IQ The Educational Elephant in the Room | Richard Summers | TEDxBrighton

Summary

The speaker reflects on their traumatic primary school experiences and their journey to help others become stronger and smarter. They discuss the limitations of IQ as a measure of intelligence and success, emphasizing the importance of Artisan and complexity intelligence. The speaker advocates for a shift in education to focus on developing these aspects, rather than solely on IQ, to better support students' creativity and confidence.

Takeaways

• 😢 The speaker's primary school memories are marred by sexual molestation, physical violence, and emotional cruelty.
• 🧠 The speaker's life mission is to help others become stronger and smarter to achieve happiness, stemming from their own traumatic past.
• 🌟 The speaker has had a diverse career, including being a scientist, entrepreneur, educator, martial artist, and antiterrorism trainer.
• 🔬 The speaker's current work involves understanding the brain's cognitive processes, particularly in the context of digital marketing.
• 📉 The speaker identifies a problem at the core of education: it crushes creativity and destroys confidence.
• 🧐 IQ tests, which are predictive of many life outcomes, are largely inherited and not significantly influenced by education.
• 📚 The speaker argues that schools should focus on developing Artisan intelligence and complexity intelligence, rather than just abstract intelligence (IQ).
• 🎓 Schools should be ranked based on their ability to develop students' personalities and not just their academic performance.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The speaker suggests that education should prioritize happiness, kindness, contribution, and relationship-building over academic scores.
• 🌐 The speaker believes technology can help bridge the gap between teachers' goals, government measurements, and student outcomes.

Q & A

What are the clearest memories the speaker has of their primary school experience?

The speaker's clearest memories of primary school are of sexual molestation, physical violence, and emotional cruelty.

What mantra did the speaker have during their difficult school years?

The speaker had a mantra of 'if only I was stronger, if only I was smarter' during their difficult school years.

What did the speaker dedicate their life to after their challenging experiences?

After their challenging experiences, the speaker dedicated their life to helping other children and people become stronger and smarter to achieve happiness.

What diverse fields has the speaker worked in throughout their career?

The speaker has worked as a scientist, entrepreneur, educator, martial artist, and antiterrorism trainer, and has even collaborated with Stephen Hawking.

What is the primary focus of the company the speaker currently runs?

The speaker's company focuses on unraveling the mysteries of how the brain works, particularly in the context of digital marketing and consumer interactions with brands.

What is the 'elephant in the room' issue the speaker wants to address in education?

The 'elephant in the room' in education is the problem at its core that crushes creativity and destroys confidence, which the speaker believes is related to the misunderstanding and mishandling of IQ.

Why is IQ significant according to the speaker?

IQ is significant because it is the most predictive psychometric ever discovered, strongly correlating with peak income, likelihood of divorce, and academic performance.

What does the speaker suggest is the inheritability of IQ based on twin studies?

The speaker suggests that IQ is largely inherited, with studies showing that by the age of 12, parental input has been completely wiped out in terms of its influence on a child's IQ.

What is the speaker's view on the effectiveness of schools in raising IQ?

The speaker views schools as ineffective in raising IQ significantly, stating that the difference in performance between the bottom 2% and top 2% of schools is only a 6.5% swing.

What are the three types of intelligence the speaker identifies?

The speaker identifies three types of intelligence: abstraction intelligence (IQ), Artisan intelligence (ability to learn new things), and complexity intelligence (social or emotional intelligence).

What does the speaker propose should be the focus of education instead of IQ?

The speaker proposes that education should focus on Artisan intelligence, encouraging practice and skill development, and on complexity intelligence, nurturing personality development.