Unlocking the Secret to Intelligence: A Black Male’s Formula
By the time I reached my mid 20s, I had already been immersed in academic circles, working in administration and teaching college-level psychology courses. I had the opportunity to interact with scholars at various levels in their careers and thought I had seen some of the brightest minds until I met Jim. He was a young, Black professional, who was the same age as me, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and came from a disadvantaged community.
Jim was and still is the most intelligent person I have ever met.
He made me question everything I knew about how intelligence was developed.
I was naturally curious and wanted to understand more about how he became so intelligent. I had met a modern-day Samson. Like the biblical figure whose extraordinary strength was found to be attributed to his hair, I was eager to discover the source of Jim’s intelligence. Where did it come from?
It wasn’t Genetics
Jim and I hit it off right away, and I couldn’t help but wonder how he became so smart. At first, I thought it was all genetics, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be more to it. So, I met his family, immediate and distant relatives, and to my surprise, they were all pretty average in terms of intelligence.
Finding out that Jim’s family was not abnormally intelligent was a relief to me. It gave me hope that there was something more to his intelligence than just genetics.
My mind immediately began to race with business ideas, thinking about how I could bottle the formula and scale it. I had to know, so I asked him point blank, “How did you get so smart?”
He looked at me with confusion and I pressed him, “Seriously, how did you become so intelligent?” He couldn’t believe I didn’t know the answer and just stared at me, confused. I returned the glare, shaking impatiently for the answer. Finally, Jim answered with one word–READING!
Jim was a reading machine
In reality, Jim always had a book in hand. The best way I can describe Jim’s passion for reading is by comparing it to the persistent nature of teens when it comes to using their cell phones. It was always present, and he would take any opportunity he could, whatever it took to get in some viewing time.
He read a book a day, never averaging less than 25 books a month. His bookshelf was diverse, including everything from dummy guides to technical books, primarily reading informational texts of all lengths and subjects.
Whenever I tell this story, I can’t help but feel embarrassed that I didn’t realize the obvious — that reading was the key to intelligence. The realization was transformative; it changed my perspective and my original understanding of how talents are developed.
We’ve all heard the saying “practice makes perfect,” and research on psychological concepts such as growth mindset, grit, and resilience support the idea that individuals have some level of control over their knowledge, skills, and abilities.
However, do we TRULY believe intelligence can be trained?
Despite the fact that many experts argue intelligence can be cultivated and innate fixed ability alone is a myth, do we truly believe this as a society? In my opinion, the answer is no.
If we truly believed that practice and dedication made all the difference, everyone would have equal access to opportunities for the best education and receive appropriate support based on students’ individual needs.
We wouldn’t do the following:
- Administer IQ tests to preschool children for the purpose of admitting them to prestigious schools.
- Show more interest in athletes who display early signs of sports talent.
- Rely on assessments that measure people’s current ability opposed to their desire and passion
If we believed in the power of unlocking potential, we wouldn’t prioritize helping students who already demonstrate potential. We would focus on those who have the most to gain.
Our entrance criteria for opportunities would not be based on a student’s pre-existing skills or talents, but rather their passion and drive to learn and excel in various areas.
Let’s Help Students Who Don’t Show Potential
I was fortunate enough to discover the key to intelligence at a young age, not through literature but through a real person who could have easily fit negative stereotypes and become a negative black male statistic.
This knowledge led me to launch my first successful business, which empowers students to discover and use their own unique voices; I’m now a believer that anything can be learned.
References:
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087.
Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of personality and social psychology, 86(2), 320.
At last, I end with this Disclaimer:
The articles I publish on Medium are my own personal perspectives and are not meant to imply causality. My goal is to assist parents in discovering different ways they can assist and support their children. Although I endeavor to share information associated with success, in no way am I suggesting that there are causal links. Rather these are my own observations to which I’m providing a lens into the assumptions and ideas I drove from my own experiences and from those of people I’ve connected with.
