do not have a very high IQ, but understand that applying certain types of force and social pressure can lead to certain results (like many criminal minds who use force and domination to achieve their objectives). I have worked with a few persons like this in the past! I am astounded that they manage to achieve as much as they do their sheer force and power! Yet, they understand where the pressure points are in society and act upon them. Fear is a very powerful motivator, sometimes even more powerful than insight or knowledge! Am I right?

Anyway, for those who are interested here's a great post on this subject (and others). Please do let me know what you think! I would love to hear your insights on the relationship between IQ and EQ (and of course SQ for those who are aware of it)...

In February, 2009, I approached Steven Pinker, a deep thinker about linguistics and cognitive science who fishes where the two streams flow together, with a request for an interview. I was on assignment for the cultural studies journal Cabinet, writing a personal essay that would intertwine my own fraught relationship to the notion of intelligence with a historically informed critique of the cultural politics of the IQ test, specifically the Stanford-Binet and its successor the Wechsler.

A professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University (until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT), Pinker has popularized his theories of language and cognition through articles in the popular press and via critically acclaimed books such as The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, Words and Rules, and The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. The furthest thing from a vulgar Darwinian---he rejects the term "genetic determinism"as a social-constructionist slur---Pinker is nonetheless a vigorous opponent of what he contends is the ideologically inspired insistence (often from the academic left, he maintains, and typically from those in the humanities rather than the hard sciences) that we are exclusively products of cultural influences, rather than, as he puts it, "an evolutionarily shaped human nature."In his popular critique of this assumption, The Blank Slate, he takes up the sword for evolutionary psychology, behavioral genetics, and cognitive science against social constructionism.

Exhaustively knowledgeable about the science of cognition, and a foeman who gives as good as he gets (if not better) in the nature-versus-nurture culture wars, Pinker seemed the perfect foil for some of my ideas about the IQ test. Thus, I was delighted when he agreed to an informal e-mail exchange that lasted through much of February and into early March. I was equally chagrined when I had to inform him that his thoughtfully considered, sharply argued quotes didn't make it into my published essay. Happily, my guestblogger stint offered the perfect solution: publish our spirited exchange as a Boing Boing exclusive. I owe Professor Pinker a debt of gratitude for allowing me to publish our interview on Boing Boing. I'm very much the beneficiary of his deeply insightful, eloquently argued ideas; the privilege of sharpening my ideas on the whetstone of his intellect is a rare one, and I'm delighted to share that opportunity with Boing Boing's readers...

Continue reading Smart Bombs: Mark Dery, Steven Pinker on the Nature-Nurture Wars and the Politics of IQ.

Another great story from BoingBoing.