From: "N E M" To: "JE Jail" <[email protected]> Subject: Rich vs Poor IQ Date: Sun, 10 May 2009 15:31:13 +0000 How to Raise Our I.Q. By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Published: April 15. 2009 Poor people have I.Q.'s significantly lower than those of rich people, and the awkward conventional wisdom has been that this is in large part a function of genetics. Fred R. CorwadiThe New YOtk Tme Nicholas D. Kristof On the Ground Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels. Go to Blog * Go to Columnist Page * Related Times Topics: Intelligence Readers' Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Read All Comments (211) After all, a series of studies seemed to indicate that I.Q. is largely inherited. Identical twins raised apart, for example, have I.Q.'s that are remarkably similar. They are even closer on average than those of fraternal twins who grow up together. COMMENTS(211) SIGN IN TO E-MAIL PRINT SHARE p j Artide If intelligence were deeply encoded in our genes, that would lead to the depressing conclusion that neither schooling nor antipoverty programs can accomplish much. Yet while this view of I.Q. as overwhelmingly inherited has been widely held, the evidence is growing that it is, at a practical level, profoundly wrong. Richard Nisbett, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has just demolished this view in a superb new book, "Intelligence and How to Get It," which also offers terrific advice for addressing poverty and inequality in America. Professor Nisbett provides suggestions for transforming your own urchins into geniuses — praise effort more than achievement, teach delayed gratification, limit reprimands and use praise to stimulate curiosity — but focuses on how to raise America's collective I.Q. That's important, because while I.Q. doesn't measure pure intellect — we're not certain exactly what it does measure — differences do matter, and a higher I.Q.