[paul.fr]

Suppose i went in for brain surgery, and whilst they were doing whatever it is they do, they prodded the wrong part. Could that act as a stimulus to kick start or make that area more alert?

Would i become intelligent...erm, more intelligent?

[DoctorBeaver]

Oh brother. How desperate can some people get?  []

[another_someone]

No, I cannot imagine that anything a brain surgeon prods will get better for the prodding, but if that part is interfering with another part, then prodding it may stop the interference, and so make the other parts work more efficiently.

[rosalind dna]

No because your intelligence grows with the things that you learn or experience through your life !!!!

[DoctorBeaver]

No because your intelligence grows with the things that you learn or experience through your life !!!!

Sorry, but I feel I must disagree with you. The things that you learn or experience through your life increase your knowledge, not your intelligence.

[opus]

....isn't there a ' rubber band theory' of innate and learned intelligence- so you are programmed with a certain intelligence dictated solely by your genes, and this can become stretched by your intellectual experience......?

[DoctorBeaver]

I don't believe in that. Intelligence is a potential. It is our ability to learn, and to analyse and make sense of what we learn. We can learn to analyse better and make more sense from what we learn, we can even learn to learn more effectively; but the level of the potential never alters. We merely learn to make better use of that potential.

If that potential is lacking, then the person will not be able to learn. You cannot educate a person into being more intelligent, merely educate them to make the best of the intelligence, the potential, they have.

[opus]

Yep, that's what I was trying to say...

[DoctorBeaver]

I thought so  []

[neilep]

Brain surgery would increase my intelligence if it involved the insertion of one. []

[Karen W.]

HEE HEE HEE.. our so funny... where will you get a doner?

[DoctorBeaver]

HEE HEE HEE.. our so funny... where will you get a doner?

You can get doners in my local kebab house!

[SkylordRic]

newbielink:http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/powers/ [nonactive]

No evidence you can get smarter but proves you won't necessarily get any dumber either.

[RD]

No, I cannot imagine that anything a brain surgeon prods will get better for the prodding, but if that part is interfering with another part, then prodding it may stop the interference, and so make the other parts work more efficiently.

Like surgery for epilepsy ...
http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/surgery.html

[another_someone]

No, I cannot imagine that anything a brain surgeon prods will get better for the prodding, but if that part is interfering with another part, then prodding it may stop the interference, and so make the other parts work more efficiently.

Like surgery for epilepsy ...
http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/surgery.html

That was pretty much what I had in mind.  Ofcourse, the counter argument might be that epilepsy does not effect intelligence, only our ability to use our intelligence (i.e. the potential was there even before, even if it was not manifest).

[DoctorBeaver]

Epilepsy has no bearing whatsoever on intelligence. It could, though, interfere with learning were it serious enough.

What interests me greatly is how some autistic people can demonstrate amazing abilities. Kevin Peek is a classic example. His mathematical ability is incredible. I saw him calculate the 9th root of a 30 digit number faster than it could be done on a calculator; and he did it in his head - not even using jottings on a piece of paper!

Another autistic child (a 10yo boy) I saw on TV many years ago was taken to the Houses Of Parliament in London. He had never seen them before. They let him look at the building for a while (I forget how long, but it was only a few minutes) then took him away and asked him to draw it. He was absolutely spot on - doors and windows in the right place and proportion and he even got the number of crenellations and bobbly bits on the top exactly right.

I also saw a young child who could play any piece of music on the piano after having heard it only once. They played him compositions by Liszt, Chopin, Mozart etc and he played them perfectly after listening to them just once. I got to grade 8 on piano and went to music college, yet at my peak I would still struggle with Chopin & Liszt; and here was a young kid playing them like a veteran concert pianist.

If anyone ever works out what it is that gives these people that sort of ability, it could be a real boost to the human race.

[another_someone]

Epilepsy has no bearing whatsoever on intelligence. It could, though, interfere with learning were it serious enough.

This is the problem with terms like 'brighter' - what does it mean?

For many, the term implies academic competence, for which learning ability is as crucial as IQ.

[DoctorBeaver]

Unfortunately, George, that is commonly the case. Yet I know a bricklayer who, although not exactly the sharpest tool in the box (he struggles to even read and write), can look at a building plan and estimate on the spot how many bricks will be required.

My uncle spent most of his childhood in hospital with severe eczema. As a consequence he grew to adulthood barely able to read or write. But give him an engineering drawing and he would make it. His wife, my aunt, was always proud of his boss having said he was the best toolmaker he'd ever known.

You cannot compare those sort of abilities with purely academic abilities. Neither is superior to the other; but people will still say that someone with a degree is "brighter" than that bricklayer or my late uncle.

[JnA]

Portions of the brain that are unused or rarely used can be 'rewired' for other functions (to a point). It has been shown in the matter of blind folk that some parts of the visual cortex had been 'rewired', trouble is the brain itself did the rewiring,I doubt that surgical intervention would be as effective.

Nice idea though. Even if something had to be 'sacrificed' in order to increase intelligence...

[DoctorBeaver]

Portions of the brain that are unused or rarely used can be 'rewired' for other functions (to a point). It has been shown in the matter of blind folk that some parts of the visual cortex had been 'rewired', trouble is the brain itself did the rewiring...

This is a very common situation. After brain trauma, the victim may be left with reduced, or zero, capability in a certain area (for instance, speech). The brain, as JnA put it, "re-wires" itself to by-pass that area and re-assigns its functions to a different part of the brain. The victim, in this instance, has to learn to speak all over again (although, commonly, there is residual ability rather than the facility being lost completely).