The old myth about the ability and variability of potential in children is a comforting myth, for those who are uneasy with the degree of inequality they see and would rather seek to justify it than confront it. The myth of inherent potential helps some explain to themselves why they are privileged. Extend the myth to believe in inherited ability…

In recent decades, the dropout rate in Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a worrying phenomenon. An analysis of ministerial examination results identifies that students in Abitibi-Témiscamingue have specific difficulties with mathematical problem solving tasks. Among the activities that develop those skills, the daily routines in mathematics seem to be a…

The performance of 136 college students at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) on various parameters of two well-known puzzles was compared with performance on a measure of general intelligence and the Hidden Figures Test. An interpretation of the results is provided by Sternberg's experimental subtheory of intelligence. (SLD)

Contents of this symposium comprises: Introduction (W. B. Dockrell); The Genetics of Intelligence (Sir C. Burt); Structuring Mental Acts (P. R. Merrifield); A "Piagetian" Test of Cognitive Development (R. D. Tuddenham); The British Intelligence Scale (R. W. Warburton); Intelligence (P. E. Vernon); Hierarchical Theories of Mental Ability…