Intelligence: Where We Were, Where We Are, & Where We're Going

How intelligent are you? What are your IQ and your EQ? Since the time of Homer in 700 BC, people have recognized that individuals differ in their ability to solve problems, deal with abstraction, and learn new ideas. We call this multi-faceted ability intelligence. Yet, some people who seem to have limited intellectual capacity become billionaires, while “brainiacs” who graduate summa cum laude in the greatest universities sometimes fizzle into unfulfilled potential in their voyage through life. What is this enigmatic quality–most cherished of all human characteristics–that we call intelligence?Intelligence: Where We Were, Where We Are & Where We’re Going takes us on a three-part journey from the evolution of human cognition in its earliest manifestation as instinct, through its later acquisition of rational thought, and to its culmination in a silicon-based incarnation as artificial intelligence. Insights into this faculty that has brought our species to the top of the food chain, and also to the brink of atomic suicide, are gleaned from observations of the dynamic tension between our instinctive and rational cognitive states. This tension is explored in a variety of contexts from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the current tribal conflict manifest in the global quest for the American dream, the economic class wars, and the increasing polarization that is intensifying as we approach the 2020 election in America. In this penetrating look at intelligence, Professor Kelly runs afoul of social norms, exposing how political correctness often undermines its original intent. As an unfiltered rational attack on the unquestioning acceptance of dogma, this book will threaten anyone who seeks the comfort of unchallenged beliefs. However, the intrepid reader will find lots of humor, and cause for reflection as we observe our species through a story line involving four college friends who journey together through six decades of life.