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> This, we might say, is a matter of environment; intelligence is a matter of heredity. Sometimes I think we're better off ignoring this premise because people

> This, we might say, is a matter of environment; intelligence is a matter of heredity. Sometimes I think we're better off ignoring this premise because people, irrespective of how much potential they've, will kill themselves in self-doubt over whether they've won the genetic lottery. When I started programming, I had constant worry if I was made for programming—if I had "the right stuff" for it. Now, in the hindsight, that question just sounds silly. Everyone has a knack for programming, it just takes an effort.

alexanderdmitri 9y ago
I agree. It's really strange that so many people think IQ or intelligence is some sort of fixed value. There are definitely people that seem to come out of the gate at a faster gait while others have serious handicaps to deal with, but as a general rule if you assert you are not smart enough to understand something, you're kind of asserting you understand it to the extent that you can claim you won't be able to get it ... which doesn't make sense. Also, here's a great article that explores the idea of IQ: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2009/07/the-truth-about-iq/22260/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2009/07/the-tru...
jcmoscon 9y ago
We can gain "lots" of intelligence by reading good books that forces your intellect like Logical Investigations from Edmund Husselr: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/312739.Logical_Investigations_Vol_1 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/312739.Logical_Investiga...
SerLava 9y ago
The other strange thing is that people think about this stuff in the most mundane of situations. If there's an impassable genetic predisposition to intelligence, it's preventing you from becoming Einstein - not, you know, a mid level programmer at a mobile app studio.
j7ake 9y ago
I agree, the only profession that is worth considering whether you hit the genetic lottery would be theoretical physics or pure mathematics and other similar fields.

alexanderdmitri 9y ago

I agree. It's really strange that so many people think IQ or intelligence is some sort of fixed value. There are definitely people that seem to come out of the gate at a faster gait while others have serious handicaps to deal with, but as a general rule if you assert you are not smart enough to understand something, you're kind of asserting you understand it to the extent that you can claim you won't be able to get it ... which doesn't make sense. Also, here's a great article that explores the idea of IQ: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2009/07/the-truth-about-iq/22260/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2009/07/the-tru...

jcmoscon 9y ago

We can gain "lots" of intelligence by reading good books that forces your intellect like Logical Investigations from Edmund Husselr: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/312739.Logical_Investigations_Vol_1 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/312739.Logical_Investiga...

SerLava 9y ago

The other strange thing is that people think about this stuff in the most mundane of situations. If there's an impassable genetic predisposition to intelligence, it's preventing you from becoming Einstein - not, you know, a mid level programmer at a mobile app studio.

j7ake 9y ago

I agree, the only profession that is worth considering whether you hit the genetic lottery would be theoretical physics or pure mathematics and other similar fields.