September 9, 2015
What if you were told that when it comes to intelligence scores, by the time a child is 14 to 16 years old, the influence of upbringing is null. The Guardian‘s Ann Robinson highlights a new study that not only confirms intelligence is mostly genetic and unrelated to upbringing but also that bright people live longer than not-so-bright individuals. The finding that smarter people live longer likely involves complementary factors often (but not always) associated with smarts — in the better choices bright people may make, education level, socio-economic advantage, lifestyle choices, increased access to healthcare, and so forth. It is suggested that, perhaps, bright folks are also endowed with better “health” genes. So while intelligence is well-rooted in genetics, intelligence and genetics on their own, as exclusive concepts, are unlikely to provide the whole picture when it comes to living longer.