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December 2, 2008 4:29:32 AM CST


human intelligence

human intelligence news stories

6 Stories

 Search Engines: How
 They're Reshaping Your Brain 

Is faster thinking always better?

(Newser) - Although he’s thrilled with all the time he saves using the Internet for research and awed by the vast intellectual opportunities available to every web surfer, Nicholas Carr is a bit disconcerted that he no longer has the patience for reading books or long articles. With his netizen mind fidgeting and losing the thread after a few pages, Carr wonders in the Atlantic : What is the net doing to our brains? More »

More about:  Internet book computer reading artificial intelligence human intelligence


 Brain Training Can Boost Smarts 

Mental gymnastics can strengthen general intelligence, study finds

(Newser) - Software claiming to improve intelligence has met with market success in recent years— along with plenty of skepticism—but sales could now get a boost with the discovery that it really is possible to improve general intelligence with mental gymnastics. Researchers had thought so-called "fluid intelligence" was purely genetic, but tests have demonstrated that mental workouts can improve capacity, Wired reports. More »

More about:  brain software intelligence neuroscience human intelligence

 'Petraeus Generation' Is 
 Making Muslim Allies  

CO's learn that gun-blazing ways only sparked insurgency in Iraq

(Newser) - US officers in Iraq and Afghanistan are learning to talk first and shoot later—a sea change for CO's trained to win by force, Newsweek reports. But their early gun battles only sparked insurgency and mired them in baffling street battles. Now, says David Petraeus, “You can’t kill your way out of an insurgency." A generation of US officers is absorbing Muslim culture and trying to make allies of insurgent foes to win. More »

More about:  Iraq war Afghanistan David Petraeus troop surge human intelligence

IQ Measures Not Just Brains, But Also Culture

Smarts index is rising because the world's more 'demanding'

(Newser) - The average global IQ is rising three points per decade not because humans are getting smarter, but because culture is getting more challenging—and the measure isn’t just a test of our smarts genes. The quotient effectively tests “the quality of the world [a] person lives in,” the New Yorker ’s Malcolm Gladwell writes, dissolving the myth that intelligence is fixed. More »

More about:  race culture human intelligence

Scientist Blasted for Racism Has Black Genes

Watson said blacks less intelligent than whites

(Newser) - Nobel laureate James Watson, famous for co-discovering DNA and infamous for his theory that black Africans are less intelligent than whites, turns out to have a genetic profile with 16 times as many black genes as the average white European, the Independent reports. Watson's genes are said to be comparable to someone with an African great-grandparent. More »

More about:  Africa race DNA genes James Watson human intelligence

CIA Superspy Unmasks
After 3 Decades

Clandestine service head blows own cover before retirement

(Newser) - As he prepares for retirement, the CIA's chief spymaster has elected to reveal his true identity, the AP reports. Jose Rodriguez spent more than 30 years undercover, much of the time in Latin America; the Puerto Rico native has headed the agency's clandestine service since 2004. An agency spokesman says Rodriguez's cover was lifted a month ago. More »

More about:  CIA Latin America Michael Hayden Puerto Rico spy human intelligence Jose Rodriguez spycraft

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