Trump and IQ

There he goes again—President Trump bragging about his own high IQ and the IQs of his close colleagues (click here to read the article).

Of course, in most cases, we don’t actually know about the IQs of these individuals.  IQ, as conventionally measured, is a quick measure of how one will do in a certain kind of school. Accordingly, we can assume that graduates of elite institutions and recipients of prestigious fellowships will on the whole have reasonably high IQs… as well as those who dropped out of selective institutions because they sensed a way to become very rich very quickly (think Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg).

In this context, Trump stands out in two ways.  First of all, he not only refuses to release his grades or transcripts or test scores, but actually threatens jail sentences for those who might be tempted to do so.  (Does this seem like someone who is proud of his academic achievements?) Second, in Trump’s case, I would bet that his IQ would vary significantly, depending on whether the test was written or oral (Trump does not like to read and, if his spelling of tweets is any cue, he may be somewhat dyslexic), whether it involved language, or was completely non-linguistic (like the Raven’s progressive matrices).

I suspect that when Trump assesses an individual’s IQ, he is instead paying attention to gender, height, quickness of response, ability to quip, speed with figures, and perhaps, alas, willingness to cut corners and to go along with him. Indeed, the speculated IQ is likely to go down a standard deviation if someone breaks with Trump, as did Cabinet Secretaries Tillerson or Mattis, and to go up a standard deviation if one protects Trump, as do his current favorites, or is a member of his family, as in the case of Jared Kushner. (We don’t discuss certain members of the family). And if the person is Steve Bannon, the IQ probably fluctuates like the stock market.

Interesting that Trump praises the ‘poorly educated’.  Presumably he makes an exception for low IQ individuals who support him.

So, what does the multiple intelligences person think about Trump’s IQ? Let’s read what I wrote ten days after the election (click here for link.) And let’s look at what Mindy Kornhaber wrote months before Trump’s (click here for link.) And of course, you should read this article.

By Howard Gardner

Do Highly Intelligent People Prefer Instrumental Music?

This story caught me eye (click here for link) — the claim that individuals with high intelligence (presumably measured by an IQ test) prefer instrumental music over vocal music.  And as someone who plays the piano daily and listens to classical music regularly, I initially had a positive feeling about this claim—based on published research.

But some thought has caused me to be very skeptical about the claim. First of all, it makes a big difference whether one is listening to music as background (as I typically do), as opposed to attending a concert where one’s attention is focused on the performance.  If a well regarded vocalist were singing Schubert songs, they would command my full attention; so too, for the Mahler symphonies or song cycles for soloists or orchestras.

Second, this correlational finding doubtless reflects significant social-economic-cultural factors. Those raised in Western intellectual circles in the last century or so will have a bias toward the great symphonists and concerto composers from Europe (Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms etc).  But what do we know about those individuals raised in other cultures (India, China, West Africa, Latin America) at different times and in different cultural milieus?  I’d be astonished if we would find the same preferences—less surprised if we found totally different tastes depending on culture and era.

Finally, as the individual who proposed different kinds of intelligences, I’d make a distinction between computational powers (and intelligence) and personal preferences. Example:  There are all kinds of reasons why physicians and scientists might be partial to instrumental music; but that says nothing about their computational powers with music.  Indeed, in one study, Ellen Winner and her colleagues found that humanists are as much involved with music as are mathematicians and scientists—but this finding is less known because it does not fit into cultural stereotypes.

So long live intelligence, however defined, and musical preferences, however measured, but please don’t confound the two.

By Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner to Retire from Teaching

Howard Gardner retires from teaching at the end of this academic year. He will continue his research as the Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University. To read a tribute marking this occasion by two close colleagues from Harvard Project Zero, click here.

Howard Gardner Interviewed by the National Art Education Association

Howard Gardner was the keynote speaker at the 2019 NAEA National Convention in Boston. He was interviewed by NAEA’s Janice Hughes, read the article here.

MI Misconceptions: An Article from Pakistan

I recently saw this article from a Pakistani newspaper, click here for link. It begins with the observation that individuals are often clueless about their career paths even after completing their masters degree. I can’t just judge whether that statement is correct—either about young people in Pakistan or in the United States.

However, from that possibly relevant observation, there is a huge leap to the next statement and to the headline that “Parents should know their kids’ future careers from class three.”  And there is no warrant whatsoever for the additional assertion “from grade three a parent can distinguish… that a child has one intelligence at the top in which they excel, one intelligence at the lowest, and six intelligences in the average zone.”

Quite the opposite: we differ from one another in our profiles of intelligence, and there is no simple formula for strengths and weaknesses. And in any case, intelligences develop—or fail to develop—because of an individuals experiences, motivations, and opportunities. Rather than trying to anticipate or dictate a career, parents should encourage their children to try out various pursuits and to be prepared to pursue a variety of careers—for who can anticipate what the occupational landscape will be a generation from now?

Howard Gardner