What Does Science Say About Intelligence?
Intelligence is not a fixed number – it is a lifelong process you can develop day by day.
1. Nature and nurture
Research shows that intelligence is shaped both by genetics and by environment. Genetics provide the baseline, but environment — what we learn, what habits we form, and what stimulation we get — plays a decisive role in how intelligence develops.
Sources:
Plomin, R., Deary, I. J. (2015). Genetics and intelligence differences: five special findings. Molecular Psychiatry, 20(1), 98–108.
Tucker-Drob, E. M., Briley, D. A. (2014). Continuity of genetic and environmental influences on cognition across the life span: A meta-analysis of longitudinal twin and adoption studies. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 949–979.