Sometimes you read research reports and they change your mind. Other times, you read the summary of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar study and think "Did we really need a research study to tell us that eating fried foods leads to weigh gain?"
Then there is the 3rd category. The research reports you can't quite belief, or disprove. There was an interesting article in the New York Times about some research around the correlation between intelligence and physical height. It is strange research, that is hard to explain or justify. If it is true, I'd like to know why taller people are statistically smarter.
Are there other things you have read like this that just leave you scratching your head?
Then there is the 3rd category. The research reports you can't quite belief, or disprove. There was an interesting article in the New York Times about some research around the correlation between intelligence and physical height. It is strange research, that is hard to explain or justify. If it is true, I'd like to know why taller people are statistically smarter.
Are there other things you have read like this that just leave you scratching your head?
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A quick guess: taller people would, I suppose, tend to be healthier and have better diets. However, looking at many Asian societies, where diets are very healthy (fish, rice, veggies) and lifespans are long might sidetrack that hypothesis.
Height, in large populations, I would guess is more a function of genetics. Western European cultures tend to have more tall people - and intelligence tests are most certainly Western-culture-centric. Jared Diamond discusses this area in great detail in his book, Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Thank you, Allan. This is just the kind of rational approach that I needed.
I wonder, too, if the social bias that exist for those who are tall (you assume the tallest person is in charge) exist for young children as well. If you are 2 years old and tall, do people treat you more than a 4 year old? Would that expose you to ideas, to confidence, that would set a foundation for your entire life? Who knows?!