The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1906-09-18
WEIGHT IS NOT NIL
MANY OTHER FACTORS IN LIE
TERMINING BRAIN PoWBR,
When the Cells Are So Constituted as
to Give Ability for Team
Work." High Intelligence
Is Present.

Other factors besides brain wJignt
are known to influence intelligence II
has long been known that the diRt'rt
gushing character Of the human Tpn
ia the large number of connecCoe
fibers by which its cells are co-oIul-
mated. In no other species are Sbfy
SO numerous or complicated. The CFals
constitute but very small part OF She
weight. There Is now considerable
evidence that the same rule apples
among individual men and that those
OF great intelligence have more CON
nections, so that their cells car "a
more and better team work"
Some Investigations have shown toe
corpus callosum to have large Gross
section In men who have shown aSeat
ability. 1t is also known that tne
brains of able men are likely to pre-
sent more commissions and deeper ones
than the average, as If there ~eie
more brain cells as we'll as more coH-
nections. A few observations in the
lower races point to the fact that tneir
brains are essentially different In nal
croscopic organization, partly account
ing for less intelligence.
All these facts will fully explain
why men of intelligence in the higher
races may have brains not notably
heavy, but they do not disprove the
general statement that as class such
men do possess brains heavier than the
average.
The mistake arises from the failure
to recognize that noted men who have
shown intellectual power not infre'
quentIy were sharply limited to one OF
two directions, being very defective IL
other directions. Blind Tom was an
idiot, in fact-an extreme case of what
is quite common At the other ex'
IRENE was Gambetta, who was moi
much more than an orator, whose cere
bral speech centers were found to be
highly developed The rest of his
brain was small, and his general in.
tellectual power and Judgment were
decidedly defective. Ability in one OF
two lines may make man famous
while he is really very defective, and
his brain proves to be small.
Heavy Drains are not uSCSSStiAiy IL
tellectual ones, or elephants would be
in the class of geniuses.
The material might also be patho'
logic and the possessor an imbecile
1t often happens that men Of bis
brain and great ability suffer from
earlx neglect and are found in lowlI
employments or may remain ignoran
through life. These few facts do no
prove that large brains are worthless
and not indicative of mental power a.
a rule. We cannot get away from tn
fact that man as an animal is suprem
because of his large brain; that amoni
races the brainiest are the highest, an
that in any one race the most intel
ligent, as a rule, are those who hav
the most brains.
Men of small brains are not the lead
ers, and no statistics of the brail
weights OF a few exceptional me-
noted for limited abilities can revers
the rule. Universities do not Great
brains, but merely train what exists
so that the owners are better fitted 70
the battle OF life. Many man
sent 10 college who should be handlin
pick and shovel, and he neve
amounts to much, even though h
subsequently makes his living at som
very limited speciality,