Posted on 12/22/2015 4:43:59 AM PST by SkyPilot
Imperial College London has found that two networks of genes determine whether people are intelligent or not so bright.
Genes which make people intelligent have been discovered and scientists believe they could be manipulated to boost brain power.
Researchers have believed for some time that intellect is inherited with studies suggesting that up to 75 per cent of IQ is genetic, and the rest down to environmental factors such as schooling and friendship groups.
But until now, nobody has been able to pin-point exactly which genes are responsible for better memory, attention, processing speed or reasoning skills. Now Imperial College London has found that two networks of genes determine whether people are intelligent or not-so-bright.
They liken the gene network to a football team. When all the players are in the right positions, the brain appears to function optimally, leading to clarity of thought and what we think of as quickness or cleverness.
However when the genes are mutated or in the wrong order, it can lead to dullness of thinking, or even serious cognitive impairments.
Scientists believe that there must be a 'master switch' regulating the networks and if they could find it, they could 'switch on' intelligence for everyone.
"We know that genetics plays a major role in intelligence but until now havenât known which genes are relevant," said Dr Michael Johnson, lead author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College.
"This research highlights some of genes involved in human intelligence, and how they interact with each other."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Graphic makes no sense - Australia, Denmark, France, and Mongolia are wealthier than the US, but all have the same 98 IQ?
The left is always accusing US of being anti science.
Lets see how much they accept this science.
I’ve often wondered about these IQ measurements vs. race etc. Specifically, I wonder if IQ tests perhaps measure problem solving of a particular sort and that perhaps the variations in results are really because people of different races solve problems in different ways. Your thoughts?
“society has come to place too high a value on intellectual acumen”
Uhh, WHERE?! All I see is the fawning over HWood, athletes and the boobs on the boob tube.
Please direct me where you see great time, $$$ and mentality is given to a teacher, scientist, etc. instead of knowing, on a dime, every stat for the XYZ team.
Sorry, but last I’ve seen Michael Vick was given a standing O when returning to the field.
What was the question again?
yes.... The problem of staying alive in cold climates
LOL!
"And so you have..."
I don't know about the part of it being a gift from God, but I don't want to get into any long drawn out arguments about it though, other then to say there will be many individuals that when they reach the judgement seat of God they will be sent to hell because they did not have saving faith in Jesus Christ which is a gift from God. Having just said what I just said can't see intellect as being a gift from God, maybe a blessing but I have a tendency to not even believe that.
If it is a blessing it probably is more of a blessing that is giving indirectly to many individuals through the medium of one individual. Basically God using one individual(that really isn't blessed) to bless others down the line of history that are part of a greater or real blessing. I would like to get into my reasoning more but I think I will leave it at my short comment or feeble attempt to explain my thoughts on the subject at hand, and hope some one understands what I'm trying to say.
A fellow on some thread (I think it was the Politico site) posted a comment to some article a few weeks back.
He lamented the state of the United States white male. He said something like:
'I am disgusted by my fellow white guys at work and in my neighborhood. All they do is obsess on sports, giving their hard earned dollars to make little Trayvons rich, memorizing and spewing out useless statistics, and playing "fantasy" sports for months on end. They argue incessantly about how games would be won if people only listened to their intimate knowledge of every player and every game. It is beyond a waste of time. Meanwhile, their companies, families, and nation are crumbling around them.'
Yes, "gift" might not be the word. Ability might be a better term.
"Blessing" is a whole different matter - one of profound and eternal significance. I think you and I understand that difference.
What amazes me is that when I read the entire Old Testament last year, God made very distinct references to races, peoples, and nations. He knew the differences quite clearly, and I just don't mean racially. He made the races! But He would reference certain nations as being wicked in their practices and attitudes.
At today's colleges and universities, God would be charged with "hate crimes", assigned reeducation, made to sign a speech code pact, and face expulsion.
Jesus Christ changed human history. ALL are welcome at His table, through the redemption of His sacrifice. People of a race different than mine, who have accepted Christ, are more my brother or sister than members of my own family who have not! And that is the spiritual reality.
If I lined up my previous fellow high school and university classmates through the years (who I knew quite well), ranked them in my own mind by what I witnessed in terms of their academic success, and compared that with what I knew their IQ test and standardized test scores to be (including SAT, GRE, GMAT, and PE exams), then the correlation was pretty much dead on.
That is true. Among my secular family and friends, academic credentials are their equivalent of salvation. I am not joking.
I have a relative who is near the end of his very high powered career. He has an ivy league MBA, has been very financially successful, and has owned several businesses.
His children all have ivy league masters degrees, and now all have their own high powered careers.
Our children were all together for a family gathering, and he noticed that my children demonstrated a profound Christian faith.
Privately, he took me aside and told me how much he admired my wife and I for raising them in a Christian home. He is not a man of deep faith, and he he said his one regret (now that his children are grown adults) is that he did not raise them with a love for God.
Hence my dad's phrase "Book Smart and Common Sense Dumb."
Aw, sh!t. You had to go point out I was on the same mental track as someone posting on Politico?!
Thanks. Thanks a LOT, ‘FRiend’ /s
A friend’s father called them *college educated idiots*.
Plenty of people I know, including most of my family.
There’s also the emphasis in schools on college. Pretty much gone are the days of building trades, auto mechanics, and other trades.
Now if you want even a chance at a decent job, you have to have at least a BA and even that isn’t good enough. Now, since so many people have finished college, a masters is the thing to have.
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