Few scientific debates have been more intense and protracted than the "nature or nurture" debate about the origins of human intelligence. The Origins of Human Potential revisits this issue in light of new evidence from evolutionary biology. Ken Richards investigates how "facts" which support either side of the debate are often based on deep-seated assumptions. Among the key assumptions examined are those about the nature of the genes and their involvement in development; the nature of evolution as it has impinged on cognitive ability; and the nature of cognitive ability itself, especially its reduction to a simple "quantitative" characteristic like height or weight as allegedly measured in IQ tests.
