Inspired by another thread.

[TheOriginalFAB]

Not to put too finer point on it 3 out of 4 of my biological grandparents and both parents were not blessed academically. I was very bright at school and it came really easily to me. DH was also bright but had to work at it more than me.

DS1 - doing okay, could do better but prefers making things to writing and maths.
DD - exceptionally bright at everything, loves school, loves learning, it all comes really easily to her.
DS2 - still small so not so easy to tell but at least average in some things and above in others.

Is intelligence genetic in any way, is it just coincidence or down to the individual child's liking or not of school?

[kelaiva]

Hi there,

It's really interesting this topic and something that fascinates me! I've actually just completed the 2nd year of a Psychology degree and intelligence was something that often came up. From our lectures it seems there are a few contrasting theories regarding intelligence. There are those that believe IQ is what defines intelligence but others believe in multiple intelligences such as social and emotional intelligence. Particularly regarding IQ there are debates as to whether intelligence is genetic. Wish I coud remember what I read, as some of the things were really interesting! I remember reading about studies done wth identical twins who had been adopted at birth and then years later given various tests to see if their environment played a role in how intelligent they were percieved to be. I think in general its widely accepted that IQ is inherant however one of the main problems with psychology is that they are all theories as they can't be proved objectively for various reasons and different people argue different points. Saying that however, if a child has a positive experience at school, theres a good chance they are going to perform better than a child that can't school and individual differences will play a role.

[TheOriginalFAB]

It is interesting. I have heard of medical things skipping a generation but not how brainy you are and in our case we have 3 children and all are different. DD is a lot like I was as a child.