• Question: when someone is slightly smarter than someone else is it because there brain is bigger or is it the capacity inside the brain can hold more

    Asked by tilly1999 to Ben, James, Jen, Michael, Susanna on 12 Mar 2013. This question was also asked by jennydsc2000.
    • Photo: Jen Todd Jones

      Jen Todd Jones answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      Hi tilly

      Nope, this isn’t the reason. Peoples brains actually come in all shapes and size, and even peoples skulls are different thicknesses! Our brain size has nothing to do with our intelligence or ability to think, or move or do anything. If someone is slightly smarter than someone else it’s probably because of a test they took and they got a higher mark or something like that. If you’re at school and get straight A’s in science or maths people tend to think you are clever, but being good at these things might mean you’re not so good at musical ability, or sports ability – and some people are exceptionally clever in these areas even though they can’t do maths!

      Personally I think being smart or clever (or having a big brain!) has less to do with success or where you get in life, it’s more about your determination and your effort – if you work hard then you can get anywhere you want to go.

    • Photo: Susanna Martin

      Susanna Martin answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      As Jen says this isn’t correct, but it is something that some of the early scientists like Francis Galton thought! He used to run science fairs where he would measure the size of peoples heads to see how brainy they were. A good book to read is by Stephen Murdoch called ‘IQ: A smart history of a failed idea’, the book gives a brief history of our understanding of intelligence. Maybe talk to your school librarian to see if they can borrow it for you to read.

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