Visual-spatial ability is a multifaceted component of intelligence that has predictive validity for future achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. Although identification and development of STEM talent is a national priority, visual-spatial ability is rarely measured and relatively neglected in gifted…

An extraordinary variety of experimental (e.g., flicker, magnetic fields) and clinical (epilepsy, migraine) conditions give rise to a surprisingly common set of elementary hallucinations, including spots, geometric patterns, and jagged lines, some of which also have color, depth, motion, and texture. Many of these simple hallucinations fall into a…

The author employs Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences to frame a discussion about the abilities of children on the Autism spectrum. Since children possess special gifts in visual/spatial areas, an argument is made to support this ability instead of "correcting" it into a more "normal" range. References from Dr. Temple Grandin's life…

Visual-spatial ability has been identified as one of the primary factors of intelligence. Numerous tests, including paper-and-pencil tasks and laboratory experiments, have attempted to provide an accurate measure of this ability. However, the majority of these tests serve only as surrogate measures of visual-spatial ability and may not provide a…

The centrality of intellectual abilities is discussed in terms of two evaluative criteria, given the combined acronym GENECES: (1) the "generality" of the ability in performances on tasks requiring adaptation to, selection of, and shaping of real-world environments; and (2) the "necessity" of these abilities in performing tasks. (Author/LMO)

Home economics is often denigrated for requiring little intellect. There is a strong cultural bias that undervalues sewing and relegates it to "handedness" instead of the loftier "headedness." According to Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, the two do not stand in opposition. Handiwork is a spatial intellectual…

This article presents three studies that were designed to map the dimensions involved in "g," with an emphasis of the place of self-awareness in it. The first study involved preschoolers from 3 to 7 years of age. These were examined in three domains (spatial, quantitative and categorical reasoning) with both actual tasks and tasks addressed to the…

Asks whether music makes people smarter stating that music education makes people smarter in music. Reviews well-known studies on the "Mozart Effect," keyboard training, and music and academic achievement. Addresses where the studies are misinterpreted/overstated and identifies alternative points that teachers can emphasize. (CMK)

Today's "out-of-school learning" is dominated by PC games, videos, and TV. These media provide children with optimal conditions for nurturing their visuospatial intelligence. In "chemistry" and biochemistry, over the past 125 years, thinking has shifted from the "logical-mathematical" to the "logical-visuospatial." In chemistry visuospatial…

The two articles in this newsletter issue focus on and discuss the multiple intelligences (MI) theory and its application in schools. Developed by Howard Gardner at Harvard University, the theory argues that individuals differ in their abilities, learning styles, and interests, and that these differences need to be acknowledged and nurtured in…