Finally, I’ve found an electronic version of this article to link to.
Minds are as clever as they will ever be, say scientists
It’s all downhill from here – we are as clever as we are ever going to be, scientists have concluded.
If our brains were to evolve any further, it would increase the risk of disorders such as autism.
Our grey matter has hit an evolutionary ‘sweet spot’ – with the perfect balance between high intelligence and a balanced personality.
But scientists claim that, if our brains did become more advanced, we would be more likely to develop disorders such as autism or synaesthesia, where several senses ‘join together’ and are indistinguishable.
Becoming super-intelligent would also increase the chances of us concentrating too hard on tiny details of life and missing the wider picture.
Researchers from the University of Warwick and the University of Basel in Switzerland cite how people who already have high IQs are more likely to suffer autism, synaesthesia or other neural disorders.
Ritalin is used to help improve the attention span of hyperactive children but, when given to someone with good concentration levels, it can lessen their mental agility.
‘There is a “sweet spot” in terms of enhancing our mental abilities,’ said study author Dr Thomas Hills, from the University of Warwick.
‘If you go beyond that spot, you have to pay the price.’
I have to disagree with the writer’s assessment of synaesthesia being a disorder. I consider it to be just another dimension to my internal life. And sometimes my intensity and focus on the current project can be mistaken for Aspergoid traits.
If a few personal quirks happen to be concomitant with a statistically deviant IQ, then I feel it’s a small price to pay. I like being that way.
My goodness! Whatever will the mediaocrasy think up next! From the evidence I believe that the writer is insufficiently imaginative. I would submit that the more intelligent a person, the more they concentrate on the ‘big picture’. I’m inclined to the belief that disposition to mental disorders are more a result of societal expectations than actual mental defect.
Well, now, we couldn’t have people actually aspiring to become more capable, could we? That would never do. Better that they just be satisfied with a moderate, plodding level of ability, because those smart alecs, they have such problems, you know…
Seriously, it would have helped if the reporter had linked to the actual studies.
Most of the people I encounter online and elsewhere who share my type of interests, and who have commented on their personality type, tend to be the big-picture thinking intuitive (“N”) types, rather than the paying attention to the immediate detail sensor (“S”) types. So your assessment that intelligent people are more likely to concentrate on the big picture fits the evidence in terms of personality types.