Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined Hardcover – Jun 4 2013

In Ungifted, Scott Barry Kaufman engagingly relates the history of our western view of intelligence and how we’ve come about measuring it. Fascinatingly, the process of the development of the IQ tests in use today was far less “scientific” than we’ve been given to believe, and based on an array of assumptions and biases on the part of the developers. He goes on to provide a comprehensive of review of recent discoveries in cognitive science and schools of thought on intelligence, giftedness and how our abilities work together. One of the beauties of Ungifted is that it is organized so that one can delve as deeply into the hard science as suits one’s interest in a particular topic, or simply skim to get the take home message.

One of the best aspects of the book is the way in which Kaufman weaves his early personal experiences in the wasteland of the resource room (he had an auditory processing learning disability as a result of early ear infections). Another reviewer here describes him as bitter, which was not my reaction at all. As the parent of a bright, learning disabled, child, I have seen first hand the damage that labels can cause, and how little our obsession with labels has produced in terms of real support for these kids. Thank goodness Kaufman was a highly resilient sort (now with a doctorate from Yale, and scientific director of the newly formed Imagination Institute along with father of Positive Psychology Martin Selgman), who can be their voice.

Parents of children undergoing IQ testing for giftedness and learning disabilities *must* read this book, and as early in the process as possible. It will help you to understand what is being tested and why, the strengths and limitations of the final diagnosis, how to avoid pitfalls involved in receiving labels, even or especially one of “gifted,” and will help to make decisions about schools and advocate for what your child really needs for a successful happy life.

Changes in our teaching methods that would most benefit the “gifted,” the “talented,” and the learning disabled, and unlock their potential are the same things that will unlock the potential of all kids. Therefore, Kaufman makes a compelling case based on the evidence for a complete overhaul of the school system, one in which *all* kids get the enrichment they need for their strengths. In such a system, we can all be a little less hung up on labels, and their very demonstrable negative side effects (even when the labels are ostensibly positive), stop arguing about whose kids get the education money, prevent a whole lot of kids from falling through the cracks, and just possibly bring out human potential on a large scale in a way that the school system has failed to do so far. Truly a book for the new millennium.

This book starts off with a candid admission from Kaufman- he was labeled as having a learning disability as a child and was told he had to repeat Grade 3. Yet Kaufman never felt like he was "too dumb" to succeed. Just different. So each chapter starts off with a tale of his life, and how we rose above his diagnosis into eventually attending prestigious graduate schools and becoming a professor. This personal touch really adds emphasis to this book, but it also sets up a strong caution- Kaufman has a personal axe to grind against single measures of intelligence in general, and IQ in particular. IQ hurt him, it hindered him. So did SATs and GREs. So he's not at all a fan of them on their own.

What he is a fan of is looking at what intelligence is, what it means, and how it's measured. Psychologists still don't have a firm answer as to what intelligence is. Most definitions revolve around being able to cope with your environment efficiently, but clearly that's not all there is. IQ itself is a fairly limited measure, developed to identify struggling students (or students with the potential to struggle). The problem with IQ and other unitary measures of intelligence is that they can only capture a particular slice of intelligence. They can't recognize talents or abilities that lie outside of their testing scope.

More generally, Kaufman explores the nature of "g", otherwise called "general intelligence". It is the ability that correlates with one's achievements on all tests. It relates to working memory and the ability to learn new information quickly. However, it does not help explain savants, or even just talent in an area (e.g., Wayne Gretzky's off-the-charts hockey IQ was almost certainly higher than his standard IQ). Kaufman also explores Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and finds it wanting as well, given problems with intercorrelations of some of its items and measurement concerns. I'm surprised he didn't take greater aim at Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence that I've always found vague, descriptive, and of very little help. Then again, Sternberg was one of his graduate supervisor's and it would be poor form to take aim at him.

The book itself benefits from Kaufman's knowledge of the field and its researchers. There is a lot of data within this book. Someone without a background in psychology might find it heavy going, especially the neuroscience in the chapter on creativity. But it is worth the effort as it really tells a comprehensive tale and the presentation of the data allows the reader to make up their own minds about the state of the field.

So why only four stars? Two reasons. First, you can hear his frustration with his past challenges coming through almost every page. While it's understandable that he was frustrated by his challenges, and it's clearly a major motivation for his life's work (and this book), I didn't need to feel it in every page. He also doesn't do a lot to talk about the value of standardized testing. Yes, it's limited. Yes, it was designed to be, and so should be, only one part of a suite of various measures of individual capacity. All things that I agree with. But we also have to face the reality that not every child is as intelligent as every other child. Some children are faster than others, yet do we claim that any child can be a world-champion sprinter? Do we allow, encourage, and thus expect every child to be a theoretical physicist? Kaufman, to his credit, does raise some of these issues but he never really tackles them. Instead, he champions diversity. Which is laudable and I agree with him. Let's focus on individual strengths as much as possible. However, the reality is that modern life involves competition, competition involves talent, and talent involves both practice and ability. It also involves finite resources. As much as we would like to comprehensively measure and build on each child's strengths, the current systems do not have the capacity to do so. So for now, as Kaufman says, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water.

Ultimately then, this is a serious book about a serious topic. It includes personal stories and opinions, as well as lots of data and some applied recommendations. It does have limitations, but they are largely overshadowed by the strengths of this book. For anyone serious about understanding the nature of intelligence in children and adults, Ungifted is an excellent overview of what we know. So I have no problems in recommending this book, and would like to give it 4.5/5 stars, but settled with 4 as a conservative estimate of its worth. That doesn't mean I don't think it's worth getting, it means it's worth keeping an open and skeptical mind when you're reading it. Which is probably what Kaufman would encourage! So if you are interested in your intelligence, children's intelligence, or the teaching and measure of intelligence, this is a very good to excellent book to go with.

At age three, cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman developed a central auditory processing disorder that slowed his understanding of speech. As a result, teachers put him on the special education track until middle school, when he convinced his parents that he could succeed in a "normal" classroom. Kaufman's "Ungifted" describes how he overcame his learning disability and provides an extremely detailed overview of historical developments in standardized tests, cognitive psychology and current research.

Kaufman readily admits that children with learning disabilities need to develop alternative learning strategies and to work at their own pace but he remains critical of "special" classes that underestimate children and use IQ tests to label them. Such stereotyping causes learners to have low self-esteem, diminishes their motivation and turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As another reviewer noted, Kaufman often adopts a bitter tone; his (perhaps justified) resentment of the education system wears thin as the book progresses. Additionally, lengthy sections about research and history, while important, eventually become tedious and skim-able. But, ultimately, Kaufman presents a strong argument for the need to redefine "intelligence" more broadly. He provides an inspiring affirmation of human potential grounded in expertise, associative thinking and creativity.