Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.

下次當你的伴侶、朋友、兄弟姐妹或同事的觀點讓你大吃一驚的時候,記住他們能讓你更聰明。

New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching careers.

新研究指出,在整個成年期里,智力不是固定不變的,而是可以通過家庭成員、聰明的伙伴以及用智力拓展的事業來提高的。

The study challenges the commonly held notion that intelligence is ‘static’ by the age of about 18.

Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a part up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilise.

當前科學界的共識是:智力是由基因控制的,而學校教育和營養等環境因素一直到18歲可以發揮一定作用。在這之后,智商分數就穩定了。

But James Flynn, Emeritus professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can ‘upgrade’ their own intelligence throughout their lives.

但是,新西蘭奧塔戈大學政治研究和心理學榮譽教授詹姆斯·弗林持有異議,他認為人們在一生中都可以“提升”自己的智力。

He believes intellectual stimulation from others is crucial as the ‘brain seems to be rather like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets’.

他相信來自他人的智力刺激很重要,因為“大腦似乎更像一塊肌肉——你用的越多,它就變的越強”。

However, the reverse is also true – so people who share a home or workplace with the intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels nosedive as a result.

不過,反之亦然,人們與智力有缺陷的人共享居住或工作場所,結果就會有智商水平暴跌的風險。