Yes. My DH and I are intelligent/academically high achievers and assume our daughter will be intelligent (so far she has proven us correct). I'm not going to be coy or parse words - smart parents produce smart children. And yes, we have made plans accordingly. She has a loving, educated and engaging nanny and attends an excellent half-day preschool. We forgo many luxuries and live modestly to give her these educational opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: So if straight IQ is genetic... then when both parents have high IQs, doesn't it make sense that they assume their child will have a high IQ and make educational plans accordingly?

No.

Statistics apply to the population, not to the individual.

So substitute "high intelligence" instead of "IQ". When both parents are highly intelligent, doesn't it make sense to assume their child will be highly intelligent and make educational plans accordingly?

No. Same thing.

Not the PP but no, IQ scoring and intelligence are not the same thing.

"Statistics apply to the population, not to the individual" applies to both IQ scoring and to intelligence.

Yes, several million dollars can make anyone appear to be smart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And by intelligence, I mean the ability to learn easily and retain the information.

It certainly seems to me that intelligent parents have intelligent kids. And in terms of intelligence only, average parents have average kids. And before you attack, I am only talking about the ease of learning and retaining what was learned. Millions of people with average intelligence go on to be billionaires in business, have magnificent marriages and happy fulfilled lives...

This has been studied. Intelligent people can have an average kid, dumb kid or an intelligent kid.
intelligence is not just genes, environment and diet also matter.

In middle class life, that is not much of a factor. Most middle class kids get plenty of food and go to reasonable schools.

Yes. Although there are a few exceptions, most very intelligent parents have very intelligent children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:regression to the mean- I've never heard of reversion to the mean.
IQ is heritable and genetic. I say this as an intelligent woman with an intelligent son-- [b]don't underestimate the power of strong executive function. [b/]I've seen some people who I frankly do not think are as smart as I am get further professionally and even academically- focus, hard work, organizational skills, and leadership skills can take a person far in life.

+1

My son has a very high IQ (99.5th percentile) and very average working memory and processing speed. His school performance is just ok. He has a lot inside that he has difficulty organizing and expressing.

The standard IQ test is the WISC-IV which looks at verbal reasoning, perceptual (spatial) reasoning, working memory and processing speed. The two latter areas are implicated in executive functioning. Some people score exceptionally well in the verbal and perceptual indices but struggle with working memory and efficient processing, which certainly affects their performance academically and otherwise. Also, confidence, initiative, resourcefulness and resiliency affect how a person meets or even exceeds his or her potential (i.e., potential as estimated by an IQ score).

PP here. Yes, I know. Obviously. That was my point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:regression to the mean- I've never heard of reversion to the mean.
IQ is heritable and genetic. I say this as an intelligent woman with an intelligent son-- [b]don't underestimate the power of strong executive function. [b/]I've seen some people who I frankly do not think are as smart as I am get further professionally and even academically- focus, hard work, organizational skills, and leadership skills can take a person far in life.

+1

My son has a very high IQ (99.5th percentile) and very average working memory and processing speed. His school performance is just ok. He has a lot inside that he has difficulty organizing and expressing.

The standard IQ test is the WISC-IV which looks at verbal reasoning, perceptual (spatial) reasoning, working memory and processing speed. The two latter areas are implicated in executive functioning. Some people score exceptionally well in the verbal and perceptual indices but struggle with working memory and efficient processing, which certainly affects their performance academically and otherwise. Also, confidence, initiative, resourcefulness and resiliency affect how a person meets or even exceeds his or her potential (i.e., potential as estimated by an IQ score).

Anonymous wrote:regression to the mean- I've never heard of reversion to the mean.
IQ is heritable and genetic. I say this as an intelligent woman with an intelligent son-- [b]don't underestimate the power of strong executive function. [b/]I've seen some people who I frankly do not think are as smart as I am get further professionally and even academically- focus, hard work, organizational skills, and leadership skills can take a person far in life.

+1

My son has a very high IQ (99.5th percentile) and very average working memory and processing speed. His school performance is just ok. He has a lot inside that he has difficulty organizing and expressing.

regression to the mean- I've never heard of reversion to the mean.
IQ is heritable and genetic. I say this as an intelligent woman with an intelligent son-- don't underestimate the power of strong executive function. I've seen some people who I frankly do not think are as smart as I am get further professionally and even academically- focus, hard work, organizational skills, and leadership skills can take a person far in life.

50% of it is

I believe it's genetic, but not necessarily as straightforward as smart parents=smart kids. My dad, sister, and son are profoundly gifted. Myself and my dh are remarkably average. And yes, I have no idea what my 9 year old is tailing about most of the time, but he has kindred spirits in the extended family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: So if straight IQ is genetic... then when both parents have high IQs, doesn't it make sense that they assume their child will have a high IQ and make educational plans accordingly?

No.

Statistics apply to the population, not to the individual.

So substitute "high intelligence" instead of "IQ". When both parents are highly intelligent, doesn't it make sense to assume their child will be highly intelligent and make educational plans accordingly?

No. Same thing.

Not the PP but no, IQ scoring and intelligence are not the same thing.

stats apply to the population, not the individual. That doesn't change.


And "reversion do the mean" does not mean "take an average"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but don't forget about reversion to the mean.... most very smart people will have kids who are less smart than they are.

Reversion to the mean can't possibly apply in the straight inheritance of genetic traits that make learning and retention easier - unless one of the highly intelligent parents chooses a less intelligent partner (I'm thinking trophy wife on this one).

School was easy for me but hard for my sister. Same for DH, who breezed through college while none of his three siblings finished. So our babies may get my easy-to-retain-information-and-connect-concepts genes or my sister's not-easy-to-retain-information-or-connect-concepts genes, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Identical twins do not get same grades
siblings from same set of parents would theoretically have same iq and therefore as accomplished in school, but they are not

Grades aren't the same as IQ. Everyone know the story about Albert Einstein flunking math in grammar school. IQ refers to the ability to learn and ease of learning not the use of that ability.


Yes, IQ is inherited. Many other things play a role in it but smart parents usually create smart children, average parents create average children. Exceptions exist, of course, but it seems pretty clear at this point that intelligence is genetic.

genetics is only one part of the puzzle and not the determining factor

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: So if straight IQ is genetic... then when both parents have high IQs, doesn't it make sense that they assume their child will have a high IQ and make educational plans accordingly?

What kind of plans?

With kids, you get what you get. Two highly intelligent parents may or may not have a highly intelligent child.

If straight intelligence is genetic, which is certainly appears to be, then two highly intelligent parents will have a highly intelligent child (barring illness, head injury or gestational issues, of course).

Plans like finding the best educated nanny, the more advanced preschool programs, and saving money for both. Maybe moving to the best area for the schools prior to the child's birth.

Here's what I am getting at - it just seems to me that highly intelligent parents are seen as pushy or presumptuous when they even try to quietly make plans for their child's future.

I don't think it's pushy or presumptuous, but I do think some of it's silly and puts unnecessary pressure on the child. We assumed our children would be pretty bright, and they've proven us right so far. We weren't looking for the most educated nanny, though; we wanted the most loving and reliable one. For preschools, we definitely didn't look for the "more advanced." We wanted a warm, play-based environment. We don't let the children do more than one organized after school activity at a time, either, because I think they need time to play. More than highly intelligent, I want them to be happy and to be themselves.