An Intelligence Question

James Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of  Otago and moral philosopher, says human intelligence has improved over the last century, rather than declined as was widely thought. “But,” Flynn says, “we have to rethink exactly what we mean by intelligence. For what the IQ gains really give us is a cultural history of the 20th century and an insight into the gulf that separates our minds from those of our ancestors.” Flynn estimates that genetic advantage in individuals accounts for 25 per cent of the variation in intelligence scores, and that the rest is determined by environment. But he goes further to suggest that the environment acts as a kind of echo chamber for genetic endowment, so that such advantage as exists is amplified by social conditions. Flynn’s 2007 book What is Intelligence? “Paints a dynamic picture of what intelligence is and the role of a person’s genetic background, physiology and neurology, immediate environment and broader social factors.”