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It has almost nothing to do with shared environment in the wealthy first world countries we study this in. But malnutrition, disease, and other factors can cer
by Symmetry 7y ago
It has almost nothing to do with shared environment in the wealthy first world countries we study this in. But malnutrition, disease, and other factors can certainly have large effects. The introduction of iodized salt in the US raised IQs by 10 points in certain areas where people's diets and water were sufficiently iodine-deficient.
- JoeAltmaier 7y agoAnd the 'free lunch program' raised public health/reduced malnutrition by a large factor when introduced in the US. Urban legend has it that the military mandated it because of poor WWII conscript health, but free lunch predated that by 50 years. It was a federal act only after WWII because of scarcity and the decline of local programs.
- eloff 7y agoYes, that's an excellent point. The socioeconomic status of your parents is a big influence up to a point. In developed counties we don't see this effect as much because it's the baseline. Almost everybody gets sufficient nutrition and medical care to meet the very low standards where it would otherwise negatively affect your intelligence and development.