Is intelligence/High-IQ an effort or a natural manifestation?

[Anonymous]

It's purely natural

It's an effort

It's natural + an effort

[wolfcat87]

The level of intelligence you have is set from birth. Mental capabilities are purely genetic. No effort is necessary for them to be more or less intelligent than everyone else. Effort only inputs information for the already set IQ to interpret and work off of.

If someone has an IQ of 100, then no amount of training and studying will actually make them as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 150. They may be able to mimic a bit with rote memorization, but the critical thinking skill and ability to interpret and various sources accurately into one Interdisciplinary solution will be severely lacking by comparison.

For example, the person with an IQ of 100 may be able to put together a radio, explain how it works, etc after being taught how. But, a person with an IQ of 150 or higher can look at raw materials and invent the radio from scratch without ever being taught about it at all.

All of that being said, studies have shown that how children-young adults are treated can lower their IQ potential. Bottle feeding lowers the IQ compared to breast feeding. Spanking lowers IQ compared to not using corporal punishment. Drugs, including marijuana, lower IQ.

People love to say, "I do this, and I'm not dumb!" No, none of these make a person dumb automatically. They do make a person less intelligent than they would have been without them. Usually by about 3-5 IQ points per item. That can easily take someone who would have had a 150 IQ down to only 120. That's a massive difference from the potential they could have reached.

While lack of education and training don't necessarily make a person's IQ lower, it will make them test lower. IQ tests are highly dependent on conventional education and culture. Filling an intelligent person's mind with misinformation will lead to inaccurate conclusions and also make them appear much less intelligent. Such a waste.

[Nik1hil]

They are both, but it is more about efforts..

My IQ was low, very dumb as a kid. Even saw this happen with other kids..

But the Brain and nervous system and neurons can be built if the brain is forced to solve complex problems.

It takes 21 days but neurons, like roots of a plant re-arrange themselves in new ways to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively.

It takes 21 Days for new neural pathways to form.

I almost failed in 7th grade. Yet 3 years later in 10th grade, I scored 70%.

In 2021, I scored 3129 in the All India ranking for CMAT. around 55,000 candidates were in that.. 94% score!..

So yes, efforts can be a game changer

[andreasderjuengere]

It's outside effort that utilizes natural processes.
No one can make himself smart/er simply by making an effort.
The base -as far as I know- is laid in the human brain mainly during the first year of life when the synaptic connections are made. A new born baby is just the functional minimum.
More input during this time results in more potential later on.
So the 'effort' is made by parents, family and environment/living conditions.
If this potential later is used in a reasonable way is debatable.

[slatyb]

It's almost entirely genetics and early childhood environment. IQ is different from skill and accomplishment.