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Is intelligence genetically determined? You might think so, if you saw the headline-grabbing report from UK education advisor Dominic Cummings. The 240-page essay was a parting gift to his boss, education minister Michael Gove. In claiming that educational ability is largely inherited, he reignited an old controversy that many thought had been put to rest.
The heritability claim depends on two assumptions: that we can define and measure intelligence; and that we can unpick the contributions of genes and environment.
Attempts to measure intelligence stretch back to early last century, when the French psychologist Alfred Binet devised a series of tests for schoolchildren of different ages, to help teachers identify those who could benefit from extra help. Defining the average score for each age as 100, he then compared the performance of each child with the average for their age group to calculate the child's Intelligence Quotient, or IQ.
By the 1920s, however, tests had been developed for adults and their purpose had changed. They were now believed to provide a fixed measure by which a person's capacity could be...
The heritability claim depends on two assumptions: that we can define and measure intelligence; and that we can unpick the contributions of genes and environment.
Attempts to measure intelligence stretch back to early last century, when the French psychologist Alfred Binet devised a series of tests for schoolchildren of different ages, to help teachers identify those who could benefit from extra help. Defining the average score for each age as 100, he then compared the performance of each child with the average for their age group to calculate the child's Intelligence Quotient, or IQ.
By the 1920s, however, tests had been developed for adults and their purpose had changed. They were now believed to provide a fixed measure by which a person's capacity could be...