[.ca] Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction (ISBN 0192893211)

It is the most comprehensive primer:
I read the book, and it covers a lot. Really open my eyes and mind. The book summaries various aspect of intelligence, from psychometric tests, general intelligence, relationship between aging and intelligence, brain and intelligence, hereditary and environment, Flynn effect and finally what American Psychology Association said about intelligence. After reading the book, I am capable of reading more in-depth book in the same field. Readers may find Deary's another book: "Looking down on human intelligence", useful. This book is a bit difficult but I am sure with primer info from the "short introduction" readers can read most of the items. Readers are also suggested to read what American Psych. Association said about intelligence in 1996 http://www.lrainc.com/swtaboo/taboos/apa_01.html It is because this would provide a more balanced view on general intelligence. Deary, in this book, anyway, seems supporting the idea of general intelligence but neglect the fact that g may be just mathematical manipulation and has no casual meaning. In Deary's another book, "Looking down on Human Intelligence", this view point was proposed in Chapter 1 (as far as I remmebered). Please forgive also that Deary does not write anything about Emotional Intelligence. Perhaps just to keep the book short enough and easy to digest. Step-by-step...

Short, Informative and Provoking:
I picked up this little book after hearing endless bickering about the debate over human intelligence. Is there a general factor in intelligence? Are there multiple types of intelligence, as Howard Gardner thinks? How do race or age affect intelligence? What is the 'Flynn effect'? All these questions are covered in some detail--given the length of the book--in Deary's clear exposition. Basically, Deary convinced me that there is a general factor that accounts for one's mental abilities (but this is not to say that a high g factor--as it's called--will assure you success and praise in life or that a low one excludes you from it!). Deary's discussion of twin studies and his own work on how the physiognomy of the brain correlates with intelligence (there is a correlation--of medium strength between brain size and intelligence) were particularly interesting. This is a great introduction to the subject!

Short and TONS of useful information - a Great primer!:
This book is a great introduction to the subject of Intelligence and psychometrics! I just completed the book in two days and must say it was very insightful and straight to the point. It wasn't the easiest reading but far more straightforward than most psychology/sociology stuff I have come across. I knew very little about psychometrics before reading this book as I majored in accounting and got my MBA, with an emphasis in finance. Plus I have some engineering. I say this to put it into perspective as psychology, sociology, philosophy haven't been easy for me to comprehend in the past as they have been too verbose for me and boring, as it is out of my primary field of interest. But, I was very happy to read this book and learned a lot in a short matter of time. Additionally, if you want to learn more the author points to additional books/articles on each topic discussed. This book is great for the following reasons: 1) It is easy to read as it is written to the non psychiatrist. 2) It has a section explaining the only technical stuff used, which is statistics (used in studies outside of psychology too.) 3) It provides a synopsis of the top issues, studies, articles and conclusions written about intelligence. In my opinion, the author of this book is very fair and reasonable as he consistently stated both sides of an argument if there was one to an issue. He did provide his insights only after stating what the majority of his fellow associates had concluded as well as if the debate was largely over or not within each issue. So what was talked about in this tiny book of 125 pages? 1) Is there a general factor in intelligence? 2) Are there multiple types of intelligence, as Howard Gardner thinks? 3) Are people getting smarter? 4) How does race, age or the environment you are raised in affect intelligence? 5) What is the 'Flynn effect'? 6) How do our brains work? Basically, Deary convinced me that there is a general factor that accounts for one's mental abilities but, as he states, there is still much research to be done as to how the brain operates so that improvements can occur in testing/research and cures for horrible diseases, such as Alzheimers, can be figured out.

Excellent Intro to Psychometrics & IQ:
This book is an excellent introduction to psychometrics and IQ. It has a rare combination of being accessible to layman without insulting anyone's intelligence (no pun intended). Another advantage of this book, as well as Oxford's VSI series, is that it the book is slim (in size) and can be carried around and read in a few sittings. That does not mean, however, that the book lacks substance (as one might fear would be the case for short intro books on a difficult subject). Quite the contrary. I would dare say that reading the book would allow even a layman to have an intelligent conversation with an expert on psychometrics. The book has an objective and friendly tone. The author makes his own opinions known but does present contrary opinions and does not offer his own opinions without evidence. Some people may disagree with some of the conclusions, but it is hard to argue with the fact that the author of this book is very fair and reasonable.