<p>I am really curious to hear everyones opinion on this controversial topic. Is intelligence nature or is it nurture, or both?</p>
<p>Define intelligence. Only then can we have a definitive answer.</p>
<p>Look it up yourself.</p>
<p>I believe intelligence is natural, but knowledge isn't. For example, you could be born a genius, but in order to learn...physics for example... someone would have to show you the material. Of course, you could probably grasp it instantly due to your genius, but still, the material has to be given to you.</p>
<p>Yea, i definitely agree with you turtle, btw when i was referring to "intelligence" i am not considering knowledge, although your aptitude to obtain knowledge is probably influenced heavily by your innate intelligence.</p>
<p>This subject has been debated ad nauseum in sociology & psychology. Will likely to continue being debated. Most agree that both heredity & environnment play roles in intelligence.</p>
<p>genes of a genius bro</p>
<p>I think, you have to be born a genius to be a genius... one can't make oneself a genius</p>
<p>But, if you have not been born with genius characteristics, i believe you can make yourself close to being a genius, but you will never be a REAL genius.</p>
<p>So to make things clear, you can make yourself very very very very smart, but not to the level of geniusity (?)</p>
<p>Ever heard of the book "Genius Factory"? It's an actual account of a sperm bank that took sperm from nobel prize winners, star athletes, geniuses, etc. for women who wanted super talented children. The authors try to track down the kids who resulted from this and see what happened...
I haven't read it myself but my Bio teacher was talking about it. The gist is, the kids didn't always turn out the way they were "supposed" to (super smart geniuses).</p>
<p>It's partly nature, but mostly nurture.</p>
<p>I think genius has less to do with genius and more to do with what you learn, encounter, and are taught in around the first 4-7 years of your life. That's the imprinting period where if you can experience more complex ideas and concepts your brain will work at a stronger pace. </p>
<p>That's my opinion.</p>
<p>I think people are programmed to be good at certain things and lack the programming for others. For example, my mom is terrible with, even basic algebra, while I am a senior mechanical engineering student who has never had much trouble understanding math within the realm of MechE. However, I could never draw really good. I am very poor at drawing 3-D structures, even a simple box. I took an art class in 7th grade and while I managed to succeed at drawing some 3-D things, such as shoes, it was very frustrating and took a long time.</p>