Measuring Intelligence : Facts and Fallacies

Rating:
Summary: David J. Bartholomew's "Measuring Intelligence."
Review: I read this book as an interested amateur, thus later reviews may reflect more knowledgeable reviewers. Dr. Bartholomew is a respected researcher into social science statistics and a published author in that and related fields.

The author has written a lucid and careful discussion of intelligence and the factorial way of approaching it. In the process of so doing, he casts an informed light on past efforts by other researchers and commentators in the field. At all times, his writing is cautious, qualified, and presented with a prudence and lack of bombast not always found in this field.

I read every page and all the footnotes carefully and found the book to be a joy to read. Where analogies would be helpful, they were provided. The lack of math in the book did not forestall discussion of some of the mathematical complexities involved. And the bibliography is a concise treasure of references for further reading. The author is a careful writer who is considerate of his readers and leads one step-by-step through some of the complexities and controversies involved in this contentious subject. The use of g is presented as a superior way of assessing intelligence but not as a panacea. The book mercifully distinguishes between "intelligence" "IQ" and "g".

My prior acquaintance with the topic of intelligence consisted of having read "The Bell Curve" by Herrnstein and Murray, several of the books written in rebuttal, dozens of the papers written in response, Stephen J. Gould's "The Mismeasure of Man" in the original 1981 version, Arthur R. Jensen's "The g Factor, and several other books and journal reports whose titles do not come readily to mind. This book provides an expert's insight into the field of intelligence.