ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

If you would like an academic source to back up the arguments about the
validity (or otherwise) of IQ tests, try 'The Mismeasure of Man', by
Stephen Jay Gould I think - that is the basis of the whole book.

And just to add some grist to the mill, over here about 5 or 6 years
ago the government produced learning hooks for people, talking about
multiple types of intelligence - musical, literary, people, physical
etc. as well as you more classical academic type, partly as an attempt
to encourage adults back into learning, but partly reflecting the fact
that school and college education tends to drive in certain directions,
whilst appearing to invalidate others.

Lewis.

On 15 Jan 2004, at 15:33, Phil Edgerton wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> ***********************************************************************
> ******
>
> In speaking about intelligence or "how smart someone is" perhaps it
> would be
> more illluminating to consider how successful a person is in optomizing
> itself in its environment, optomizing the environment for its success,
> or in
> how successful it is in finding an environment where it can do the
> previous.
> Examination of our intelligence" tests yields the criticism that they
> do not
> take into account cultural, experiential, and environmental factors,
> both of
> the tester and the subject. Basically they were written by highly
> formally
> educated, upper middle class or higher white guys of Northern European
> descent, and that informs the "Score" they assign to those who are
> more or
> less like themselves. Awareness of this bias should also be examined
> and
> delt with in selection and development of museum experiences.
>
> Phil Edgerton at The Health Adventure
>
> ***********************************************************************
> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
> Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at
> http://www.astc.org.
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
> [log in to unmask]
>

***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]