Education
In this interview, Gunter Maris explains the theory behind The Wiring of Intelligence, a network model of learning. He also quotes Leo Tolstoy and references Sherlock Holmes. Maris describes the actions of a “crazy electrician” who wires the connections in our brains. The network theory of intelligence developed by Maris (with colleagues Alexander Savi, Maarten Marsman, and Han van der Maas) is based on the idea of a house with interconnected electrical sockets in every room that represent synaptic knowledge. Language, speaking, and reading have tight connections in the brain while mathematics skills are grouped together in another room. For example, in the mind of a statistician, math connections can be tight and dense. Maris’ primarily Dutch-speaking brain has many “wired connections” pertaining to English terminology around psychometrics but probably fewer that cover cooking or gardening. Connections from disparate rooms build measurable broad intelligence. The model helps explain the positive manifold theory (also called the g factor or general intelligence factor) first developed by Charles Spearman in the early 1900s. Near the end of the interview, Maris explains how the simple model of networked intelligence is being overlaid with ACT’s Holistic Framework. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ACT, Inc. Read the transcript: https://actnext.org/research-and-projects/podcast-ep8-wiring-of-intelligence/