Tue, 01 May 2001

IQ and longevity

"The higher your IQ as a child, the longer you are likely to live," commented Mike Collet-White (The Jakarta Post, April 15, 2001). "This is the first time that IQ records have been linked to mortality. Previously, a link had been suspected but never proven," Professor Lawrence Whalley of the University of Aberdeen, one of the report's authors, told the Post.

Since I am one of the Post's readers who is interested in educational issues, let me join in making some comments on the issue:

First, Colin Rose and Malcolm J. Nicholl (1997) asserted that studies showed that people with higher education were generally healthier and lived longer. Second, clever children or people were assumed to do more logical thinking in life, that is to say, thinking critically and creatively. These two productive skills enabled such children to use the neocortex and limbic brains more frequently, thereby enhancing the number of dendrites in their brains. So the more time you spend on your study activities, the healthier you will become. Note that learning truly facilitates the connections between neurons in our brain, an expert says. So, let us solve the problems of everyday life through brain power (neocortex) rather than brute or muscle power in order to live much longer.

ODO FADLOELI

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