ARTICLES

resource focus (employees, other liquid assets) wo...

2012-03-25T05:57:21.200-07:00

resource focus (employees, other liquid assets) works
"paper" does not

I'm wondering if Ford had the same practices a...

2012-03-25T05:53:55.782-07:00

I'm wondering if Ford had the same practices and achieved the same results. Signs observed by this "outsider" w/lill info point to "Yes".

Sam Harris: “Just how much inequality can free peo...

2010-12-30T03:37:28.068-08:00

Sam Harris: “Just how much inequality can free people endure?” http://huff.to/hdqifR

Hi Coert, Ik vind jouw columns zo prettig makkeli...

2010-10-01T05:13:51.982-07:00

Hi Coert,

Ik vind jouw columns zo prettig makkelijk leesbaar, to the point en verhelderend. Maak er veel gebruik van in uitleg weer naar anderen. :-)

Groetjes, Annemieke Oomen

good luck, let me know how it goes

2010-08-19T09:57:28.755-07:00

good luck, let me know how it goes

Thanks for posting about the Success Case Method. ...

2010-08-19T09:56:32.633-07:00

Thanks for posting about the Success Case Method. I think I may try a variation of this with a new client I have.

keep us posted!

2010-08-18T10:24:00.203-07:00

keep us posted!

Coert, Perhaps we can use SF to help us to implem...

2010-08-18T09:59:19.368-07:00

Coert,

Perhaps we can use SF to help us to implement flow in our lives. I'm actually going to make it a point to create more flow today as an experiment.

Hi Rodney, thanks for mentioning that. I've ad...

2010-07-02T12:01:05.460-07:00

Hi Rodney, thanks for mentioning that. I've added the link in the article.
Coert

Coert, Could you please put a link to this book i...

2010-07-02T11:29:33.715-07:00

Coert,

Could you please put a link to this book int his article and also give the title? It took me about 10 minutes searching on Amazon to find that the title is "Intuition- Its Powers and Perils --2002 publication."

I finished the book this weekend and I must say I ...

2010-05-18T13:43:40.429-07:00

I finished the book this weekend and I must say I think it will change my life. I'm already using solution focus to put more joy into my life and my goal is to reach the 3:1 ratio for 3 weeks.

I actually think the knowledge in this book can change the world.

Thank you for providing this review of "Posit...

2010-05-13T11:23:00.922-07:00

Thank you for providing this review of "Positivitiy." I was thinking of ordering it many times but didn't. Now that I've read your review especially about the 3-1 ration, I'm ordering it now.

Rodney

Great article Coert. Thanks for suggesting it to ...

2010-05-08T02:33:57.511-07:00

Great article Coert. Thanks for suggesting it to me.

Rodney

Too bad it's not in English. Maybe someone (e...

2010-02-26T10:59:10.334-08:00

Too bad it's not in English. Maybe someone (even you) might make an English translation someday.

Hi Rodney, I did write that book in Dutch... (http...

2010-02-26T09:46:43.817-08:00

Hi Rodney, I did write that book in Dutch... (http://bit.ly/1uIr0v) Sorry, it's not available in English

Coert, Thanks for this acronym describing solutio...

2010-02-26T09:44:56.685-08:00

Coert,

Thanks for this acronym describing solution-focused coaching. Perhaps you could write a book telling people how to use your acronym.

Rodney

Paolo, Flynn himself addresses that very question ...

2009-08-29T11:52:16.872-07:00

Paolo, Flynn himself addresses that very question of why IQ doesn't seem to increase with interventions, and whether that means mental ability is a fixed trait, and he concludes that the evidence is actually that cognitive ability is NOT fixed at all.

He finds that the changes in the sub-scales of psychometric tests actually show mutability in individual abilities, even if not overall g factor. The Flynn Effect is part of his support for that, via the Dickens-Flynn hypothesis, I think.

He doesn't seem to be terribly fascinated with whether g factor changes in a lifetime (IQ actually tends to approach predicted IQ over time rather than diverge), and he makes it clear that cognitive skills are mutable, and that is more important for problem solving unless you are hoping to be a Nobellist in some very complex field.

In that case, the jury is still out. But that's a matter of diversity of minds not a reasonable educational goal for most people I think. Might be cool to think like Einstein, but I don't. I don't need to. I can do a lot with I have, and so can most people.

Hi Coert, very interesting review, thanks!! Here ...

2009-08-28T17:31:24.057-07:00

Hi Coert,
very interesting review, thanks!!

Here are a few random thoughts:
- of the 4 conclusions that you list can be drawn from the "Bell Curve" I think the easiest one to deconstruct is #2: having high IQ is not a very good predictor of success in life, other factors matter (see also Gladwell in "Outliers")
- the issue about heritability vs. environmental origins of intelligence seems moot to me: it is clear from the evidence that a large part of intelligence is inherited; it is also clear that environmental factors play a large role; so no matter where you stand on the issue, working on environmental factors seem the reasonable thing to do. Paradoxically, the more successful you are, i.e. the more you have an "equal opportunity society" the more genetic factors should matter and determine the equation
- now, since I have this weird compulsion of playing the devil's advocate: is there any study out there that actually show IQ increasing in the long term after a specific intervention? Because I could find none. The one study cited by Nisbett in "The Bell Curve Wars" is problematic and a follow up on the same populations found the differences in the 2 groups (control vs. intervention) statistically insignificant. in your review you mention:
- research that shows a tendency to over-estimate heritability of characteristics; assuming this is true, it is all fine and dandy, but if Nisbett himsel acknowledges heritability up to 70%, there is plenty leeway
- the Flynn effect is interesting, and shows increase in IQ over generations; but what about within a generation?
- Dweck research is about learning and achieving; similarly, you quote Thorana Nelson on change: however, nobody is disputing change or educational achievement. What we are talking about is IQ. Or to put it in the words of Herrnstein & Murray in their afterword to the revised 1994 edition, p.573: "The distinction is crucial: do we know how to take a set of youngsters with a given tested IQ and reliable improve their educational achievement? Yes. Do we know how to take a set of youngsters with a given tested IQ that would not (for example) allow them to become engineers, and reliably raise their cognitive functioning so that they can become engineers? No."

As you know, I am all for arguing for change. I believe people can and do better, if properly supported - otherwise I would not be in this profession. However, I believe we can dismiss solid scientific arguments with equally solid scientific arguments. I am sharing this with you because, as we say in Italian, "lavare i panni sporchi in Arno", you wash your dirty clothes within the family. :)

Hi Todd, thanks for the tip! I already knew Flynn&...

2009-08-02T10:09:41.309-07:00

Hi Todd, thanks for the tip! I already knew Flynn's work but maybe other readers did not

cheers, Coert

Also good along similar lines, "What is Intel...

2009-08-02T09:56:32.598-07:00

Also good along similar lines, "What is Intelligence: Beyond the Flynn Effect" by Flynn. Briefer, more theoretical, and a little less on social implications, but good solid material on current thinking regarding intelligence from various lines of data.