Vanderbilt University Register : ASK THE EXPERTS

ASK THE EXPERTS

Q: Does a larger brain necessarily indicate more intelligence?

A: There is no doubt that brain size varies greatly among species, and those species we tend to think of as "smart" (dolphins, chimpanzees, humans) have larger brains. But we must take body size into account when evaluating brain size: large creatures (e.g., elephants) have much larger brains than small creatures (e.g., squirrels), but that does not necessarily translate into intelligence differences. If we narrow the question to our own species, it becomes no easier to answer. For one thing, "intelligence" can be expressed in a variety of ways, and there is disagreement about what it means to be "smart." Likewise, it is not so obvious what brain "size" means. Is it expressed in terms of volume/weight (which can be measured) or in terms of the number of neurons (which can only be grossly estimated)? Or should we think of brain size in terms of the number of connections among brain cells, which, after all, is crucially important for most brain function? Do we look at the entire brain (including those parts involved in reflex reactions) or just the cerebral lobes (generally thought to be involved in higher mental function)? Given all these considerations, it is impossible to "intelligently" discuss the link between brain size and how smart someone is. Let's put it this way: Nature has endowed all of us with a remarkably complex, exceedingly adaptive organ -- the brain -- that embodies our minds and controls our behaviors. When it comes to "smartness," diverse learning opportunities, motivation and perseverance are key ingredients for "programming" whatever sized brain one has. Fortunately, those are factors, unlike brain size, that we can promote and encourage.

Source: Randolph Blake
Centennial Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Science
Investigator and Senior Fellow, Kennedy Center

Q: What determined the arrangement of typewriter and keyboard keys?

A: According to Wilfred A. Beeching in Century of the Typewriter, the QWERTY keyboard arrangement was the result of work conducted by the brother-in-law of Christopher L. Sholes, who invented the first commercially produced typewriter. Sholes asked his mathematician brother-in-law to come up with a keyboard layout to minimize interference or collisions between keys rising from the same side of the typewriter. The QWERTY keyboard layout is thus designed to maximize the probability that successive keystrokes are on opposite sides of the keyboard. Key locations are thus not optimal for the human interaction with the typewriter but are a consequence of simplification of mechanical design problems in the early typewriter. Clearly mechanical collisions between keys in the mechanical typewriter are no longer a problem in an electronic keyboard, but the keyboard design remains unchanged because of reluctance to retrain skilled touch typists. August Dvorak devised a simplified keyboard optimizing human interaction, but despite the inventor's claim of a 35 percent increase in typing speed, that keyboard layout is only rarely used today.

Source: Donald L. Kinser
Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

-- Adrienne Spain

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