William Dickens

William Dickens of Northeastern University is somewhat of a rarity at this conference: an economist.  However, he only talked about classical economics for the last five seconds of his talk.   The rest was about the surprising observation that IQ scores are going up around the world for about the past two decades.  There is some debate about what these test measure, but the tests and sub-tests most closely correlated with on-the-fly solving of novel problems are the ones where scores have increased most dramatically.  Long story short, he believes that the ability of environment (as opposed to genetics) to influence intelligence has been historically underestimated.  These modern times demand more intelligence of us, so we encourage these abilities with training and practice.  This multiplies any built-in abilities we may have had, and is producing real gains.  Recognizing that this is happening, and working well, can lead us to more effectively and proactively enhance our intelligence through social environmental means.