We've all seen
these people: the ones who get A's on every single math test, the contestants
on TV's popular "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Are they just born
naturally smart? While it is widely accepted that genetics plays an important
role in intelligence, you can't blame that C+ in geography entirely on your parents.
Your brain is like Arnold Schwartzenegger - he had the potential to be a champion
bodybuilder, but without the proper training and diet, he would have never won
the Mr. Universe title three times. Muscles and brains share a common bond: both
need to be exercised and stimulated constantly in order to reach and maintain
their full potential.
Numerous studies
on the role of genetics and the environment on intelligence have found that a
person's genetic data and surroundings both intertwine in affecting his or her
development of intelligence, especially in the younger stages of life. For instance,
in a study performed by psychologists and intelligence researchers, a number
of orphans diagnosed with mild learning disabilities were placed in a state institution
at a very early age. The children received extra stimulating playing and learning
environments as well as a bundle of individual attention and care. Most were
reported to grow up as self-supporting middle class adults with what we perceive
as "normal intelligence". Research has demonstrated that when the brain
is properly stimulated at an early age, its "plasticity" or flexibility
at this stage allows for intellectual growth.
