Maybe it is just confirmation bias, but I keep running into stuff that suggests that IQ is not immutable. The latest article titled Telltale Signs You’re Much Smarter Than Average seems to reinforce that point. It was interesting that there were things over which a person has little control like left handedness and propensity for anxiety, whether they come from nature or nurture, are indicators of intelligence. But more so, that things that parents can do for their kids like give them music lessons and teach them to read at an early age are big indicators of high intelligence. I have always believed that children learn to read when they get interested in reading, but I also believe a parent can have a big influence over when their kids get interested by reading to them a lot, by turning the learning process into a game and by just being enthusiastic about it. Also, it was very interesting that the indicator of high IQ was NOT whether the kid was musically talented or not. Rather, it was whether they received consistent musical training. The kid being a class clown thing–who knows how that plays in and/or whether it is something that can be taught. In our case, it we worked hard to teach our kids NOT to be funny in class. 🙂
