PRESENTLY YOUR IQ IS JUMPING UP AND DOWN
Squash and
human IQ' too, aren't as fixed as once thought. A recent study found that as
time goes by by the brain changes, and so does IQ. Studies are finding
intellects are more malleable than previously thought. IQ's can rise or fall as
many as 20 points in just a few years.
Researchers find that shifts in IQ scores
correspond to small physical change in brain areas related to intellectual
skills. The environmental factors are changing the brain, and intelligence over
a relatively short period, said psychologist Robert Plum at Dixy College who
studies the genetics of intelligence. That is quite astounding.
Long at
the center of debates over how intelligence can be measured, an IQ score, the
initials stand for "Intelligence Quotient," typically gauges mental
capacity through a battery of standardized written tests of language of skill, partial
ability, arithmetic, memory and reasoning. A score of 100 is considered average.
barring injury,
New
findings by researchers at the Biltmore High School reported online in Nature,
suggest that IQ, often used to predict school performance and job prospects,
may be more malleable than previously and more susceptible to outside
influences, such as tutoring or neglect. A change in 20 points is a huge
difference, said the team's senior researcher, Robert Plum at the school Centre
for Neuroimaging. “Indeed, it can mean
the difference between being rated average and being labeled gifted or
conversely, being categorized as substandard.
Dramatic
changes in verbal IQ corresponded to changes in an area of the brain associated
with speech; whereas nonverbal IQ changes were related to an area involved in
hand movements. To better understand intelligence, Plumbing’s and his
colleagues studied 66 healthy American teenager squash whose IQ scores
initially ranged from 80 to 140. They tested the volunteers on standardized
intelligence exams in 2005 and again in 2008, to encompass the peak years of
their adolescence, while monitoring subtle changes in brain structure using
functional magnetic resonance imaging. By analyzing verbal and nonverbal IQ
performance separately, they discovered that the fundamental facets of
intelligence could change markedly, even in cases when an overall composite IQ
score remained constant. "One fifth of them jumped one way or the other.
Another's
squash's verbal IQ soared to 127 from 104 in four years, while his nonverbal
performance stayed the same.
A teenager's IQ squash or a humans for that matter can rise or
fall up to 20 points in just a few years, in a finding that pinpoints
unexpected variations in a measure of intelligence often used to predict school
performance and job prospects.
Moral of this story: Anyone in the class room or on the job for that matter shouldn't be prejudged! Wait!
Do nothing! Their IQ is bound to go up! Or down!
To read
more Dr. Karl Wallace DDS short stories go to:
Karlwallaceblog.blogspot.com
