Some books are just darn fun to digest quickly, and I sometimes love racing through a hard-boiled detective novel in a few hours and two shots of whiskey. Russell Warne's book was not at all this sort of endeavor. If you are going to read this amazing book, and I suggest wholeheartedly that you do, I would encourage readers to understand each point presented as well as possible before moving on. Since my educational encounter with statistics occurred a long time ago, I had to pay careful intention to the introduction's “statistics crash course.” While the reader does not have to read most chapters in order presented, the true significance of the information will not be clear unless the basic statistics in the introduction are well understood first. Warne's statistics overview is likely adequate for most, but I also watched a few short YouTube videos on standard deviation, correlation coefficient, and factor analysis to ensure I was ready to proceed.
As I progressed through the book, I became more and more impressed with Warne's short analysis of each “myth,” how dissenting viewpoints were fairly addressed, and how well claims were supported. The times when I caught myself questioning one of Warne's claims, the footnotes allowed me to do a Wikipedia or Google search of the researchers involved, check the current consensus of scholars, and watch some very entertaining YouTube video of Gardner, Murray, Plomin, and others. Warne is no ideologue, so his approach is much more pragmatic than dogmatic, and the writing style, though academic, was quite accessible to even my aging mind. A careful reader will also enjoy stumbling on the occasional bit of wit and humor, such as when he suggests that an impossible to achieve government mandate is likely to be about as successful as the banning of gravity, or when he questions the popular belief that all children are gifted by simply wondering “where the non-gifted adults come from.”
One of my favorite quotes about knowledge is Sockman's observation that “the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” Warne's book greatly increased my knowledge “island” of intelligence, and why believing incorrect things about intelligence can be very harmful to the individual and to society. After finishing the book, I feel somewhat as if I have completed a semester long survey course on intelligence. Not surprisingly, I now have new questions about the heritability of intelligence, I wonder about the long-term cost to a society that believes in so many things that are not true about intelligence, and I am fearful that we will not have the courage to face the many truths that Warne presents. Truly a book worth reading.
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- ChristineReviewed in Germany on February 20, 2021
In love with this book
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Comprehensive, credible, honest, with loads of references, up-to-date, and easy to understand. A must read book for scientists as wells non-specialists who want to (or should) know more about intelligence. As you can see in my picture: Worked through the book thoroughly. All in all: excellent!ChristineIn love with this book
Reviewed in Germany on February 20, 2021
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- Kindle CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2023
One will Certainly be In The Know after Consuming this Tour De Force
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
