re: Some thoughts on IQ

quote:

---

Thanks for taking the time.

---

It was my pleasure.
I learned a lot on this trip down the rabbit hole.

it really makes me look at the difference between American and Chinese IQs as a blip in a sea of volatility.

It did really sink in for me, just how much is set at birth, but also how it can swing wildly off base.

A lot of the floor ones can be recovered as well and some damage can be recovered, which was interesting.

quote:

---

Emphasis on Unstructured and Imaginative Play:
Impact: While physical activity is important, the type of play matters. Unstructured, imaginative, and open-ended play (e.g., building with blocks, dramatic play, creating imaginary worlds) is vital for cognitive development.
Estimated Change: Prioritizing ample unstructured, imaginative play can contribute +3 to +7 IQ points by developing crucial executive functions and fostering flexible thinking.

---

NCLB all but put an end to this in public schools. I send my kids to a school that uses the International Baccalaureate curriculum. It’s very play based for younger grades which is much more effective at yielding long term academic gains than having kindergartners write paragraphs.

quote:

---

Take the easy wins that appear.

---

This is what I'm seeing. Some of these things are probably big problems in lower SES homes but don't have to be and wouldn't even require much effort.

Narax should aggregate this and get it to RFKJr and tell him to Make America Intelligent again.

quote:

---

Narax should aggregate this and get it to RFKJr and tell him to Make America Intelligent again.

---

For something a lot more AI-centric (I used Gemini to help compile the data for the various studies on IQ impacting studies)

I asked it to wade into the school choice as a potential impact on IQ.
Knowing that there are very few studies that are comprehensive enough to cover the full section of school choice in America.
But such gathering of crumbs with the risk of hallucination present I thought was worth the risk, since unlike simple single cause factors coming out of studies, there is no easy way to rank primary and secondary schools.

Rank 1: Preparatory Schools
(Subset of Private Schools)
Description: Highly selective private schools explicitly designed for rigorous college preparation.
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +20 to +30+ IQ points. (Exceptional intellectual environment, highly challenging curriculum, small class sizes, highly qualified teachers, rich resources, ambitious peer group, unparalleled individual attention.)
Typical: +15 to +25 IQ points. (Consistently excellent academic rigor, strong support for cognitive growth, broad exposure to complex subjects and ideas.)
Lower Bound: +10 to +15 IQ points. (Even at their least effective, due to selectivity and resources, they rarely fall into severe neglect; the floor is still robust compared to general averages, but might not maximize every student's potential within their demanding environment.)

Rank 2: Magnet Schools
(Specialized Public Schools)
Description: Public schools with specialized themes (e.g., STEM, arts, IB) often requiring selective admission, drawing students from a wider district.
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +15 to +25 IQ points. (Highly specialized, rigorous curriculum, motivated peer group, dedicated teachers, often better resources for their focus area, fostering deep engagement.)
Typical: +10 to +18 IQ points. (Strong academic focus, stimulating environment, generally higher academic expectations than typical public schools.)
Lower Bound: +0 to +5 IQ points. (While generally strong, a less effective magnet might not fully deliver on its promise, or a student might not thrive in its specialized environment, but outright neglect leading to functional illiteracy is rare due to selectivity and mission.)

Rank 3: Home Schooling
(Family-Managed Education)
Description: Education provided by parents/guardians at home.
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +20 to +35+ IQ points. (Exceptional individualization, deep dives into passions, efficient learning, rich real-world experiences, strong parental involvement, highly optimized cognitive development; often surpasses the best institutional settings.)
Typical: +10 to +25 IQ points. (Average homeschooled students often significantly outperform their conventionally schooled peers on academic measures, largely due to personalized attention, parental involvement, and tailored pace.)
Lower Bound: -10 to -30+ IQ points. (In rare, extreme cases of severe educational neglect, profound lack of parental resources/knowledge, or extreme isolation, the floor can be severely compromised, leading to outcomes as bad as, or worse than, the most failing public schools, including functional illiteracy. This is not representative of the average homeschooling experience, but it is a distinct risk at the very bottom tail of the distribution.)

Rank 4: High-Quality Private Schools (General)
(General Independent Schools)
Description: Privately funded schools with diverse philosophies (religious, alternative pedagogy, etc.).
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +15 to +25 IQ points. (Excellent resources, small class sizes, specialized programs, strong community, academically rich environment.)
Typical: +8 to +15 IQ points. (Generally provide a more personalized environment and more resources than average public schools, leading to a stronger floor.)
Lower Bound: +0 to +5 IQ points. (While severe neglect is rare, a poorly managed or less academically focused private school, or one where a student doesn't fit, might not provide significant advantages over a decent public school.)

Rank 5: Charter Schools
(Publicly Funded, Independently Operated)
Description: Publicly funded schools operating under a charter, offering more autonomy and often a specific focus.
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +10 to +20 IQ points. (Innovative models, strong academic focus, dedicated teachers, tight-knit communities, effective discipline can lead to significant gains, especially for underserved populations.)
Typical: +0 to +8 IQ points. (Highly variable. Some show significant gains, others perform similarly to or only marginally better than traditional public schools.)
Lower Bound: -5 to -15+ IQ points. (As with public schools, poorly managed, underperforming, or even failing charter schools can lead to significant educational deficits, a severely depressed floor, and leave students unprepared, though functional illiteracy in graduates might be less common than in the absolute worst public districts due to their accountability mechanisms.)

Rank 6: Traditional Public Schools
(Standard Government-Funded Schools)
Description: The most common type of public school, serving students within a specific attendance zone.
Impact on Brain Health:
Upper Bound: +10 to +20 IQ points. (Excellent, well-funded public schools with strong leadership, experienced teachers, and rich programs can provide a highly stimulating and effective learning environment.)
Typical: +0 to +7 IQ points. (Average performance, meeting basic educational standards but often constrained by resources, class size, or other systemic factors.)
Lower Bound: -10 to -30+ IQ points. (In chronically underfunded districts or failing schools, systemic neglect can lead to severe educational deficits, functional illiteracy in graduates, and a profoundly depressed floor, potentially leaving students worse off than if they had received no formal education in some key areas.)

She isn't smart at all.

An idiot.

That meme flew over a lot of people's heads. Woosh

quote:

---

I think the lower SES overlaps with a lot of the behaviors that can cause negative impact on IQ, especially as a young child. Things like reading to the child, talking to the child, diet, etc.

---

People totally misunderstand SES. They talk about it like it’s purely environmental. SES is a child’s parents income. That’s it. What affects the jobs the parents have and thus their income? The parents’ IQ. IQ is largely genetic (the genetic contribution to IQ actually increases across the lifespan). Who gives the child their genes? The parents. So most of what SES accounts for is still genetics and not primarily environmental.

As usual, you have no idea what you are talking about. SES is almost always calculated as income and sometimes includes occupation (which is also a proxy for income). Even education is an index of IQ so, like I said previously, SES is mostly a measure of genetics of IQ and not an environmental index. Most epidemiological studies just look at average income by zip code for SES studies.

This is right from APA on measuring SES: “ Income should be asked for the individual survey respondent and for the respondent's entire family, as well as household income. The collection of income should include the measurement of total income, earned or unearned, from specific sources (e.g., wages and salaries, dividends and interest, Social Security, unemployment insurance, disability income, etc.).”

Next time shut your pie hole if you don’t know jack shite about what you are saying. You look like an idiot.

quote:

---

IQ is largely genetic (the genetic contribution to IQ actually increases across the lifespan).

---

Define that in numbers by percentage.

How many points are genetic how many are environment.