What Is Intelligence?: Beyond the Flynn Effect by Flynn, James R. (Hardcover)

Description: About this productProduct InformationAn expanded paperback edition of James R. Flynn's thought-provoking examination of dramatic increases in IQ gains over the twentieth century.Product IdentifiersPublisherCambridge University PressISBN-100521880076ISBN-139780521880077eBay Product ID (ePID)59092658Product Key FeaturesFormatHardcoverPublication Year2007LanguageEnglishDimensionsWeight19 OzWidth6.5in.Height0.9in.Length9.3in.Additional Product FeaturesDewey Edition22Table of ContentPreface to the expanded paperback edition; 1. A bombshell in a letter box; 2. Beyond the Flynn effect; 3. Towards a new theory of intelligence; 4. Testing the Dickens/Flynn model; 5. Why did it take so long?; 6. IQ gains can kill; 7. What if the gains are over?; 8. Knowing our ancestors; 9. The art of writing cognitive history; 10. About GUT: the grand unification theory of intelligence; 11. Howard Gardner and the use of words; Appendix I. Tables; Appendix II. Declaration in a capital case.IllustratedYesDewey Decimal153.9Age LevelTradeCopyright Date2009AuthorJames R. FlynnLc Classification NumberBf431 .F57 2007Reviews'In a brilliant interweaving of data and argument, Flynn calls into question fundamental assumptions about the nature of intelligence that have driven the field for the past century. There is something here for everyone to lose sleep over. His solution to the perplexing issues revolving around IQ gains over time will give the IQ Ayatollahs fits!' Professor S. J. Ceci, Cornell University, 'Flynn explores one of the most intriguing findings in the social and cognitive sciences. His brevity and lack of pretension belie the profundity of the phenomenon he discovered and the forces (whatever they turn out to be) that cause it.' Steven Pinker, NBCC's Good Reads, 'In What Is Intelligence? James R. Flynn â€¦ suggests that we should not faciley equate IQ gains with intelligence gains. He says that it's necessary to 'dissect intelligence' into its component parts: 'solving mathematical problems, interpreting the great works of literature, finding on the spot solutions, assimilating the scientific worldview, critical acumen and wisdom.' When this dissection is carried out, several paradoxes emerge, which Flynn in this engaging book attempts to reconcile.' Richard Restak, American Scholar, "...James Flynn is best known for having discovered a stubborn fact...he established that in every country where consistent IQ tests have been given to large numbers of people over time, scores have been rising as far back as the records go, in some cases to the early 20th century. What Is Intelligence? is Flynn's attempt to explain this phenomenon, now known as the Flynn effect... an important take on what we have made of ourselves over the past few centuries and might yet make of ourselves in the future." --Cosma Shalizi, Assistant Professor in the Statistics Department at Carnegie Mellon University and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute, American Scientist, "In a brilliant interweaving of data and argument, Flynn calls into question fundamental assumptions about the nature of intelligence that have driven the field for the past century. There is something here for everyone to lose sleep over. His solution to the perplexing issues revolving around IQ gains over time will give the IQ Ayatollahs fits!." --S. J. Ceci, Cornell University, "What Is Intelligence? is one of the best books I have read on intelligence-ever...This is a brilliant book because, first, it helps resolve paradoxes that, in the past, seemed not to lend themselves to any sensible solutions...one of the best things about the book is Flynn's sense of humility...this is a masterful book that will influence thinking about intelligence for many years to come. It is one of those few books for which one can truly say that it is must reading for anyone." --Robert J. Sternberg, PsycCRITIQUES, 'This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens/Flynn model of intelligence in the form of asking yet more provocative questions. â€¦ A most unusual book, one that holds the reader's attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.' Sir Michael Rutter, Kings College London, 'This book is a gold mine of pointers to interesting work, much of which was new to me. All of us who wrestle with the extraordinarily difficult questions about intelligence that Flynn discusses are in his debt.' Charles Murray, American Enterprise Institute and co-author of The Bell Curve, 'In What Is Intelligence? James R. Flynn ... suggests that we should not faciley equate IQ gains with intelligence gains. He says that it's necessary to 'dissect intelligence' into its component parts: 'solving mathematical problems, interpreting the great works of literature, finding on the spot solutions, assimilating the scientific worldview, critical acumen and wisdom.' When this dissection is carried out, several paradoxes emerge, which Flynn in this engaging book attempts to reconcile.' Richard Restak, American Scholar, 'There are relatively few eponymous effects in psychology, and the Flynn Effect is among the best known. Here we see James Flynn discussing fully the ramifications of his effect, from its implications for intelligence theory to its social impact, including the death penalty. But it's not just the fascinating effect, its much debated origins, or the headaches it provided to researchers in different areas of intelligence that make the book special. It's also Flynn's style. There's an unusual combination of clarity, wit (cognitive and humorous), apposite allusion, and farsightedness in making connections and exploring unexpected consequences of what was, originally, a boring-sounding fact: i.e., that mental tests had to be re-normed every so often. The Flynn Effect, in Flynn's hands, makes a good, gripping, puzzling, and not-quite-finished story.' Professor Ian J. Deary, University of Edinburgh, 'This book is full of insightful ideas about our measuring rods and the ways in which they tap the thing that matters: the brain's relative capacity to use memory and learning to adapt to the world as we have made it.' Times Higher Education Supplement, "Flynn provides the first satisfying explanation of the massive rise in IQ test scores. He avoids both the absurd conclusion that our great grandparents were all mentally retarded and the equally unsatisfactory suggestion that the rise has just been in performance on IQ tests without any wider implications.." N. J. Mackintosh, University of Cambridge, "It is not just the fascinating effect that makes the book special. It's also Flynn's style. There's an unusual combination of clarity, wit, apposite allusion, and farsightedness in making connections and exploring unexpected consequences. The Flynn effect, in Flynn's hands, makes a good, gripping, puzzling, and not-quite-finished story..." --Ian Deary, Edinburgh University, ...In this thoughtful, well-written book, Flynn offers an account of why the so-called Flynn effect occurs and what it means (and does not mean)....This is the clearest, most engaging work on intelligence....All will learn from the author's nuanced arguments. Some may quibble with Flynn's observations, but their work is cut for them: one cannot fault his clarity or ingenuity. Essential. --D.S. Dunn, Moravian College, CHOICE|9780521880077|, "In What is Intelligence? James R. Flynn...suggests that we should not faciley equate IQ gains with intelligence gains. He says that it's necessary to 'dissect intelligence' into its component parts: 'solving mathematical problems, interpreteing the great works of literature, finding on the spot solutions, assimilating the scientific worldview, critical acumen and wisdom.' When this dissection is carried out, several paradoxes emerge, which Flynn in this engaging book attempts to reconcile." --Richard Restak, American Scholar, 'The 'Flynn Effect’ (i.e. the rise in IQ over time) caught the imagination of most people, but also raised controversy through its challenging of several accepted ideas. This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens and Flynn model of intelligence, but does so in the form of asking yet more provocative questions, whilst simultaneously indicating how their hypotheses might be tested. It is essentially a book in which the originators of an important set of ideas think aloud and seek to get everyone else thinking critically and constructively. A most unusual book, but one that holds the reader’s attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.'Professor Sir Michael Rutter, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, "In a brilliant interweaving of data and argument, Flynn calls into question fundamental assumptions about the nature of intelligence that have driven the field for the past century. There is something here for everyone to lose sleep over. His solution to the perplexing issues revolving around IQ gains over time will give the IQ Ayatollahs fits!." S. J. Ceci, Cornell University, 'In a brilliant interweaving of data and argument, Flynn calls into question fundamental assumptions about the nature of intelligence that have driven the field for the past century. There is something here for everyone to lose sleep over. His solution to the perplexing issues revolving around IQ gains over time will give the IQ Ayatollahs fits!' S. J. Ceci, Cornell University, 'Mainstream IQ researchers, who are used to being demonized when they are not being ignored, admire Flynn, who is politically a man of the left, for his fairness, geniality, insight, and devotion to advancing knowledge.' Steve Sailor, vdare.com, '[Flynn's] book consists of a series of plainly stated statistical observations, in support of deceptively modest conclusions ... IQ measures not just the quality of a person's mind but the quality of the world that person lives in.' Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 'The 'Flynn Effect' (i.e. the rise in IQ over time) caught the imagination of most people, but also raised controversy through its challenging of several accepted ideas. This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens and Flynn model of intelligence, but does so in the form of asking yet more provocative questions, whilst simultaneously indicating how their hypotheses might be tested. It is essentially a book in which the originators of an important set of ideas think aloud and seek to get everyone else thinking critically and constructively. A most unusual book, but one that holds the reader's attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.' Professor Sir Michael Rutter, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, "Flynn is a cautious and careful writer. Unlike many others in I.Q. debates, he resists grand philosophizing. His books ("What Is Intelligence?") consist of a series of plainly stated statistical observations, in support of deceptively modest conclusions, and the evidence in support of Flynn's original observation is now so overwhelming that the Flynn effect has moved from theory to fact...average I.Q.s shift over time ought to create a "crisis of confidence," Flynn writes in "What Is Intelligence?", the latest attempt to puzzle through the implications of his discovery.The best way to understand why I.Q.s rise, Flynn argues, is to look at one of the most widely used I.Q. tests, the so-called WISC (for Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children)." --Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, "Flynn is a cautious and careful writer. Unlike many others in I.Q. debates, he resists grand philosophizing. His books ("What Is Intelligence?") consist of a series of plainly stated statistical observations, in support of deceptively modest conclusions, and the evidence in support of Flynn's original observation is now so overwhelming that the Flynn effect has moved from theory to fact...average I.Q.s shift over time ought to create a "crisis of confidence," Flynn writes in "What Is Intelligence?", the latest attempt to puzzle through the implications of his discovery.The best way to understand why I.Q.s rise, Flynn argues, is to look at one of the most widely used I.Q. tests, the so-called WISC (for Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children)." -Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 'Few topics are more important than the study of human intelligence - and few generate so much heat relative to light. James Flynn has been a saintly anomaly in this contentious debate. His latest book is a classic expression of the man - advancing a particular point of view, but committed to following the data, responding to criticism with reason and evidence, and unfailingly good-humored. All of us who wrestle with the extraordinarily difficult questions that he discusses are in his debt.' Charles Murray, Co-author with Richard Herrnstein of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (1994)., "Mainstream IQ researchers, who are used to being demonized when they are not being ignored, admire Flynn, who is politically a man of the left, for his fairness, geniality, insight, and devotion to advancing knowledge." - Steve Sailor, vdare.com, "This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens/Flynn model of intelligence in the form of asking yet more provocative questions. . . A most unusual book, one that holds the reader's attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.." Sir Michael Rutter, Kings College London, 'Flynn paints a dynamic picture of what intelligence is and has produced an impressively multidimensional and often wise look at the elusive topic of human intelligence.' Publisher's Weekly, "This book is a gold mine of pointers to interesting work, much of which was new to me. All of us who wrestle with the extraordinarily difficult questions about intelligence that Flynn discusses are in his debt.." --Charles Murray, American Enterprise Institute & co-author of The Bell Curve, "This book is a gold mine of pointers to interesting work, much of which was new to me. All of us who wrestle with the extraordinarily difficult questions about intelligence that Flynn discusses are in his debt.." Charles Murray, American Enterprise Institute & co-author of The Bell Curve, '[Flynn's] book consists of a series of plainly stated statistical observations, in support of deceptively modest conclusions â€¦ IQ measures not just the quality of a person's mind but the quality of the world that person lives in.' Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 'It is not just the fascinating effect that makes the book special. It's also Flynn's style. There's an unusual combination of clarity, wit, apposite allusion, and farsightedness in making connections and exploring unexpected consequences.' Ian Deary, Edinburgh University, 'Flynn provides the first satisfying explanation of the massive rise in IQ test scores. He avoids both the absurd conclusion that our great-grandparents were all mentally retarded and the equally unsatisfactory suggestion that the rise has just been in performance on IQ tests without any wider implications.' N. J. Mackintosh, University of Cambridge, "Citing many scholarly works, Flynn 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...he has produced an impressively multidimensional and often wise look at the elusive topic of human intelligence." --Publisher's Weekly, 'The 'Flynn Effect' (i.e. the rise in IQ over time) caught the imagination of most people, but also raised controversy through its challenging of several accepted ideas. This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens and Flynn model of intelligence, but does so in the form of asking yet more provocative questions, whilst simultaneously indicating how their hypotheses might be tested. It is essentially a book in which the originators of an important set of ideas think aloud and seek to get everyone else thinking critically and constructively. A most unusual book, but one that holds the reader's attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.' Professor Sir Michael Rutter, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, "Flynn provides the first satisfying explanation of the massive rise in IQ test scores. He avoids both the absurd conclusion that our great grandparents were all mentally retarded and the equally unsatisfactory suggestion that the rise has just been in performance on IQ tests without any wider implications.." --N. J. Mackintosh, University of Cambridge, 'Few topics are more important than the study of human intelligence - and few generate so much heat relative to light. James Flynn has been a saintly anomaly in this contentious debate. His latest book is a classic expression of the man - advancing a particular point of view, but committed to following the data, responding to criticism with reason and evidence, and unfailingly good-humored. All of us who wrestle with the extraordinarily difficult questions that he discusses are in his debt.' Charles Murray, Co-author with Richard Herrnstein of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (1994), "This highly engaging, and very readable, book takes forward the Dickens/Flynn model of intelligence in the form of asking yet more provocative questions. . . A most unusual book, one that holds the reader's attention and leaves behind concepts and ideas that force us to rethink all sorts of issues.." --Sir Michael Rutter, Kings College London, 'Flynn provides the first satisfying explanation of the massive rise in IQ test scores. He avoids both the absurd conclusion that our great grandparents were all mentally retarded and the equally unsatisfactory suggestion that the rise has just been in performance on IQ tests without any wider implications.' Professor N. J. Makintosh, University of Cambridge, "It is not just the fascinating effect that makes the book special. It's also Flynn's style. There's an unusual combination of clarity, wit, apposite allusion, and farsightedness in making connections and exploring unexpected consequences. The Flynn effect, in Flynn's hands, makes a good, gripping, puzzling, and not-quite-finished storyâ€¦" Ian Deary, Edinburgh University, "The 20th century saw the "Flynn Effect" - massive gains in IQ from one generation to another." --Scientific American Mind, 'A masterful book that will influence thinking about intelligence for many years to come.' Robert J. Sternberg, PsycCRITIQUES, "Mainstream IQ researchers, who are used to being demonized when they are not being ignored, admire Flynn, who is politically a man of the left, for his fairness, geniality, insight, and devotion to advancing knowledge." --Steve Sailor, vdare.comLccn2007-012361

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