No feature of the mind is as important, controversial, and mysterious as intelligence. It is one of the brain’s highest-order activities, allowing us to navigate the complexities of everyday life—thinking, remembering, planning, learning, organizing, solving problems, making snap judgments, and pondering difficult decisions. It is the epitome of brain function, and it has a powerful influence on success in life. And thanks to decades of research, we are closer than ever before to understanding it. Although many aspects of intelligence remain puzzling, researchers are now on their way to a detailed scientific explanation of what defines intelligence, where it comes from, and how it operates in the brain.

Few fields of psychology are as crucial to the lives of people or the social policies of nations. An understanding of how the brain produces intelligence sheds light on questions such as these: What’s right and what’s wrong with IQ tests? Can intelligence be measured directly from the brain? Can education or brain training enhance intelligence in children or adults? Is intelligence constrained by genes? What is the connection between intelligence and creativity? The answers to these questions help determine policy decisions in education, employment, health care, and other fields.

They also govern personal choices about how we want to lead our lives and raise our children. For example, is it realistic to gauge school success largely by rising test scores? Are everyday tools such as electronic devices unnecessarily complicated for most people to use? Or suppose a pill were available that could raise IQ. Would you take it? Would you allow your school-age children to take it?

About the Author

Richard J. Haier is an American psychologist best known for his work on the neural basis of human intelligence psychometrics, general intelligence, and sex and intelligence. Haier is currently a Professor Emeritus in the Pediatric Neurology Division of the School of Medicine at University of California, Irvine.

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