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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh gawd.  She's baaaaack.  This was one of the best responses (not my own) on the thread, so I'll repost it, shortened slightly.

[quote=Anonymous]... Practicing something like evaluating verbal analogies or repeating a string of numbers backward will increase scores on tests that measure those particular abilities (treating them as an index of intelligence) without having much impact, if any, on a person's intelligence.

If we lived in a world where rating the quality of verbal analogies or reordering numbers helped us do something more than raise our scores on standardized tests (e.g. in some bizarre alternative universe where doing such tasks well would enable us to solve problems, cure cancer, make money, invent technologies, live together in peace and harmony, etc.), then repetitive training to help our kids do these things as quickly and accurately as possible would make sense.  But in this world, it's just  a waste of time that could be devoted to a myriad of more intellectually worthwhile activities.[/quote]

This is exactly the point. Building your skill in repeating strings of numbers backwards does NOT make you smarter. It makes you more proficient in ... repeating strings of numbers backwards. This skill may make you look better on an IQ test. But it will not help you grasp abstract mathematical concepts in AP Calc AB/BC.

Another poster at 12/05/2011 14:31 (again, not me) made a very good sports analogy to "Workout Warriors" who improve their NFL draft positions by drilling like mad on very specific skills like the 40-yard dash, bench press, three-cone drill.  But because their skill is limited to only doing those very specific drills, they often are unsuccessful in the NFL because simply are not as good at the many other physical and mental abilities needed for football.

And this is the risk, my friends. Your kid who has mastered repeating strings of numbers backwards, so he gets into a magnet, is going to stumble when he has to call on real intellectual abilities such as the ability to think in highly abstract terms. [/quote]

PS. Should add that the saner people on this thread seem to have reached a concensus that it is possible to increase intellectual and athletic ability somewhat, but within limits that are probably determined by genes. Buying a WISC test prep kit, however, is going to increase performance on a very limited skill set (repeating numbers backwards, flipping shapes), and is very unlikely to increase overall intellectual ability. To increase overall intellectual ability, play with your kids, take them to museums, and encourage them to read.[/quote]

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