In article <398073c1 at post.usenet.com>,
"zombywuf" <zombywuf at 4thenet.co.uk> wrote:
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>> Jure <jure.sah at guest.arnes.si> wrote in message
news:3979936E.D67EC340 at guest.arnes.si...
> > Thursday, July 20, 2000, 22:01:22 pdt
> > Scientists measuring blood flow to regions of the brain have found
that
> > one particular area (the frontal lateral cortex) was stimulated when
> > performing complex tasks. Even tasks that required a wide range of
> > cognitive functions did not stimulate numerous regions of the brain,
as
> > some scientists predicted. This finding gives credence to the highly
> > controversial idea of a "g" factor (generalized intelligence), as
> > advocated in The Bell Curve.
>> Only a fool would think so. How big's your front lateral cortex?
The "g factor" is a statistical artifact of covariant analysis
of IQ test scores. While the view that it is a manifestation
of an underlying biological mechanism, championed by Arthur Jensen
over the last 30 years, is subject to debate, the idea that localized
brain activity in response to solving problems that are highly
correlated to the g-factor indicates that the g-factor is biologically
reified is laughably dumb, utterly confusing not only correlation with
cause but also measurement with mechanism. Several studies show that
people with higher IQs require show less change in brain activity
when solving problems. The intelligence obviously does not reside in
the change in brain activity itself.
The existence of the g-factor is well-established and uncontroversial
*statistically*, but there is considerable debate over the biological
reality of this factor. For those who want to go beyond the sort
of uninformed surface discussion common on usenet, I suggest the
45 (!) scholarly reviews (and rebuttals) of Arthur Jensen's
"The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability" that can be found at
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc-bin/ptopic?topic=Intelligence-g-facto
r&submit=View+Topic
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