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Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined
Child prodigies. Gifted and Talented Programs. Perfect 2400s on the SAT. Sometimes it feels like the world is conspiring to make the rest of us feel inadequate. Those children tapped as possessing special abilities will go on to achieve great things, while the rest of us have little chance of realizing our dreams. Right?
In Ungifted , cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman -- who was relegated to special education as a child -- sets out to show that the way we interpret traditional metrics of intelligence is misguided. Kaufman explores the latest research in genetics and neuroscience, as well as evolutionary, developmental, social, positive, and cognitive psychology, to challenge the conventional wisdom about the childhood predictors of adult success. He reveals that there are many paths to greatness, and argues for a more holistic approach to achievement that takes into account each young person's personal goals, individual psychology, and developmental trajectory. In so doing, he increases our appreciation for the intelligence and diverse strengths of prodigies, savants, and late bloomers, as well as those with dyslexia, autism, schizophrenia, and ADHD.
Combining original research, anecdotes, and a singular compassion, Ungifted proves that anyone -- even those without readily observable gifts at any single moment in time -- can become great.
In Ungifted , cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman -- who was relegated to special education as a child -- sets out to show that the way we interpret traditional metrics of intelligence is misguided. Kaufman explores the latest research in genetics and neuroscience, as well as evolutionary, developmental, social, positive, and cognitive psychology, to challenge the conventional wisdom about the childhood predictors of adult success. He reveals that there are many paths to greatness, and argues for a more holistic approach to achievement that takes into account each young person's personal goals, individual psychology, and developmental trajectory. In so doing, he increases our appreciation for the intelligence and diverse strengths of prodigies, savants, and late bloomers, as well as those with dyslexia, autism, schizophrenia, and ADHD.
Combining original research, anecdotes, and a singular compassion, Ungifted proves that anyone -- even those without readily observable gifts at any single moment in time -- can become great.
424 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 2013
About the author
Scott Barry Kaufman
23 books499 followersScott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity, and well-being at Columbia University, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. In addition to writing the column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American, he also hosts The Psychology Podcast, and is author and/or editor of 9 books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. In 2015, he was named one of "50 Groundbreaking Scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
June 14, 2014
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It's a big book with more than one subtitle: Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined: The Truth About Talent, Practice, Creativity, and the Many Paths to Greatness by Scott Barry Kaufman.
Kaufman tells a fascinating story about intelligence, weaving his own personal life story with both the history of the changing science and understanding of intelligence and the latest findings and speculations in the field. Kaufman was labeled learning disabled as a child, and became fascinated with understanding intelligence in the abstract and his own in particular.
IQ, mindset, potential, talent, creativity, effort, and the g factor are all discussed and sometimes the book gets a bit dense. I am a tad rusty on my understanding of statistics, and had to do a little refresher to figure out some of this. But although the material has serious weight to it, it is also presented in a very interesting way and I found it fascinating.
The validity of testing and the labels "learning disabled" and "gifted" are also really challenged here.
The implications for education are that we should be addressing the whole child with work on cognitive strategies, maximizing each individual's strengths, and encouraging a growth mindset and lots of deliberate practice. Intelligence is earned through effort, not fixed at birth.
Quotes:
Counterintuitively - and contrary to the practice in most schools - the most efficient and cost-effective route to obtaining the best academic outcomes for all students is not a narrow focus on content but a focus on the whole child, including their social, emotional, and physical development.
The deep implication here is that there should be no external pressure to realize a goal at a particular rate. The comparison isn't with others; it's with your former and future selves. If we rid ourselves of the notion that any of us ever reach a state labeled "failure", then there's no problem whatsoever in encouraging people to engage with a domain.
This suggests we should encourage children to dream the impossible, to think beyond the standard expectations, to dare to be unrealistic. Such encouragement promotes the importance of perseverance and questioning the established order. What's more, this instills in all people a mindset of lifelong learning and growth.
It's a big book with more than one subtitle: Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined: The Truth About Talent, Practice, Creativity, and the Many Paths to Greatness by Scott Barry Kaufman.
Kaufman tells a fascinating story about intelligence, weaving his own personal life story with both the history of the changing science and understanding of intelligence and the latest findings and speculations in the field. Kaufman was labeled learning disabled as a child, and became fascinated with understanding intelligence in the abstract and his own in particular.
IQ, mindset, potential, talent, creativity, effort, and the g factor are all discussed and sometimes the book gets a bit dense. I am a tad rusty on my understanding of statistics, and had to do a little refresher to figure out some of this. But although the material has serious weight to it, it is also presented in a very interesting way and I found it fascinating.
The validity of testing and the labels "learning disabled" and "gifted" are also really challenged here.
The implications for education are that we should be addressing the whole child with work on cognitive strategies, maximizing each individual's strengths, and encouraging a growth mindset and lots of deliberate practice. Intelligence is earned through effort, not fixed at birth.
Quotes:
Counterintuitively - and contrary to the practice in most schools - the most efficient and cost-effective route to obtaining the best academic outcomes for all students is not a narrow focus on content but a focus on the whole child, including their social, emotional, and physical development.
The deep implication here is that there should be no external pressure to realize a goal at a particular rate. The comparison isn't with others; it's with your former and future selves. If we rid ourselves of the notion that any of us ever reach a state labeled "failure", then there's no problem whatsoever in encouraging people to engage with a domain.
This suggests we should encourage children to dream the impossible, to think beyond the standard expectations, to dare to be unrealistic. Such encouragement promotes the importance of perseverance and questioning the established order. What's more, this instills in all people a mindset of lifelong learning and growth.
June 29, 2013
The introduction and first chapters of the book set up an interesting value proposition: that human intellectual ability is a multidimensional phenomenon and there are better ways to measure them than standard IQ tests. Everyone who's interested in HRM or, say, education can readily appreciate the value of new means to better assess and amplify the abilities of pupils and (prospective) colleagues.
Naturally, such a book would start with critique towards established ability measurement systems. All nice and dandy. But then the book loses its steam and gets stuck in this criticism. In a really repetitive, boring way it goes over and over again how flawed and bad IQ tests are. How much harm they do to children and how bad they are at forecasting future academic performance, yada yada yaa. Up until the very last chapter.
The author misses an important point about standard testing. It's not done for its accuracy. It's done because it is cheap, i.e. if there's a need to assess a bulk of people, testing provides a satisficing result at acceptable costs. Do the systems need to be set up in a way that requires such assessment? Good question. May be it is indeed possible to shape education and human resources management in a way that we do not need standardized mass assessment. May be there are alternatives? Sadly, this book shies away from proposing any constructive solutions, and instead of that is limited to endless moaning and whining.
Naturally, such a book would start with critique towards established ability measurement systems. All nice and dandy. But then the book loses its steam and gets stuck in this criticism. In a really repetitive, boring way it goes over and over again how flawed and bad IQ tests are. How much harm they do to children and how bad they are at forecasting future academic performance, yada yada yaa. Up until the very last chapter.
The author misses an important point about standard testing. It's not done for its accuracy. It's done because it is cheap, i.e. if there's a need to assess a bulk of people, testing provides a satisficing result at acceptable costs. Do the systems need to be set up in a way that requires such assessment? Good question. May be it is indeed possible to shape education and human resources management in a way that we do not need standardized mass assessment. May be there are alternatives? Sadly, this book shies away from proposing any constructive solutions, and instead of that is limited to endless moaning and whining.
October 20, 2014
This book has really redefined how I think about IQ. I loved all the history on how the IQ test was created and what other tests have added to the field. This is such a great holistic approach, without throwing out the baby with the bathwater. This book really focuses on how all the boxes we use to label and sort children can be a detriment. I could see all my kids in this book and my students. I love the focus, looking at more then IQ. So much more can be seen in tenacity, creativity and passion. The book points out that determination and work ethic have a greater impact on academic success then IQ does. Ultimately I want my kids to lead a happy and fulfilling life, whether or not they are a "genius."
December 6, 2014
As a teacher of students identified as gifted my enjoyment and appreciation of a book title "Ungifted" may seem ironic.
The children I teach are generally highly successful at playing the game of school. But some are not, including my own children. My oldest was very successful in public education until his sophomore year in high school when boredom and disinterest drove him to ignore his studies. He eventually, begrudgingly, rejoined the education game and is doing very well in college.
My younger two children have various learning difficulties, including learning delays and dyslexia. But they are very intelligent in the areas of their passions. My daughter, due to her super power of dyslexia, has an amazing visual memory and taught herself to ride a bike and tie her own shoes very early in life. My middle son is encyclopedic in his knowledge of college and pro sports. It hurts that he can recall every starting QB and their number in the NFL but took eighteen months to learn a dime and nickel make fifteen cents.
The one thing that Kaufman makes clear in his writing is that an IQ test will have very little determination on the future success on my students who are academically gifted and my own children who show high ability in non-academic areas. What is important is the dynamic interplay of engagement and abilities in pursuit of personal goals.
How come my son did not learn about money but had no problems assigning numbers to QB's? He didn't care about money, it didn't match with his personal goal to be involved in sports.
Why does my daughter not like to read? It's hard, frustrating. Who wants to do things that cause your brain to hurt and your self-esteem to suffer? At the same time she is great working with younger children, and volunteers helping children using hippotherapy at a local stable.
Success is not a test score. And that is important for all students to know, no matter where their dot falls on the bell curve.
The only point I disagree with is the use of the word Truth in the title. As Kaufman points out many times in his work, the truth is subjective and it changes. A century from now researches may look on his work much like we look at the work of Alfred Binet and his IQ tests. At the time, everyone thought he had unlocked the secrets of measuring intelligence, when they were just a little less bit less wrong in their thinking than before.
Ungifted is an important book for anyone who works with children. We cannot let the antiquated structure of the early 1900's still dictate what is considered successful in schools. Kaufman reaffirms and synthesizes the many ways we can all be great in our own lives, in our own ways. And a number on a test should not dictate our greatness.
The children I teach are generally highly successful at playing the game of school. But some are not, including my own children. My oldest was very successful in public education until his sophomore year in high school when boredom and disinterest drove him to ignore his studies. He eventually, begrudgingly, rejoined the education game and is doing very well in college.
My younger two children have various learning difficulties, including learning delays and dyslexia. But they are very intelligent in the areas of their passions. My daughter, due to her super power of dyslexia, has an amazing visual memory and taught herself to ride a bike and tie her own shoes very early in life. My middle son is encyclopedic in his knowledge of college and pro sports. It hurts that he can recall every starting QB and their number in the NFL but took eighteen months to learn a dime and nickel make fifteen cents.
The one thing that Kaufman makes clear in his writing is that an IQ test will have very little determination on the future success on my students who are academically gifted and my own children who show high ability in non-academic areas. What is important is the dynamic interplay of engagement and abilities in pursuit of personal goals.
How come my son did not learn about money but had no problems assigning numbers to QB's? He didn't care about money, it didn't match with his personal goal to be involved in sports.
Why does my daughter not like to read? It's hard, frustrating. Who wants to do things that cause your brain to hurt and your self-esteem to suffer? At the same time she is great working with younger children, and volunteers helping children using hippotherapy at a local stable.
Success is not a test score. And that is important for all students to know, no matter where their dot falls on the bell curve.
The only point I disagree with is the use of the word Truth in the title. As Kaufman points out many times in his work, the truth is subjective and it changes. A century from now researches may look on his work much like we look at the work of Alfred Binet and his IQ tests. At the time, everyone thought he had unlocked the secrets of measuring intelligence, when they were just a little less bit less wrong in their thinking than before.
Ungifted is an important book for anyone who works with children. We cannot let the antiquated structure of the early 1900's still dictate what is considered successful in schools. Kaufman reaffirms and synthesizes the many ways we can all be great in our own lives, in our own ways. And a number on a test should not dictate our greatness.
October 9, 2012
I listened to the Audible book. Kaufman is an advocate for broadening the consideration of what is included in intelligence. Other factors which he wants to include are factors like motivation/passion, self-regulation, and openness to experience. Opportunities, support from mentors and positive feedback from the environment are stressed. His message is that we should focus on the strengths of students, and chart their progress, without comparison to other students. He writes about some educational programs which are of this type. Kaufman's definition of intelligence is, "the dynamic interplay of engagement and abilities in pursuit of personal goals." The tenets of his Theory of Personal Intelligence are (1) the self is a core aspect of human intelligence (2)engagement and ability are inseparable throughout human development, dynamically feeding off each other as we engage in the world (3)both controlled and spontaneous cognitive processes can be adaptive for acquiring a personal goal and (4) there are no "ten-year" rules or "creativity thresholds". This book has a long discussion of the history and nature of g. Issues of expectation and of labeling are discussed. Working memory is seen as an important workhorse in terms of cognitive processing. If you deal with intelligence professionally, this is an important read.
December 17, 2014
A fascinating topic but sadly the delivery was very dry. Also, the author had a clear agenda to debunk IQ tests since he had not done well on them and yet succeeded nonetheless. While his determination was inspiring, his descriptions of studies and theories were not very compelling.
October 25, 2024
So far it’s good not great. I mean everything in here is right but it didn’t feel like it needed a whole book to say that. I feel like partially he wrote this because he needs validation. 3.4 stars
December 24, 2016
This book is not just well researched and thorough, but surprisingly comforting.
Kaufman shows that the fixed view of intelligence (ie, that you only have a certain amount of intelligence and there's nothing you can do to change it) many people have is not accurate. There are actually a variety of factors that influence what we see as intelligence, including opportunity, drive, and passion. He explains each of these variables in great detail, as well as how they relate to each other. He also gives a good explanation of prodigies and other intellectual outliers.
This book is very well researched, but he also corroborates his findings with stories from his own life. Kaufman was identified as having a learning disability as a child, but his fascination with cognitive psychology and need to prove himself drove him to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. It's an inspirational story, of course, but the point of this book is that it shouldn't have to be an anomaly. That kind of passion is potentially in all of us, and can drive us to do great things.
Kaufman shows that the fixed view of intelligence (ie, that you only have a certain amount of intelligence and there's nothing you can do to change it) many people have is not accurate. There are actually a variety of factors that influence what we see as intelligence, including opportunity, drive, and passion. He explains each of these variables in great detail, as well as how they relate to each other. He also gives a good explanation of prodigies and other intellectual outliers.
This book is very well researched, but he also corroborates his findings with stories from his own life. Kaufman was identified as having a learning disability as a child, but his fascination with cognitive psychology and need to prove himself drove him to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. It's an inspirational story, of course, but the point of this book is that it shouldn't have to be an anomaly. That kind of passion is potentially in all of us, and can drive us to do great things.
July 30, 2016
For anyone who is interested in the history surrounding our methods of classifying and defining intelligence, this is the book for you. What makes someone smart? Why have traditional measurements of intelligence ignored other important areas like artistic, social and emotional intelligence?
Parts of this book excited me: some of the research into motivation, grit, and determination and how those traits correlate with traditional measurements of intelligence; the broadening of some researchers' definition of intelligence beyond just verbal/logical/mathematical reasoning; and, some of the methods being used to improve how children learn. And yet, I felt slightly let down by other sections, mostly when I compared some of the ideas in the book to other books I've read on the current state of education - I just can't manage to integrate Ungifted with say, The Smartest Kids in the World. Maybe that type of synthesis is easier for those who work in education...
I listened to this book instead of reading it, which may explain some of the difficulty I had with keeping in mind the overall arc. I thought the book started off great and I was really interested. Around the middle I feel like it bogged down into a more academic discussion of different studies and theories. It is fascinating to think about how much we have learned about the brain and intelligence and yet, as the author details, there is still so much more that seems outside our grasp.
In any case, I was intrigued by his personal story, some of which he divulges at the beginning of each chapter. I really wanted to hear more about his experiences in school, as someone who was ungifted in traditional measurements of intelligence, instead of just snippets. The personal narrative helped me connect with the book and understand his personal motives for wanting to learn everything he could about intelligence. He made the subject matter relevant and, for the most part, interesting. Worth the read if you have an interest in the human mind.
Parts of this book excited me: some of the research into motivation, grit, and determination and how those traits correlate with traditional measurements of intelligence; the broadening of some researchers' definition of intelligence beyond just verbal/logical/mathematical reasoning; and, some of the methods being used to improve how children learn. And yet, I felt slightly let down by other sections, mostly when I compared some of the ideas in the book to other books I've read on the current state of education - I just can't manage to integrate Ungifted with say, The Smartest Kids in the World. Maybe that type of synthesis is easier for those who work in education...
I listened to this book instead of reading it, which may explain some of the difficulty I had with keeping in mind the overall arc. I thought the book started off great and I was really interested. Around the middle I feel like it bogged down into a more academic discussion of different studies and theories. It is fascinating to think about how much we have learned about the brain and intelligence and yet, as the author details, there is still so much more that seems outside our grasp.
In any case, I was intrigued by his personal story, some of which he divulges at the beginning of each chapter. I really wanted to hear more about his experiences in school, as someone who was ungifted in traditional measurements of intelligence, instead of just snippets. The personal narrative helped me connect with the book and understand his personal motives for wanting to learn everything he could about intelligence. He made the subject matter relevant and, for the most part, interesting. Worth the read if you have an interest in the human mind.
October 25, 2016
I couldn't agree more with the writer and enjoyed every piece of the information. The traditional metrics for quantifying intelligence might not be the best way to nurture talents of a child.
In this book, author Scott Barry Kaufman explained what we don’t know about intelligence and how we are almost destroying the true potential of our children by judging them according to some intelligence tests (I.Q, SAT and GRE tests).
Every household has a slightly or a completely different developmental environment for a child. And the child learns processing the data depending on where, how and who is bringing him/her up. Then why we just assume that every kid will have to have a perfect SAT score to prove themselves as a competent individual?
The writer narrates his life stories while comparing the recent research and explain how his determination silently fought against the traditional customs and how he succeeded. As he said “I can’t wait to tell the kids how the world truly works, about the need to be your own self advocate of your life and to believe in yourself, regardless of other people’s expectations. I’ve seen that all the possibility is within reach if we allow children to dream and take their dream seriously because you never ever know, dream is due come true”
In this book, author Scott Barry Kaufman explained what we don’t know about intelligence and how we are almost destroying the true potential of our children by judging them according to some intelligence tests (I.Q, SAT and GRE tests).
Every household has a slightly or a completely different developmental environment for a child. And the child learns processing the data depending on where, how and who is bringing him/her up. Then why we just assume that every kid will have to have a perfect SAT score to prove themselves as a competent individual?
The writer narrates his life stories while comparing the recent research and explain how his determination silently fought against the traditional customs and how he succeeded. As he said “I can’t wait to tell the kids how the world truly works, about the need to be your own self advocate of your life and to believe in yourself, regardless of other people’s expectations. I’ve seen that all the possibility is within reach if we allow children to dream and take their dream seriously because you never ever know, dream is due come true”
November 18, 2013
Kaufman's book is technical and sometimes too full of irrelevant research, but overall, he presents a fabulous case of why we work toward helping children find their own meaning in education and should avoid labeling (and separating) children at all costs.
He was labeled a special education student based on one IQ test and a slower work method...and it obviously affected his self-confidence as a young child. However, his book does a great job of detailing the history of the IQ test and how it has changed and evolved over the last 60 years. I appreciated the frank details about the problems with this type of test (and yet it is still used as an identifier in schools, though it is not nearly as narrow as it used to be). I also enjoyed the way he presented research that showed that perseverance, self-discipline and deliberate practice played a much bigger role in becoming a "success" than IQ score. (And, as a Montessori-trained educator, I appreciated the nod to Montessori education as being a contributing factor to helping children learn self-discipline and control).
He was labeled a special education student based on one IQ test and a slower work method...and it obviously affected his self-confidence as a young child. However, his book does a great job of detailing the history of the IQ test and how it has changed and evolved over the last 60 years. I appreciated the frank details about the problems with this type of test (and yet it is still used as an identifier in schools, though it is not nearly as narrow as it used to be). I also enjoyed the way he presented research that showed that perseverance, self-discipline and deliberate practice played a much bigger role in becoming a "success" than IQ score. (And, as a Montessori-trained educator, I appreciated the nod to Montessori education as being a contributing factor to helping children learn self-discipline and control).
October 16, 2020
I often think about how it's so strange that we measure intelligence based off a person's ability to memorize different facts. A prime example is the phenomenon of Jeopardy, but we see this throughout school as well. Grades and standardized tests aren't so much based on a person's problem-solving abilities or creativity but memorization, and this I've always felt that this is a poor gauge of intelligence. Fortunately, I came across this book by Scott Barry Kaufman.
Scott started out as a kid who was put in special needs classes and is now one of the greatest academics of our time. Recently, I finished his new book Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, and when I realized he wrote on this subject that I'm interested in, I had to read it. I highly recommend this book for any parent, teacher, or person who disagrees with the conventional ways we see people as "intelligent". I also think this book is great to read in conjunction with Peak by Anders Ericsson and The Cult of Smart by Fredrik deBoer.
Scott started out as a kid who was put in special needs classes and is now one of the greatest academics of our time. Recently, I finished his new book Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, and when I realized he wrote on this subject that I'm interested in, I had to read it. I highly recommend this book for any parent, teacher, or person who disagrees with the conventional ways we see people as "intelligent". I also think this book is great to read in conjunction with Peak by Anders Ericsson and The Cult of Smart by Fredrik deBoer.
April 10, 2015
I cannot praise this book enough. Kaufman does a wonderful job of dispelling the terribly myopic view of intelligence and standardized testing that people usually have. I would recommend this to anyone who is curious about what intelligence is, how it is measured and why we need to expand our current conception of it.
January 1, 2021
This book really gives a wide range of perspectives about human intelligence, supported by extensive research. I really love the author's own theory of "Personal Intelligence": instead of measuring a person's intelligence by comparing them against others, it puts the individual in the focus and measures intelligence by looking at the individual's pursuit of personal goals.
November 5, 2020
Why IQ is overrated along with Reformations needed in the Education
January 6, 2019
Great book on intelligence which doesn't deny the existence of g/IQ but also doesn't ascribe everything to it. A pretty nuanced overview of the types of intelligence testing, impact on individuals, and some policy ideas. Totally neglects some of the more important group/societal issues around intelligence testing, however.
The best parts were some of the more detailed hierarchies of intelligence across domains (which tend to all be highly g-correlated but distinct) and some interventions which helped in specific cases with some, as well as studies of other "types" of intelligence (child prodigies, talents, autism) and what testing reveals about how those work vs. how other people on the spectrum of intelligence solve the same problems; i.e. how it reveals some people appear to solve memory problems in different ways than "train your memory" works, and how things like enhanced working memory (which is highly correlated with g) seems to turn otherwise-negative excessive openness to experience into something positive (creativity).
One big takeaway (which is supported by other work) is that positive results feed back on themselves; initial interest and success feed someone's personal belief in success/agency and this makes someone a more appealing student, who then gets more support, and gets more success.
Overall, probably the best work on intelligence I've yet read.
The best parts were some of the more detailed hierarchies of intelligence across domains (which tend to all be highly g-correlated but distinct) and some interventions which helped in specific cases with some, as well as studies of other "types" of intelligence (child prodigies, talents, autism) and what testing reveals about how those work vs. how other people on the spectrum of intelligence solve the same problems; i.e. how it reveals some people appear to solve memory problems in different ways than "train your memory" works, and how things like enhanced working memory (which is highly correlated with g) seems to turn otherwise-negative excessive openness to experience into something positive (creativity).
One big takeaway (which is supported by other work) is that positive results feed back on themselves; initial interest and success feed someone's personal belief in success/agency and this makes someone a more appealing student, who then gets more support, and gets more success.
Overall, probably the best work on intelligence I've yet read.
January 29, 2026
4.5 stars- One of my biggest takeaways from this book is how much working memory matters to achievement. I dismissed it as less important than long term memory but it doesn’t appear to be. Also, I’m fascinated by his studies on implicit learning. We have so far to go in understanding intelligence.
March 3, 2016
In this book, Scott Kaufman leads on a fascinating journey through the science of intelligence, achievement and even greatness. I gave this book five stars because unlike other popular books on these topics, such as Daniel Coyle's 'The Talent Code' and Goeff Colvin's 'Talent is Overrated', Kaufman stays true to the science for the entire book. Kaufman is a graduate of both Cambridge and Yale, as well as a award-winning scientist, so perhaps it's unsurprising that Ungifted is epistemically superior. He may not have Daniel Coyle's journalist flair with writing, but Kaufman's book is thoroughly readable. Coyle's position as an outsider to the scientific community, as well as his experience an and editor and writer, allowed him to position The Talent Code as a kind of gonzo journalism. Coyle investigated 'talent hotbeds' throughout the world, as well as interviewing leading scientists, allowing him to construct a singular, intriguing narrative that told the story he wanted people to hear. In truth, The Talent Code was a great read. However, Ungifted reads much more academically by comparison, reporting extensively on the history of psychological concepts, as well as regularly citing individual studies. This puts constraints on the narrative, as most science is messy, complicated, and ambiguous when addressing the vanguard of knowledge. Kaufman rarely shies away from these truths -- much to his credit -- resulting in the most accurate popular book-length treatment of expertise that I've seen so far. With this in mind, perhaps it's unfair to compare Kaufman's writing to other books, as his fidelity to the science made it far more challenging, and ultimately he still produced an interesting, readable book.
Kaufman introduces each chapter with a first-person recollection of his experiences as a child, notably as someone who received the diagnosis of a specific learning disability. These vignettes are deeply personal, and provide context for Kaufman's own research; subtly, they provide a background to the text being a story about triumph over adversity, as much as it is about popularising the science. The book itself stands as a testament to Kaufman's own achievements, despite his early difficulties. Kaufman's childhood clearly provides a framework for his own worldview. He comes across as deeply compassionate, thoughtful and hopeful; he does not want to leave any children behind, even if they don't score well on standardised tests. Given his apriori temperament and personal attachment to the issues at hand, I expected him to polarize the research. I was impressed that he rarely, if ever, strays far from the data and evidence, even if he consistently interprets findings in a very optimistic way.
In the end, I was lightly sceptical of Kaufman's own theory of intelligence: a theory that puts developmental and personal aspects of achievement at its centre, while seemingly being hostile to comparisons between individuals. This scepticism was tempered when it was obvious Kaufman was open about those limitations himself. Even if the final word is ephemeral and open to revision, Ungifted is worth a read in its entirety for it's close, thoughtful treatment of intelligence, intellectual disability, giftedness, passion , motivation, talent and creativity. Personally, Kaufman's commitment to the truth -- even when co-occurring with his ceaseless optimism -- is far more important to me than the journalist and writers who insist on telling us what we want to here.
Kaufman introduces each chapter with a first-person recollection of his experiences as a child, notably as someone who received the diagnosis of a specific learning disability. These vignettes are deeply personal, and provide context for Kaufman's own research; subtly, they provide a background to the text being a story about triumph over adversity, as much as it is about popularising the science. The book itself stands as a testament to Kaufman's own achievements, despite his early difficulties. Kaufman's childhood clearly provides a framework for his own worldview. He comes across as deeply compassionate, thoughtful and hopeful; he does not want to leave any children behind, even if they don't score well on standardised tests. Given his apriori temperament and personal attachment to the issues at hand, I expected him to polarize the research. I was impressed that he rarely, if ever, strays far from the data and evidence, even if he consistently interprets findings in a very optimistic way.
In the end, I was lightly sceptical of Kaufman's own theory of intelligence: a theory that puts developmental and personal aspects of achievement at its centre, while seemingly being hostile to comparisons between individuals. This scepticism was tempered when it was obvious Kaufman was open about those limitations himself. Even if the final word is ephemeral and open to revision, Ungifted is worth a read in its entirety for it's close, thoughtful treatment of intelligence, intellectual disability, giftedness, passion , motivation, talent and creativity. Personally, Kaufman's commitment to the truth -- even when co-occurring with his ceaseless optimism -- is far more important to me than the journalist and writers who insist on telling us what we want to here.
November 4, 2013
This book has a style that combines memoir with an extended academic paper. Each chapter starts with stories from Kaufman's remarkable path from special education to Yale researcher, and it adds a weight to his arguments as well as being a poignant story on it's own.
I read the book from front-to-back, and I must admit that at times the number of papers, studies and researchers cited was eye-crossing for me, and I found myself getting lost in the details. That said, if you have any questions about how intelligence is measured, studied, or understood, and how that relates to classifying people especially in school, this book is a fantastic source. The very complete citations in the Notes allow you to go read any of the original research that Kaufman discusses, and I found myself looking up a number of the papers for further reading.
Like an academic paper, I wonder if this book couldn't be read starting with the Prologue, then skipping to the last chapter (the discussion and conclusions) and then go back and fill in the details with the remainder of the book.
Chapter 13 is the money chapter though. He finally pulls it together all the strands that he discussed in the previous to really ask the deep questions and to build it into his own Theory of Personal Intelligence. If you find yourself questioning our current values system in regards to "intelligence" and how we teach our students to become more "intelligent", then this is a chapter you may find yourself reading more than once. It is a powerful philosophy of intelligence and model for learning.
"Ungifted" has a more academic style than most popularizing books. If Kaufman had wanted to produce such a book, he would have cut about 100 pages a bunch of detail. However, if you are the kind of person who wants to follow an argument down to it's base origins, then you will find this style quite satisfying.
In either case, if you care about education, his last chapter should not be missed.
I read the book from front-to-back, and I must admit that at times the number of papers, studies and researchers cited was eye-crossing for me, and I found myself getting lost in the details. That said, if you have any questions about how intelligence is measured, studied, or understood, and how that relates to classifying people especially in school, this book is a fantastic source. The very complete citations in the Notes allow you to go read any of the original research that Kaufman discusses, and I found myself looking up a number of the papers for further reading.
Like an academic paper, I wonder if this book couldn't be read starting with the Prologue, then skipping to the last chapter (the discussion and conclusions) and then go back and fill in the details with the remainder of the book.
Chapter 13 is the money chapter though. He finally pulls it together all the strands that he discussed in the previous to really ask the deep questions and to build it into his own Theory of Personal Intelligence. If you find yourself questioning our current values system in regards to "intelligence" and how we teach our students to become more "intelligent", then this is a chapter you may find yourself reading more than once. It is a powerful philosophy of intelligence and model for learning.
"Ungifted" has a more academic style than most popularizing books. If Kaufman had wanted to produce such a book, he would have cut about 100 pages a bunch of detail. However, if you are the kind of person who wants to follow an argument down to it's base origins, then you will find this style quite satisfying.
In either case, if you care about education, his last chapter should not be missed.
December 11, 2017
The author, Kaufman has been through the childhood labelled as "kid of learning difficulty", he was back and forth receiving special kind of "education" and treated by teacher and classmates as "different". He decided to dig in to human mind and here is this very professional book with detailed study on the history of the development of IQ test. The methods and the definitions varied with the time as we get to know more and more of specific parts of brain functions. The book also mentioned does more than 10,000 hours make you master a skill? The brain of autistic people. How we define genius? some genius were good in Music like Mozart, but not at all in life, or his own finance. Some autistic people are good at number and memories, but lack of skills on communication and focus just on big pictures.
Last 1/3 was introduced into neuroscience, talking quite a lot about brain.
In the end, Kaufman overcame his "label" achieved what most of us can not, got a doctor degree and became professor, also he wrote this book.
............................below is some paragraphs i copied from book.
--卡特亚·冯卡洛里（Catya von Karolyi）、埃伦·温纳（EllenWinner）、温蒂·格雷 （Wendy Gray）和戈登·舍曼（Gordon Sherman）于2003年在学术期刊《大脑与语言》 （Brain and Language）上发表了一篇论文，提出有阅读障碍的人可能更擅长于依赖 右脑的视觉和空间任务，因为右脑倾向于从整体上加工信息。为了检验这一观点， 他们请有阅读障碍的青少年与正常青少年分别完成一项需要进行整体审视的任 务，并进行对比。他们让被试观察一些线绘图形，指出哪些图形可能代表实物，哪些 不可能。不可能的图形看起来像是三维立体物，但是在现实的三维空间里却不可能 存在。图形例子可参考埃舍尔（M.C.Escher）的作品，比如其著名的不可思议的楼梯 画作《上升与下降》（Ascending and Descending）。如果你从局部细节去审视而没有 结合整体，你会觉得这样的图画是可能存在的，但是如果你从整体的角度去看，你就 能看到矛盾的部分。 测试中发现，有阅读障碍的人识别不可能存在的图形的速度明显更快，同时 能够保证准确性。这表明，糟糕的阅读技能带来的一个优势便是迅速而准确的“整体 审视”能力。阅读障碍者似乎比普通阅读者拥有更广阔的视觉感知模式。阅读障碍者会得到很多方面的补偿，有时他们会发展出很强的沟通交 流、委派职责甚至读懂非言语面部表情的能力。这些能力是成功企业家至关 重要的能力..
虽然普通人口中阅读障碍者所占比率仅为15%，但是在她的调查样本中，35% 的企业家称有阅读障碍的特征。相反，公司经理中只有不到1%的人有阅读障碍的特 征。显然，有阅读障碍的人能更快地发展起自己的公司，并且口头沟通能力比那些没 有阅读障碍的人更强。洛根总结道：“有阅读障碍的企业家更喜欢在创业公司工作 或者承担连环创业者的角色，这样他们就能以自己的方式来做事。”维珍航空公司 创始人理查德·布兰森有阅读障碍，思科公司总裁约翰·钱伯斯也有阅读障碍，据称 他连自己的邮件都没法读懂。
---她所说的“灵魂”是指什么？安娜玛丽自己也说不清楚。然而她也指 出：“我和资优儿童打了40多年的交道，接触了上千个这样的孩子，但我还是 敬畏每一个年轻的灵魂，每一个我很荣幸得以了解的灵魂。对于每一个孩子 内心的自我，我都有着深刻的了解。我体验过他们的情感、他们的喜怒哀乐， 以及他们的壮志雄心。我看到，每一个自我都是完美的，只有拿它们与别人作 比较时，它们才会变得不完美。”
---要了解动机的原理，我们有必要透过表象，去看一看神经递质多巴胺。多 巴胺是一种古老的分子，但是在人类身上发挥了独特的作用。多巴胺为人类 某些最独特的认知能力提供了动力，包括工作记忆、认知灵活性、抽象推理能 力和创造力。弗雷德·普雷维克（Fred Previc）认为，人类文化从大约7万年前开 始繁荣时，就有赖于人们多巴胺系统的扩展。3 多巴胺对动机也有着至关重要的作用。多巴胺可以引发认知和行为，驱 使我们与周围世界进行互动并表达自己的思想。人们通常一提起多巴胺就会 联想到享乐，实际上这是一个很常见的误解。虽然快乐和满足会给我们带来 情绪上的愉悦，但是多巴胺本身不会唤起这些情绪。 相反，其最主要的作用是使人想要某样东西。多巴胺能够引起诸如欲望、 兴奋和希望等情绪。在遇到有可能获得巨大回报尤其是风险较高（如赌博） 的情形时，多巴胺系统便会疯狂。但是当你的欲望实现以后，多巴胺并不能保 证你一定会喜欢你所得到的东西。因此，尽管多巴胺可以令我们感觉良好，但 它并不一定真正能使我们感觉良好。鉴于多巴胺的这些特性，肯特·贝里奇 （Kent Berridge）认为多巴胺在行为中扮演的角色是“诱因动机”（incentive motivation），即多巴胺对我们的注意力产生影响，使得那些与我们个人兴趣 相关的事物更加凸显
----托德·思拉什（Todd Thrash）和安德鲁·埃利奥特（Andrew Elliot）提到灵感 的三个核心方面是唤醒（evocation）、超越（transcendence）和趋近动机 （approach motivation）。14首先，灵感被某种力量无意、自发地唤醒——可以是 来自内在的突然顿悟，也可以是因为邂逅了一位鼓舞人心的人，比如一个楷 模。其次，灵感也能够超越我们自私的个人忧虑和局限性，这种超越通常伴随 着一个认识到新的可能性的清晰明朗的瞬间。“人类动机的制高点源自于在 我们前方唤醒我们意识到更好可能性的美与善。”“人类动机的顶峰来源于高 于我们的善和美，正是这些唤醒了我们更好的可能性。”这样的明朗瞬间往 往是生动的，可以伟大远景的方式呈现，抑或让人“看到”以前没有看到过的 事物（也许它一直都存在于那里）。最后，灵感包括趋近动机，能够使个体努力 传输、表达或实现一个新的想法或愿景。根据思拉什和埃利奥特的观点，灵感 不但包括受到某事或某物的启发，还包括对灵感采取行动。
---为了在实验室里捕捉灵感，思拉什和埃利奥特开发了一个“灵感量表”，来测量 体验到灵感的频率。他们发现，受到启发的人有更强的内在动机，而外在动机更 少。受到启发的人也更开放，更易于接受新体验，在他们从事的活动中表现出更多的 专注度以及心流（flow）体验（见第12章）。受灵感激发的人也报告说他们拥有更强 的内驱力来完成他们的工作，但是求胜心较弱。与主导感（如责任心）或资源增殖相 关的变量鲜少与灵感挂钩，这一点与灵感的卓越特性相符。受灵感激发的人也报告 称其具有更高水平的心理资源，包括对自身能力的自信、自尊和乐观。他们也将自 身看作是更具创造力的人。随着时间的推移，他们的创造力自我评级也在不断提 升。与不持有专利的人员相比，持有专利的发明者报告称其受到灵感激发的频率和 强度更高。同时，得到灵感的频率越高，所持有的专利数量也就越多。 灵感在推进目标的达成上也有重要作用。在最近由玛丽娜·米利亚夫斯卡娅 （Marina Milyavskaya）及其同事所做的研究中，他们请被试大学生汇报本学期的3个 目标，然后每月3次向他们汇报进展。在灵感量表中得分较高的学生通过制定更 多鼓舞人心的目标而表现出更快的进展。即使将其他人格特质纳入考量范围，这些 结果依然成立。重要的是，灵感与目标进度之间的关系是互惠的：目标进度也预测 了未来的目标灵感。研究人员指出，这表明目标进度和目标灵感互为基础，形成一个 更大的目标灵感和更大目标追求之间的循环
---隐蔽信号（implicit signals）对大脑有重大的影响，这当然也会反映在实际的行 为中。在最近的一项研究中，肯尼思·吉士达（Kenneth Kishida）及其同事让被试单独 参加智商测验，然后在群体内再次进行测验。33在群体测验情境中，研究人员将被试 的分数以及组内排名告知了他们。当研究人员将被试的社会性地位这一隐蔽信号 告知群组内的每一个人后，所有人的表现都变得更差。然而最纠结的是那些被告知 他们“表现不佳”的人。结果，不仅是他们的智商分数较前一次测验降低了，而且他们 大脑中与恐惧和工作记忆相关的区域（杏仁核、背外侧前额叶皮层和伏隔核）也发 生了变化，表明期望值的降低给他们带来了焦虑，阻碍他们展示自己的真正实力。低 期望使得他们的大脑处于关闭状态
-----自我调节的重要性不仅体现于在校的表现。苔莉·莫菲特（Terrie Moffitt） 和同事追踪研究了某城市一年内出生的1 037名婴儿，搜集分析了被试从出 生到32岁的大量数据。11结果显示，儿童时期自控能力较差的被试在32岁时 更有可能存在药物依赖问题，包括酗酒和吸毒。即使考虑社会阶层和智商的 影响，儿童时期自控能力较差的被试成年后所能达到的社会经济地位和收入 水平也相对较低。32岁时，47%的被试已为人父母，而儿童时期的自控能力可 以预测他们的孩子将成长于单亲家庭还是完整的家庭环境中。
儿童时期自控能力较差的被试往往很少存钱以防患于未然，他们常被认 为不擅长管理个人财务，并且在成年后常为经济问题而烦恼。据统计，这些人 所面临的金钱管理问题和信贷问题也更多。这同样说明，儿童时期的自控能 力比个人成长的社会阶层及智商能更准确地预测个体今后的经济财产状况。 就犯罪情况而言，24%的被试在32岁前有过犯罪记录，而儿童时期自控能力 较差的被试则存在刑事犯罪记录的可能性更大。
----心理学家也越来越意识到假装游戏（pretend play）对儿童正常 认知发展和社会发展的重要性。系统性研究表明，参与假装游戏能够明显促 进两岁半至六七岁儿童的发展。研究显示，假装游戏有利于儿童的认知发 展，例如能使其更多地运用语言，包括虚拟语气、将来时和形容词。同时，假装 游戏对儿童的“心理理论”（theory of mind）这一重要概念的形成也有极大的 促进作用。所谓“心理理论”是指认识到个人想法可能有别于他人，并且理解 每个人都可能有多种不同观点的意识. 心理学家桑德拉·拉斯（Sandra Russ）辨识出一系列与游戏有关的认知和 情感过程。她对游戏的研究包括幻想、假装、象征、组织、对看似相互独立的 内容的认知整合以及发散性思维（即能够想出多种主意、故事主题和符号象 征的能力）。假装游戏能够帮助儿童更好地表达积极和消极的情绪，促进儿童 有效地调控情感，加强儿童情感与认知整合能力的发展。 虚构游戏能直接影响儿童自我调节能力的发展，可以帮 助减少攻击性行为并增强延迟满足能力。儿童利用玩具来介绍相关情境或 朋友的过程就自然体现了不同的观点和视角。通过扮演不同的角色，儿童能 够学到各种社会技能，如文明礼貌、交流沟通、问题解决以及理解同情。
-----拥有更优秀的言语工作记忆技巧的人使用言语策略时，在语言相关区 域显示的活动比较少，而拥有更优秀的心理旋转技巧的人在使用视觉-空间 策略时，在大脑视觉-空间区域显示的活动比较少。于是，研究者得出结论：认 知策略之所以有用，是因为认知策略能够将认知负担最小化。
---学者症候群可能是先天的，也可能是习得的。如果是先天的，那种种技 能会在童年早期就显现出来。而如果是习得的，那他们很有可能在受到击打、 脑损伤或变为痴呆之后突然表现出来。伯纳德·瑞兰（Bernard Rimland，已于 2006年去世）有世界上最大的自闭症患者数据库（超过34 000个案例）。他 发现很多学者症候群患者表现出的技能多为右脑技能，而他们的缺陷则与左 脑功能有着极为密切的联系。
---通感症是一种状态， 一种感官形态（如声音、数字、味道等）会自发地触发其他的感官形态（如颜 色或纹理）。通感症一般在4岁以前就表现得很明显了。据估计，患有通感症的 人只占总人口的1%。还有证据显示，通感症在艺术类的学生中更为普遍。103 尽管新近的研究表明通感可经由训练获得，104然而神经学上的研究确认了一 点，通感症患者的大脑连接呈现非典型的交叉状态，他们的通感状态都是在 儿童时期自发地出现的。
---科学家发现有一个特别的大脑网络，通常被称为“任务消极网络”（task negative）、“静息态网络”（resting）或者“默认网络”（default），这个网络在进行 被动休息和内省活动的时候高度活跃。11不能将这一网络与负责流体推理和 执行功能的前额叶顶叶网络结构相混淆（见第10章），该大脑网络通常被称 为“任务积极”（task positive）或“执行注意”（executive attention）网络，因为它 动用的是与外部世界的积极心理参与相关的大脑区域。 与之相反，默认网络深度参与内心的意识流。默认网络包括大脑额叶和 顶叶的众多内侧区域、外侧顶叶的下部区域以及颞叶内侧区域之间的交流。 正是默认网络的整体协调使得它拥有如此大的能量，但是理解它的各个组成 部分有助于我们理解各部分之间交互作用的影响。 我们首先来看一看前额叶皮层区域。腹内侧前额叶皮层（vmPFC）与社 会情绪的激活和副交感神经系统（负责“休息和笑话”活动，如平静心率）的调 节相关。背内侧前额叶皮层（dmPFC）与自我评价、社会评价和浪漫评价表示 以及同理心和情绪结果预测相关。
与默认网络相关联的信息加工活动有哪些呢？有心智游移、白日梦、创 造性的即兴创作和评价、未来设想、自我意识、高度个人化记忆的提取、对时 间和经历意义的反思性考量、模拟他人视角、评价个人和他人情绪反应的含 义、道德推理和反思性同情。
-----，注意力缺陷多动症（ADHD）患者也倾向于表现出 更多的心智游移活动和默认网络抑制的缺乏。同时，注意力缺陷多动症患 者也倾向于在发散性思维、创造风格和创造性成就测验中取得高分。邦尼· 克拉蒙德（Bonnie Cramond）表明，注意力缺陷多动症和创造力的行为表现有 着惊人的相似。尽管教师可能会觉得教授那些无法在座位上坐定并把注 意力放在事先拟定的教学目标上的学生非常令人沮丧，但他们应该认识到这 些“不专心”的孩子可能只是需要一点执行功能的训练，就可以帮助他们走上 发挥伟大创造力的道路！
Last 1/3 was introduced into neuroscience, talking quite a lot about brain.
In the end, Kaufman overcame his "label" achieved what most of us can not, got a doctor degree and became professor, also he wrote this book.
............................below is some paragraphs i copied from book.
--卡特亚·冯卡洛里（Catya von Karolyi）、埃伦·温纳（EllenWinner）、温蒂·格雷 （Wendy Gray）和戈登·舍曼（Gordon Sherman）于2003年在学术期刊《大脑与语言》 （Brain and Language）上发表了一篇论文，提出有阅读障碍的人可能更擅长于依赖 右脑的视觉和空间任务，因为右脑倾向于从整体上加工信息。为了检验这一观点， 他们请有阅读障碍的青少年与正常青少年分别完成一项需要进行整体审视的任 务，并进行对比。他们让被试观察一些线绘图形，指出哪些图形可能代表实物，哪些 不可能。不可能的图形看起来像是三维立体物，但是在现实的三维空间里却不可能 存在。图形例子可参考埃舍尔（M.C.Escher）的作品，比如其著名的不可思议的楼梯 画作《上升与下降》（Ascending and Descending）。如果你从局部细节去审视而没有 结合整体，你会觉得这样的图画是可能存在的，但是如果你从整体的角度去看，你就 能看到矛盾的部分。 测试中发现，有阅读障碍的人识别不可能存在的图形的速度明显更快，同时 能够保证准确性。这表明，糟糕的阅读技能带来的一个优势便是迅速而准确的“整体 审视”能力。阅读障碍者似乎比普通阅读者拥有更广阔的视觉感知模式。阅读障碍者会得到很多方面的补偿，有时他们会发展出很强的沟通交 流、委派职责甚至读懂非言语面部表情的能力。这些能力是成功企业家至关 重要的能力..
虽然普通人口中阅读障碍者所占比率仅为15%，但是在她的调查样本中，35% 的企业家称有阅读障碍的特征。相反，公司经理中只有不到1%的人有阅读障碍的特 征。显然，有阅读障碍的人能更快地发展起自己的公司，并且口头沟通能力比那些没 有阅读障碍的人更强。洛根总结道：“有阅读障碍的企业家更喜欢在创业公司工作 或者承担连环创业者的角色，这样他们就能以自己的方式来做事。”维珍航空公司 创始人理查德·布兰森有阅读障碍，思科公司总裁约翰·钱伯斯也有阅读障碍，据称 他连自己的邮件都没法读懂。
---她所说的“灵魂”是指什么？安娜玛丽自己也说不清楚。然而她也指 出：“我和资优儿童打了40多年的交道，接触了上千个这样的孩子，但我还是 敬畏每一个年轻的灵魂，每一个我很荣幸得以了解的灵魂。对于每一个孩子 内心的自我，我都有着深刻的了解。我体验过他们的情感、他们的喜怒哀乐， 以及他们的壮志雄心。我看到，每一个自我都是完美的，只有拿它们与别人作 比较时，它们才会变得不完美。”
---要了解动机的原理，我们有必要透过表象，去看一看神经递质多巴胺。多 巴胺是一种古老的分子，但是在人类身上发挥了独特的作用。多巴胺为人类 某些最独特的认知能力提供了动力，包括工作记忆、认知灵活性、抽象推理能 力和创造力。弗雷德·普雷维克（Fred Previc）认为，人类文化从大约7万年前开 始繁荣时，就有赖于人们多巴胺系统的扩展。3 多巴胺对动机也有着至关重要的作用。多巴胺可以引发认知和行为，驱 使我们与周围世界进行互动并表达自己的思想。人们通常一提起多巴胺就会 联想到享乐，实际上这是一个很常见的误解。虽然快乐和满足会给我们带来 情绪上的愉悦，但是多巴胺本身不会唤起这些情绪。 相反，其最主要的作用是使人想要某样东西。多巴胺能够引起诸如欲望、 兴奋和希望等情绪。在遇到有可能获得巨大回报尤其是风险较高（如赌博） 的情形时，多巴胺系统便会疯狂。但是当你的欲望实现以后，多巴胺并不能保 证你一定会喜欢你所得到的东西。因此，尽管多巴胺可以令我们感觉良好，但 它并不一定真正能使我们感觉良好。鉴于多巴胺的这些特性，肯特·贝里奇 （Kent Berridge）认为多巴胺在行为中扮演的角色是“诱因动机”（incentive motivation），即多巴胺对我们的注意力产生影响，使得那些与我们个人兴趣 相关的事物更加凸显
----托德·思拉什（Todd Thrash）和安德鲁·埃利奥特（Andrew Elliot）提到灵感 的三个核心方面是唤醒（evocation）、超越（transcendence）和趋近动机 （approach motivation）。14首先，灵感被某种力量无意、自发地唤醒——可以是 来自内在的突然顿悟，也可以是因为邂逅了一位鼓舞人心的人，比如一个楷 模。其次，灵感也能够超越我们自私的个人忧虑和局限性，这种超越通常伴随 着一个认识到新的可能性的清晰明朗的瞬间。“人类动机的制高点源自于在 我们前方唤醒我们意识到更好可能性的美与善。”“人类动机的顶峰来源于高 于我们的善和美，正是这些唤醒了我们更好的可能性。”这样的明朗瞬间往 往是生动的，可以伟大远景的方式呈现，抑或让人“看到”以前没有看到过的 事物（也许它一直都存在于那里）。最后，灵感包括趋近动机，能够使个体努力 传输、表达或实现一个新的想法或愿景。根据思拉什和埃利奥特的观点，灵感 不但包括受到某事或某物的启发，还包括对灵感采取行动。
---为了在实验室里捕捉灵感，思拉什和埃利奥特开发了一个“灵感量表”，来测量 体验到灵感的频率。他们发现，受到启发的人有更强的内在动机，而外在动机更 少。受到启发的人也更开放，更易于接受新体验，在他们从事的活动中表现出更多的 专注度以及心流（flow）体验（见第12章）。受灵感激发的人也报告说他们拥有更强 的内驱力来完成他们的工作，但是求胜心较弱。与主导感（如责任心）或资源增殖相 关的变量鲜少与灵感挂钩，这一点与灵感的卓越特性相符。受灵感激发的人也报告 称其具有更高水平的心理资源，包括对自身能力的自信、自尊和乐观。他们也将自 身看作是更具创造力的人。随着时间的推移，他们的创造力自我评级也在不断提 升。与不持有专利的人员相比，持有专利的发明者报告称其受到灵感激发的频率和 强度更高。同时，得到灵感的频率越高，所持有的专利数量也就越多。 灵感在推进目标的达成上也有重要作用。在最近由玛丽娜·米利亚夫斯卡娅 （Marina Milyavskaya）及其同事所做的研究中，他们请被试大学生汇报本学期的3个 目标，然后每月3次向他们汇报进展。在灵感量表中得分较高的学生通过制定更 多鼓舞人心的目标而表现出更快的进展。即使将其他人格特质纳入考量范围，这些 结果依然成立。重要的是，灵感与目标进度之间的关系是互惠的：目标进度也预测 了未来的目标灵感。研究人员指出，这表明目标进度和目标灵感互为基础，形成一个 更大的目标灵感和更大目标追求之间的循环
---隐蔽信号（implicit signals）对大脑有重大的影响，这当然也会反映在实际的行 为中。在最近的一项研究中，肯尼思·吉士达（Kenneth Kishida）及其同事让被试单独 参加智商测验，然后在群体内再次进行测验。33在群体测验情境中，研究人员将被试 的分数以及组内排名告知了他们。当研究人员将被试的社会性地位这一隐蔽信号 告知群组内的每一个人后，所有人的表现都变得更差。然而最纠结的是那些被告知 他们“表现不佳”的人。结果，不仅是他们的智商分数较前一次测验降低了，而且他们 大脑中与恐惧和工作记忆相关的区域（杏仁核、背外侧前额叶皮层和伏隔核）也发 生了变化，表明期望值的降低给他们带来了焦虑，阻碍他们展示自己的真正实力。低 期望使得他们的大脑处于关闭状态
-----自我调节的重要性不仅体现于在校的表现。苔莉·莫菲特（Terrie Moffitt） 和同事追踪研究了某城市一年内出生的1 037名婴儿，搜集分析了被试从出 生到32岁的大量数据。11结果显示，儿童时期自控能力较差的被试在32岁时 更有可能存在药物依赖问题，包括酗酒和吸毒。即使考虑社会阶层和智商的 影响，儿童时期自控能力较差的被试成年后所能达到的社会经济地位和收入 水平也相对较低。32岁时，47%的被试已为人父母，而儿童时期的自控能力可 以预测他们的孩子将成长于单亲家庭还是完整的家庭环境中。
儿童时期自控能力较差的被试往往很少存钱以防患于未然，他们常被认 为不擅长管理个人财务，并且在成年后常为经济问题而烦恼。据统计，这些人 所面临的金钱管理问题和信贷问题也更多。这同样说明，儿童时期的自控能 力比个人成长的社会阶层及智商能更准确地预测个体今后的经济财产状况。 就犯罪情况而言，24%的被试在32岁前有过犯罪记录，而儿童时期自控能力 较差的被试则存在刑事犯罪记录的可能性更大。
----心理学家也越来越意识到假装游戏（pretend play）对儿童正常 认知发展和社会发展的重要性。系统性研究表明，参与假装游戏能够明显促 进两岁半至六七岁儿童的发展。研究显示，假装游戏有利于儿童的认知发 展，例如能使其更多地运用语言，包括虚拟语气、将来时和形容词。同时，假装 游戏对儿童的“心理理论”（theory of mind）这一重要概念的形成也有极大的 促进作用。所谓“心理理论”是指认识到个人想法可能有别于他人，并且理解 每个人都可能有多种不同观点的意识. 心理学家桑德拉·拉斯（Sandra Russ）辨识出一系列与游戏有关的认知和 情感过程。她对游戏的研究包括幻想、假装、象征、组织、对看似相互独立的 内容的认知整合以及发散性思维（即能够想出多种主意、故事主题和符号象 征的能力）。假装游戏能够帮助儿童更好地表达积极和消极的情绪，促进儿童 有效地调控情感，加强儿童情感与认知整合能力的发展。 虚构游戏能直接影响儿童自我调节能力的发展，可以帮 助减少攻击性行为并增强延迟满足能力。儿童利用玩具来介绍相关情境或 朋友的过程就自然体现了不同的观点和视角。通过扮演不同的角色，儿童能 够学到各种社会技能，如文明礼貌、交流沟通、问题解决以及理解同情。
-----拥有更优秀的言语工作记忆技巧的人使用言语策略时，在语言相关区 域显示的活动比较少，而拥有更优秀的心理旋转技巧的人在使用视觉-空间 策略时，在大脑视觉-空间区域显示的活动比较少。于是，研究者得出结论：认 知策略之所以有用，是因为认知策略能够将认知负担最小化。
---学者症候群可能是先天的，也可能是习得的。如果是先天的，那种种技 能会在童年早期就显现出来。而如果是习得的，那他们很有可能在受到击打、 脑损伤或变为痴呆之后突然表现出来。伯纳德·瑞兰（Bernard Rimland，已于 2006年去世）有世界上最大的自闭症患者数据库（超过34 000个案例）。他 发现很多学者症候群患者表现出的技能多为右脑技能，而他们的缺陷则与左 脑功能有着极为密切的联系。
---通感症是一种状态， 一种感官形态（如声音、数字、味道等）会自发地触发其他的感官形态（如颜 色或纹理）。通感症一般在4岁以前就表现得很明显了。据估计，患有通感症的 人只占总人口的1%。还有证据显示，通感症在艺术类的学生中更为普遍。103 尽管新近的研究表明通感可经由训练获得，104然而神经学上的研究确认了一 点，通感症患者的大脑连接呈现非典型的交叉状态，他们的通感状态都是在 儿童时期自发地出现的。
---科学家发现有一个特别的大脑网络，通常被称为“任务消极网络”（task negative）、“静息态网络”（resting）或者“默认网络”（default），这个网络在进行 被动休息和内省活动的时候高度活跃。11不能将这一网络与负责流体推理和 执行功能的前额叶顶叶网络结构相混淆（见第10章），该大脑网络通常被称 为“任务积极”（task positive）或“执行注意”（executive attention）网络，因为它 动用的是与外部世界的积极心理参与相关的大脑区域。 与之相反，默认网络深度参与内心的意识流。默认网络包括大脑额叶和 顶叶的众多内侧区域、外侧顶叶的下部区域以及颞叶内侧区域之间的交流。 正是默认网络的整体协调使得它拥有如此大的能量，但是理解它的各个组成 部分有助于我们理解各部分之间交互作用的影响。 我们首先来看一看前额叶皮层区域。腹内侧前额叶皮层（vmPFC）与社 会情绪的激活和副交感神经系统（负责“休息和笑话”活动，如平静心率）的调 节相关。背内侧前额叶皮层（dmPFC）与自我评价、社会评价和浪漫评价表示 以及同理心和情绪结果预测相关。
与默认网络相关联的信息加工活动有哪些呢？有心智游移、白日梦、创 造性的即兴创作和评价、未来设想、自我意识、高度个人化记忆的提取、对时 间和经历意义的反思性考量、模拟他人视角、评价个人和他人情绪反应的含 义、道德推理和反思性同情。
-----，注意力缺陷多动症（ADHD）患者也倾向于表现出 更多的心智游移活动和默认网络抑制的缺乏。同时，注意力缺陷多动症患 者也倾向于在发散性思维、创造风格和创造性成就测验中取得高分。邦尼· 克拉蒙德（Bonnie Cramond）表明，注意力缺陷多动症和创造力的行为表现有 着惊人的相似。尽管教师可能会觉得教授那些无法在座位上坐定并把注 意力放在事先拟定的教学目标上的学生非常令人沮丧，但他们应该认识到这 些“不专心”的孩子可能只是需要一点执行功能的训练，就可以帮助他们走上 发挥伟大创造力的道路！
February 23, 2014
Ungifted points out the issues with standardized IQ testing, and really any other comparative testing done to gauge intelligence. The author starts each chapter with a personal story about his lifelong struggle to overcome being placed in remedial education, a struggle he does win by becoming a PhD. These were very interesting interludes - makes me wonder if he has enough to put together a biography. Each chapter is really a survey of research on different aspect of intelligence and intelligence testing. The last half of the book really extends the concept of intelligence beyond what is normally tested into motivation, creativity, memory, and other aspects. Having read quite a few books referenced by the author, many of the research anecdotes were familiar. I believe Kaufman writes at a higher grade level than the other books on this topic aimed at a popular audience, but I did enjoy those other books a bit more than this one. In the end, the author retells of the issues that standardized IQ testing brings to the table, but his alternative is to just not do testing, or to test but not compare with others. This is after he mentions some pretty high correlations with standardized IQ testing and future actions, like school grades. I'm not seeing his recommendations as being very actionable given the imperfect value being provided by testing.
November 11, 2013
Kaufman delivers a very in-depth overview of the field of intelligence, with focus on the idea of how intelligence is defined in different fields (mainly psychology and education). Although several chapters held my interest, quite a few go so far into the research base that it's easy to get a bit stifled by the sheer amount material and researchers cited (in those cases, I just skimmed ahead until I found something else I was captivated by). For example, I loved getting his take on mindsets and motivation, and the connections between ASD and intelligence (and the subsequent discussion of savants) was fascinating. The addition of his personal story was also helpful in understanding his drive behind his work. I believe if the book were edited down a bit (it's fairly long for such dense material, with lengthy chapters, plus the layout of the book suggests it should be even longer--smaller font that goes right down to the bottom edge of the page in some places), it would have made more a much more enjoyable/less tedious read. However, Kaufman seems to be a solid voice for calls to change the way intelligence is defined in our society and I'm interested to go out and read more of what he has to say.
July 12, 2023
In this transformative look at intelligence, Kaufman takes us from the origins of IQ testing, through the many controversies about what exactly intelligence means and why it matters, to finally drop us into a landscape where intelligence is no longer a competition, potential is constantly evolving and learning is for everyone. Scientifically rigorous without becoming so specialized that it's hard to follow, this is a great and important book for everyone concerned with education or inequality.
Kaufman's extrapolations about what school instruction might look like are a bit thin, but that seems a natural result coming from an intelligence researcher rather than an educator. I think it's up to those of us in the schools to take this compelling information and put it into practice.
Kaufman's extrapolations about what school instruction might look like are a bit thin, but that seems a natural result coming from an intelligence researcher rather than an educator. I think it's up to those of us in the schools to take this compelling information and put it into practice.
November 9, 2013
I must admit that I did not finish this book, only got about 2/3 way through. It was so well researched that for the casual reader (me) it was a bit too dense. The author's personal story about how he overcame having been labeled "slow" in elementary school was inspiring but the in depth explanations of testing methods just weren't that interesting to me. That said, this is a colossal work, with the author obviously incredibly dedicated to bringing to light the gaps left by all kinds of intelligence testing in giving us a true picture of someone's abilities.
May 8, 2018
This book wasn't nearly as interesting as I had hoped it would be. There is a LOT of information here and while some of it is interesting, there is just too much. If you have a kid who struggles in school or were a kid who struggled in school (as this author was) then this book may help you feel more hopeful for the future. I was hoping for more information about how to help kids reach their potential, and while this book had some good insight into that, most of it didn't really apply to my kids.
July 13, 2013
Too often in education, I run into the mindset that "Special Education" is code for lower expectations. I loved that the author shared his own experience of being in Special Education and the impact it had on him throughout this densly packed book about what intelligence is, how we measure it, and how that has historically played out in education.
April 4, 2017
I appreciated the different view on intelligence, and the depth and breadth of study that went into it. I especially liked the last chapter! It had a really good take-away message. this is a good book if you are interested in learning more about what makes up human intelligence, and how we perceive that intelligence.
June 27, 2014
This read like a revenge piece. The author comes off like a bratty little boy who didn't like that he wasn't given the "gifted" label. So what?
February 26, 2017
I enjoyed this a lot. The middle of the book was the most interesting, while the start and conclusion lacked a bit. Will have to read it again, and hope to read more of Mr. Kaufman.
February 10, 2024
“After school, I dash off to the local library and find a book about human intelligence. I flip through the pages and come face to face with a terrifying chart. At the top is listed the average IQ of PhDs. I am way lower than this number. Tentatively, I go down the list. College graduate? Closer, but still no cigar. My blood pressure is rising. Semi-skilled laborer? In my dreams. After some time, I finally find my range: ‘Lucky to graduate high school,’ it says. In a fit of panic, I throw the intelligence book as far as I can with an audible ‘F**k!’”
This passage describes the author’s dawning realization, before college, of the discrepancy between his dreams of attending Yale and what his low IQ tests predicted for him.
My interest in reading this book was to find out how artists and writers like I could use human intelligence research to nurture our work. It provides many ways to do that.
It is an effective book because Kaufman has skin in the game; he describes his own experiences (alongside his research findings), as a kid whom teachers labeled “special education,” and how he overcame the predictions of that label because an observant teacher intervened. That teacher gave Kaufman hope and self-confidence, while his parents were giving him the opposite by following what experts were telling them.
Kaufman went on to achieve miraculous things that school year, and later, because he had found passion, inspiration, positive mindset, self-regulation, deliberate practice, his domains of talent and creativity, and his mentors: things that studies say produce high achievement.
But I can relate to Kaufman’s experiences, because when I was a kid, my doctor told my mother that I was “mentally retarded”—because I drew people without fingers. Just circles for hands.
Luckily, my mother thought he was an idiot. And, luckily, she saw my intelligence.
And I’ll add the complication that my doctor was a white male and my mother and I were females of Puerto Rican descent—a complication that Kaufman highlights throughout his book: that IQ tests—and testers—are biased against people of color.
Early on, Kaufman makes the point that IQ tests were created by people. Fallible people. Fallible white European male people. Fallible white European male people who created these tests relatively recently, in the nineteenth century, in ways that were, at times, completely arbitrary.
He describes Alfred Binet (1857–1911), a French psychologist, as the inventor of the first practical IQ test. To give you some perspective, Binet worked at La Salpêtrière in Paris, a hospital known for its public displays of their female “hysterics.” Even though Binet acknowledged the limitations of his IQ test versus the remarkable diversity of human intelligence, teachers and school administrators have given IQ tests inordinate power over children’s futures. And, thus, self-appointed (and community-appointed) authorities and evaluators label unconventional children as disabled.
So it’s gratifying that Kaufman concludes, “We are all capable of extraordinary performance; the key is finding the mode of expression that allows you to create your own unique symphony.”
Like Kaufman, because an adult saw my intelligence and believed in me, that gave me the fire to go on to college and grad school and complete projects that I’ve been passionate about.
As a kid, when I drew people, fingers weren’t necessary. Because the person I drew had her hands in fists.
This passage describes the author’s dawning realization, before college, of the discrepancy between his dreams of attending Yale and what his low IQ tests predicted for him.
My interest in reading this book was to find out how artists and writers like I could use human intelligence research to nurture our work. It provides many ways to do that.
It is an effective book because Kaufman has skin in the game; he describes his own experiences (alongside his research findings), as a kid whom teachers labeled “special education,” and how he overcame the predictions of that label because an observant teacher intervened. That teacher gave Kaufman hope and self-confidence, while his parents were giving him the opposite by following what experts were telling them.
Kaufman went on to achieve miraculous things that school year, and later, because he had found passion, inspiration, positive mindset, self-regulation, deliberate practice, his domains of talent and creativity, and his mentors: things that studies say produce high achievement.
But I can relate to Kaufman’s experiences, because when I was a kid, my doctor told my mother that I was “mentally retarded”—because I drew people without fingers. Just circles for hands.
Luckily, my mother thought he was an idiot. And, luckily, she saw my intelligence.
And I’ll add the complication that my doctor was a white male and my mother and I were females of Puerto Rican descent—a complication that Kaufman highlights throughout his book: that IQ tests—and testers—are biased against people of color.
Early on, Kaufman makes the point that IQ tests were created by people. Fallible people. Fallible white European male people. Fallible white European male people who created these tests relatively recently, in the nineteenth century, in ways that were, at times, completely arbitrary.
He describes Alfred Binet (1857–1911), a French psychologist, as the inventor of the first practical IQ test. To give you some perspective, Binet worked at La Salpêtrière in Paris, a hospital known for its public displays of their female “hysterics.” Even though Binet acknowledged the limitations of his IQ test versus the remarkable diversity of human intelligence, teachers and school administrators have given IQ tests inordinate power over children’s futures. And, thus, self-appointed (and community-appointed) authorities and evaluators label unconventional children as disabled.
So it’s gratifying that Kaufman concludes, “We are all capable of extraordinary performance; the key is finding the mode of expression that allows you to create your own unique symphony.”
Like Kaufman, because an adult saw my intelligence and believed in me, that gave me the fire to go on to college and grad school and complete projects that I’ve been passionate about.
As a kid, when I drew people, fingers weren’t necessary. Because the person I drew had her hands in fists.
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