Intelligence: Is it Inherited?
Intelligence: Is it Inherited? The great scientist Albert Einstein once said, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” One thing that many people pride themselves with possessing is intelligence. What really is intelligence? And where can it come from? Scientists are proving intelligence is not inherited, but it is affected by everything around someone. Not just ones environment, although that is a big contributor, but things such as heritage and the overall want to be intelligent. Intelligence is not an inherit trait, there are many factors that contribute to intelligence. One’s environment influences someone’s intelligence greatly. When one thinks about it, it makes a lot of sense. Take the scientist Gregor Mendel. He was born in a rural area to a poor family (“Mendel”). People probably did not think he would amount to anything. But they were very wrong. Only when a man came to their home and recommended them to move and to let Mendel attend a better school, was he educated to the degree at which we currently know. Another example is Leonardo da Vinci. He was an illegitimate child of a poor woman and a well off man. The mother thought it was in the best interest of the child that he should live with his father (“da Vinci”). He was then educated and apprenticed as an artist, though he also made many advances in science and engineering. A main reason environment is a big factor in intelligence is certain areas will not have the same resources available as another. This is a very bad thing in poor areas as far as the education of a child. The environment actually changes the brain based on specific adaptations (Requadt). The way someone’s environment affects them can also change one’s intelligence. Personal experience affects one’s intelligence. Intelligence is not a concrete thing as to where it comes from. Things that happen in someone’s life can contribute to their capacity for intelligence. Adolf Hitler, for example, moved to
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