Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a question that has stalked the twentieth century: Intelligence. Since the first IQ tests were invented in 1905, the question of what makes Homo Sapiens stupid and what makes him clever has involved human kind in sterilisation, racism and misery. How do we define intelligence, how do we measure it; what are its origins and how do we uncover it? But are we any closer to understanding what this elusive quality of intelligence is? The debate still rages as to whether we are born with it or whether intelligence is something we develop as we grow, and evidence for either camp seems to pile up almost daily. With Dr Ken Richardson, educational psychologist, former Senior Lecturer, Open University and author of The Making of Intelligence; Professor Michael Ruse Philosopher of Biology, University of Guelph, Ontario and author of Mystery of Mysteries: Is Evolution a Social Construction?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
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| 0:36.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast. |
| 0:39.0 | For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK forward slash |
| 0:45.0 | radio for I hope you enjoy the program. |
| 0:48.0 | Hello today we're looking at a question that in the words of one of our |
| 0:51.0 | contributors has stalked the 20th century. |
| 0:54.7 | Intelligence. Since the first IQ tests were invented in 1995 the question of what |
| 0:59.5 | makes Homo sapiens stupid and what makes him clever has often involved humankind in sterilization, |
| 1:05.4 | racism, hubris and misery. |
| 1:08.0 | But are we any closer to understanding what this elusive quality of intelligence is? The debate still rages as to whether we're |
| 1:14.6 | born with it or whether intelligence is something we develop as we grow and |
| 1:17.9 | evidence for both seems to pile up almost daily. Joining me today is the educational psychologist Dr Ken Richardson, |
| 1:25.0 | until recently he was senior lecturer at the Open University |
| 1:28.0 | and is the author of Understanding Intelligence and |
| 1:31.0 | the origins of human potential and a new book called The Making of Intelligence. |
| 1:35.2 | I'm also joined by Professor Michael Ruse of the University of Gulf Ontario. |
| 1:40.0 | He's a philosopher of biology and the author of Mystery of Mysteries. |
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