It seems that the age old question of whether or not having a bigger head makes you smarter, has been solved. There is a scientific correlation between IQ and the living size of human brians. Does this mean that all of those massively cranial blowhards are going to get it any easier? Probably not. But I was curious about the whole thing so I googled "measuring size brain" and came up with this link which is more than a little scary for my bleeding heart liberal leanings. The author is pooh-poohing a rather well known popular science writer, Stephen Jay Gould. I haven't personally read any of his books but I've thought real hard about it, that is, until the latest Harry Potter book catches my attention. Anyway, the guy who wrote it, J. Philippe Rushton, maintains that there is a correlation between IQ and brain size and indicates a study done with both whites and blacks to show that it crosses racial boundries. He then cites several studies which have examined the difference in brain size between races using several different measurements from MRI scans to size of the external head. He finds that Asians consistently have larger brains than Caucasians who consistently have larger brains than those of African decent. I can understand that this seems to be a clear cut case for a resurgence of eugenic ideas, especially in a time when we are able to learn more and more about the role of genetics in our lives. However, I maintain that this evidence does not in fact have any bearing on society whatsoever. The entire arguement is based on the assumption that higher IQ's is what everyone should be striving for which, as far as I know, has no evidence to support it. As far as I can tell, IQ tests only indicate one sort of intellegence which in turn has no connection with quality of life. Does higher IQ make you a happier person? Does it make those around you happier? Does it mean that you'll be a more productive employee? Or a more productive member of society? Does it affect ambition? Is this what we humans should be striving for? The fact is that we don't know. Science Fiction writers have been playing with the idea since the genre's inception and judging by the number of Distopian novels out there it seems they haven't found the answer yet.

So are we going to have to include our hat sizes on our resumes in the future? I don't think so, but the thought does sort of scare me since, frankly, I have a small head.

Sidenote: For those with trans species interests here is a link to an article about Dolphin brain size.