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Intelligence

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Three huge controversies have sparked recent debate in and beyond psychology. First is the “memory war,” over whether traumatic experiences are repressed and can later be recovered, with therapeutic benefit. The second great controversy is the “gender war,” over the extent to which nature and nurture shape our behaviors as men and women. In this chapter, we meet the “intelligence war”: Does each of us have an inborn general mental capacity (intelligence)? And can we quantify this capacity as a meaningful number?

School boards, courts, and scientists debate the use and fairness of tests that assess people’s mental abilities and assign them a score. Is intelligence testing a constructive way to guide people toward suitable opportunities? Or is it a potent, discriminatory weapon camouflaged as science? First, some basic questions:

This chapter offers answers, by identifying a variety of mental gifts and concluding that the recipe for high achievement blends talent and grit.

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