A lot of what people say about intelligence sounds simple and exciting: that people are either “left-brained” or “right-brained”, that Mozart's music makes babies cleverer, that we use only ten per cent of our brain. Such ideas are repeated in books, online and even at training sessions. Scientists call them neuromyths — beliefs that spread in the name of science but do not survive scientific testing. Let us look at eight of the most common.
Myths about the brain
Some people think with the left half of the brain, others with the right. It is true that some functions rely more on one hemisphere: in most people, for example, speech depends more on the left. But creativity, mathematics and music use both hemispheres. In 2013 Nielsen and colleagues analysed brain scans of about a thousand people and found no sign that anyone's hemisphere is “stronger” overall.
We use only 10% of our brain. This is one of the most persistent neuromyths, and it has no basis at all. Brain imaging shows that over a day and night practically every part of the brain becomes active, even during sleep. Damage to almost any area disturbs some function — which would be impossible if 90% of the brain sat idle. There is no “sleeping reserve” waiting to be woken by a secret method.
Mozart's music makes babies cleverer. The idea spread a few decades ago, and special recordings were even sold for infants. When Christopher Chabris combined the results of many studies in 1999, the effect turned out to be small and short-lived, and it did not raise intelligence in any lasting way. Music is good for children — they enjoy it, sing and move — but that is no reason to buy it as a “medicine for cleverness”.
Myths about tests and talent
Intelligence is the same as school marks. Marks and intelligence test results are related, but they are not the same thing. Besides ability, a mark is shaped by effort, interest, attendance, the relationship with the teacher, health and even knowledge of the language of instruction. And school does not assess many abilities at all: movement, spatial imagination, understanding people. A child with average marks may be very able in another area.
Intelligence is fixed at birth. Studies of twins and adopted children show that the heritability of measured intelligence is substantial and even rises with age. But “heritable” does not mean “unchangeable”: short sight is often inherited too, yet glasses correct it. In 1984 James Flynn showed that average intelligence test scores in the USA had risen by about 3 points per decade over several decades; similar gains were later found in many countries. Genes do not change that fast, so the environment — schooling, nutrition, health, a more complex life — plays a large part. Research also shows that each extra year of schooling adds a few points to test scores.
Every child has just one intelligence. Children are sometimes called “the musical one” or “the maths one”, as if they had only a single strength. The theory of multiple intelligences says the opposite: every person has all the intelligences, in different degrees and in a unique mix. That mix changes with experience and learning. Howard Gardner himself warns against labelling children.
Myths about learning
Children learn best when lessons match their learning style — visual, auditory or kinaesthetic. This idea is very popular: children are sorted into “visual”, “auditory” and “kinaesthetic” learners, and each group is offered its own activities. In 2008 Pashler and colleagues reviewed the available evidence and concluded that there is no reliable support for the idea: tailoring lessons to a “style” does not improve learning. Children do have preferences, of course, but the way of teaching should suit the content: a map has to be seen, music heard, a dance performed. Gardner, too, stresses that intelligences are not learning styles.
Brain-training apps make you smarter in general. Apps that promise to “train your brain” are very popular. In 2016 Daniel Simons and colleagues reviewed a large body of research on them. The conclusion: people do get better at the exercises they practise, sometimes at very similar tasks too, but the skill hardly carries over to everyday thinking or to success at school. A child's time is better spent on things that build real knowledge and skills: reading, learning a language or a musical instrument, sport, games with other people.
How to recognise a myth
Neuromyths usually share a few signs: - Too simple: people are sorted into two or three “types”, or one cause explains everything. - Something is for sale: behind the idea stands a book, an app, a training course or a “special test”. - Quick results are promised: “in one week”, “ten minutes a day”. - They appeal to “science” but name no specific study.
If a claim about your child's intelligence excites you, ask: where is the evidence, who has checked it, and have the results been repeated in other studies? Talk to a teacher or a consultant. And remember: a child's mind grows through simple everyday things — good schooling, reading, play, conversation and steady effort.