I am reading a book Bring Up Genius (mentioned at SSC recently), and I am confused. I am still in the first part of the book, but seems like the author is alternating between “every healthy child can become a genius if educated properly” and describing reseach and observation of high-IQ children, without ever acknowledging the difference between “every” and “high-IQ”. I am trying to write a summary for LW, but I fail to make a coherent explanation.
When I try hard, I could make a consistent hypothesis like: the behavior of high-IQ children gives us hints on the direction we should try to move all children; and the spectacular failures of educational system with regards to high-IQ children are an evidence that the education may be failing the average children in a similar way, only less visibly—but here I suspect I am simply making up my own stuff instead of explaining the author’s view. I suspect the author may have believed that IQ is largely determined by nurture, but he doesn’t directly say or deny this; it’s just a position I can imagine that would make the rest of the book sound coherently. (But it is obviously wrong.) A less charitable explanation is that the author simply didn’t see high IQ as a privilege, because within his family it was a norm. But that would make his lessons less universal. Although still useful for e.g. the folks at Less Wrong.
Anyone else reading the book? Unfortunately, I can’t find an English version; I am currently reading Eduku Geniulon in Esperanto, uhm, here.
I am reading a book Bring Up Genius (mentioned at SSC recently), and I am confused. I am still in the first part of the book, but seems like the author is alternating between “every healthy child can become a genius if educated properly” and describing reseach and observation of high-IQ children, without ever acknowledging the difference between “every” and “high-IQ”. I am trying to write a summary for LW, but I fail to make a coherent explanation.
When I try hard, I could make a consistent hypothesis like: the behavior of high-IQ children gives us hints on the direction we should try to move all children; and the spectacular failures of educational system with regards to high-IQ children are an evidence that the education may be failing the average children in a similar way, only less visibly—but here I suspect I am simply making up my own stuff instead of explaining the author’s view. I suspect the author may have believed that IQ is largely determined by nurture, but he doesn’t directly say or deny this; it’s just a position I can imagine that would make the rest of the book sound coherently. (But it is obviously wrong.) A less charitable explanation is that the author simply didn’t see high IQ as a privilege, because within his family it was a norm. But that would make his lessons less universal. Although still useful for e.g. the folks at Less Wrong.
Anyone else reading the book? Unfortunately, I can’t find an English version; I am currently reading Eduku Geniulon in Esperanto, uhm, here.