Dolphins are born swimming, cattle can walk within hours and lions are able to run within 20 days of birth. Compare this to a human newborn who will require months before he is able to merely sit without support. More advanced skills like running and jumping may take years to develop in a human newborn. As a species, the speed at which our motor skills emerge lags far behind most other species. Despite a slow rate of motor development, we surpass these other animals in intelligence and fine motor skills later in life. What are the reasons for this? Although it may seem paradoxical, our intelligence is exactly the reason for our slow development. Read more →

Intelligence has been discussed throughout much of human history. Socrates gave one definition of intelligence: “I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” Intelligence over the years has been defined as such diverse things as understanding others, knowledge gained, who you surround yourself by, what you accomplish, and the ability to reason. Before the 19th century, intelligence was solely in the realm of philosophy. Franz Joseph Gall, who started the phrenology movement, sought to localize intelligence (among other things) in the brain, which was in turn measured on the skull. While many of the ideas of phrenology were inaccurate, the idea of quantifying individual differences and localizing those differences onto the brain was an important one. Over the years, researchers started using better methods of research and understanding individual differences. Read more →

Do larger brains correlate with higher intelligence? Or does higher intelligence run parallel with the more diverse environmental experiences encountered? This research of nature versus nurture in intelligence, in humans especially, has been a complex and a persistent debate. This article about the brain’s rate of development in children provides yet another face to this multifaceted speculation. Read more →