Intelligence
"Have any of you ever heard of this guy named Steve Lu?" question Donnie.
"Yeah! He's super famous," pointed out Hannah. "That guy went to Stanford University when he was really young, right?"
"Yeah," replied Donnie. "Steve Lu graduated from Stanford when he was only 15 years old. I can't even imagine being in college yet. Not only that, but I found out that at age 5, he scored a 193 on an intelligence test, but the average person scores 100. And he entered college at age 10. It's amazing. It kind of makes me feel like a slacker."
"No worries, Donne," asserted Marcos. "You aren't a slacker."
"I've got one up on you, Donnie," bragged Janelle. "You all probably know that Bill Gates is very rich, but did you know that he started writing computer programs in eighth grade? Then, in his sophomore year at Harvard University, he dropped out to write one of the first operating systems to run a computer. Soon after, he founded Microsoft. Without Gates, we probably wouldn't have all these computers in our classroom! Not to mention, he was worth $61 billion at age 56. Can you imagine?"
"So," interjected Mr. Baker. "These are clearly some pretty smart people. Let's take a class poll to figure out who you think is more intelligent."
Take a moment to determine whether you believe Steve Lu or Bill Gates is more intelligent. After you have chosen, explain your decision. Once your course-mates have picked the person they feel is more intelligent, determine whether your choice was the same or different from most of your peers? What is one characteristic or behavior someone could demonstrate that you would see as intelligent? Why?
Post your responses in the discussion area. Then, return to the topic several times over the next few days to read your course-mates’ posts. Reply to at least two of them, making sure to offer new insights, ask questions, and encourage further conversation.