[Interesting apropos Carl R's post on dumbing down, kid's IQs are actually going up. But what that means is debatable; Flynn's comments below are straightforward and interesting.]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-iq27oct27,1,1288050.story?track=rss
October 27, 2007
Los Angeles Times
Q & A
IQs rise, but are children really smarter?
An expert says scores are higher because more people view the world
through scientific spectacles.
By Denise Gellene
Staff Writer
James R. Flynn, an emeritus professor of political science at the
University of Otaga in New Zealand, discovered two decades ago that IQ
test scores were steadily rising in the developed world despite failing
schools and stagnant standardized test scores -- a phenomenon called
the "Flynn effect." During a recent visit to UCLA, Flynn talked about
the conundrum, which is the subject of his new book, "What Is
Intelligence?"
Q: Are children today smarter than their parents?
A: I don't think they are smarter if by that you mean they have better
brains. They think better on their feet; they can solve problems on the
spot without being told what to do; they are better at working with
shapes, thanks in part to the Internet and the computer. But they have
no larger vocabularies and are no better at arithmetic.
Q: So why are their IQs higher than those of their parents and
grandparents?
A: The people who invented IQ tests saw the world through scientific
spectacles. They were interested in logical reasoning. But generations
ago people were very utilitarian. If you asked a person in 1900 what a
dog and rabbit had in common, they would say you could use a dog to
hunt rabbits. Today you would say they both are mammals. That is
shorthand for a lot of insight. That may seem trivial, but classifying
the world is prerequisite to understanding it scientifically.
Q: You are referring to the portion of the IQ test that measures the
ability to determine similarities?
A: Yes. And if you say "Mammals," you get two points, and if you say
"Dogs hunt rabbits," you get none. The score on this portion of the
test has gone up 24 points in America since 1947.
Q: Do you think there is something wrong with the way IQ is assessed?
A: The people who designed the test thought they were measuring
intelligence, but they were actually measuring a mix of intelligence
and a way of looking at the world. They looked at the world through
scientific spectacles, and it took a long time for the average person
to slowly take on that perspective.
Q: What caused scientific thinking to go mainstream?
A: It permeates everything. I think some events were people moving into
managerial and technical work and needing to think on their feet; not
being so exhausted from manual labor so that you can be intellectually
challenged in your leisure, and play chess or bridge. A reduction in
family size allowed parents to spend more time with their children.
Q: It seems odd that IQ scores are up while scores on other
standardized tests are not.
A: If you look at the PSAT, which is given to juniors in high school,
the scores are stable and are not going up with IQ. The PSAT has lagged
IQ because it tests reading and general arithmetic.
Q: Wouldn't we be better off if children were better at reading and
math?
A: Yes, we would. But you have to teach for that. You have to hire people
who can actually teach math. It's not a cheap fix. You have to make it
a national priority. The invention of computer games has made thinking
spatially and reasoning logically an automatic social priority. We have
never made pouring money into schools to make sure kids were better
educated a national priority.
Q: What good might come from the skills driving IQ gains?
A: Better executive performance -- solving business problems on your
feet rather than running to the boss for help, or trying to remember
what you did the last time you were in an analogous situation.
Q: What's your IQ?
A: I've never been told the score. I know it's high because when I was
in grade school the teachers approached my parents and told them I was
very bright and should go to college.
Q: You were born and raised in the United States, but in 1963 you went to
live in New Zealand. Why?
A: The American Cold War was very oppressive, and I had gotten bounced
from a couple academic posts. McCarthyism was winding down and I was a
democratic socialist, which was very taboo. I was tired of getting
fired and wanted a somewhat less hysterical atmosphere. I was a
political science professor, and that gave me a strong interest in race
and group differences and things like that, and that led to my interest
in IQ.
Q: Do you think IQ scores will continue to rise?
A: I think the gains will slow down in the developed world because the
things that fueled them are running out of gas. For example, most of us
have on scientific spectacles now. IQ gains have stopped in
Scandinavia. America and Britain are next. It may take another 10 to 15
years.
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times