In his essay in the Genius and the Mind ((1) David Lykken cites mental
energy as a likely heritable characteristic of genius. No doubt,
mental energy--or mental stamina, as I describe it --drives
performance.(2) Tackling big problems requires sustained focus,
long periods of heavy concentration. History is filled with folklore
of geniuses with prodigious mental energy. Galileo,
Archimedes, Franklin, Edison. We all know the Einstein quote:
"it's not that I'm smart, it's just that I stay with a problem
longer."
Consider a business example. Edwin Land, the founder of and
energy behind Polaroid, was renowned for pulling overnighters. His employees
tell stories about arriving in the morning to find him still at his desk,
oblivious of the time, absorbed in some mental challenge. Once Land
supposedly put in 36 hours straight struggling with a single problem.
Let’s put this in
perspective. Staying awake 36 hours is hard enough, but, sustaining
mental focus is a different proposition altogether. Most
people work 7-10 hours a day; but, even that's not all on
task. We're not concentrating
for 7-10 hours. Even in knowledge-based jobs we spend much of our
workday on ancillary tasks, tasks that may be necessary but don't require the
same mental energy.
Personally, I can
work 2 or 3 hours at a stretch on intellectual tasks. Reading,
thinking, writing, extrapolating thoughts, wrestling down problems. I love that
stuff. So perhaps I might be able to push myself to 4 hours, that is
if I'm particularly motivated, intrigued, feeling energetic, and the conditions
are otherwise just right. But sustaining 30+ hours? No
way. I can't even fathom that.
How do we account
for such a feat? It's hard to unravel which element to attribute to
IQ (nature), which to motivation (nurture), which to sheer physical energy (a
mix).
That the
intellectual giants of history always seemed to have demonstrated extraordinary
mental energy suggests mental energy is likely genetic, at least in part.
Lykken is surely onto something. It’s worth clarifying that mental energy
is not simply general discipline
applied in a cognitive realm—that it’s more than mere habit and will-power.
We see too many examples of people with otherwise strong discipline in
one realm who are simply unable to channel that discipline to cognitive focus. (3) In turn, while mental energy surely
correlates with IQ, it can't correlate perfectly. Obviously not all with
a genius IQ can focus like Galileo or Edwin Land. And not all who focus like
Land have genius IQs.
It's also
self-evident that mental energy works in tandem with physical
stamina. You need sheer endurance to endure grueling work
sessions. This might explain why great intellectuals usually peak
early in life. For example, mathematicians usually make their
breakthroughs at a young age, and rarely contribute after the age of
40. That's a long established fact.
There has to be
something specific at work, beyond the traditional explanations--IQ and
nurture-- for intellectual prowess, for neither alone explains why
intellectuals peak early. Consider. If, on the one hand,
you believe intellectual prowess is mostly genetic and shaped by IQ, this
wouldn't explain this phenomenon of the "early peak" since your IQ doesn't drop as you
age. Of course, the brain, as an organ of the body, ultimately will
break down and you'll eventually suffer some form of mental
deterioration. But, that's well into old age. For a normal, healthy
person, your IQ certainly wouldn't show a material dip by the age of 40.
Alternatively, if
you believe prowess is mostly a function of environmental factors, then, if
anything we should see greater intellectual contributions from older academics.
After all, as you age you accumulate more knowledge, more experience, and
should have more fluency with logic and intellectual skills.
So neither IQ nor
environmentalism explains the early peak.
But, if we add
mental energy to the mix, it all begins to make sense. We can see
why the "under 40" phenomenon would hold. For, again,
mental energy must work in tandem with physical stamina. And
physical stamina--more broadly all of the attendant physical traits that enable
prolonged concentration--does indeed ebb as we go through our thirties and
forties. If you're healthy and take care of yourself, you may feel
and look fine. But physically, you're simply not the same as you
were at twenty-four. And applying mental energy--focusing, engaging
in deep thinking--is deceptively exhausting. You don't have to lift
weights or run marathons or even tax your large muscles to physically
tire. Think about how stress tires you out, or grinding away on a
report, or being in an intense work meeting. These things are
physically draining. Mustering and maintaining prolonged focus is
especially draining.
When you hit middle
age, your IQ will hold. You'll have accumulated more
knowledge. But, if intellectual prowess hinges on mental
stamina…and mental stamina relies on physical stamina…then, we can
see why many intellectuals peak early.
It's a tough thing
to isolate and directly observe; but, mental energy is likely a distinct,
explanatory factor of superior performance; and it's likely to be, at least in
part, genetic.
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