Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-11
To Him That Hath.

There isn't a Sounder principle in
Psychology than this ancient saying,
though In q sense one had to wait
1000 years to prove it. The twentieth
century demonstration proceeds by the
refined mathematical instrument of
correlation. the principle of which any
one willing to make a five-minute
EFFORT can understand. It's an accurate
way Of determining what things go
together.
Do tallness and brightness 60 to-
gether? If so, all tall people would
be bright, and the taller the brighter,
which we know isn't SO, but for pur-
poses of illustration that doesn't maj
ter If it were so, the correlation
would be perfect, or 100. and If there
Is no relation at all between the two
the correlation would be 0.
But, supposing that the tall had q
slight advantage In intelligence over the
short, then the correlation might be
5 or 10 or 20. All ask you to accept
Is the fact that the method of correla-
ton thus expressed on q scale actually
does measure the degree in which any
two traits go together. Thus tntelh-
gent parents and intelligent children
90 together. Not always, of course, for
Intelligent parents may have dull chill
cren, and dull parents may have chill
dren who are brighter than they art.
It isn't and couldn't be correlation
Of 100 which would represent a GER
tainty that all bright parents mad
nothing but bright offspring. But II
is as high as so or 60, and that's high
enough to be significant. And bright
ness in sisters and brothers goes
together to an equal degree. We con-
clude that heredity is responsible
for 1t.
But the decisive question is of this
nature: Ii you are far above average
in a few traits. are you likely to be
above average in more traits, pretty
much superior all around? The answer
is: You are-to him that hath shall
be given. That doesn't mean that
mathematical or q musical or an in
ventive genius will be q universal
-enius-not at all We all have spe--
cial abilities and disabilities. are not
equally goodor bad in all thlp~'. But
taken in large groups persons 1sarkeo-
" superior in some respects are oe-
cidediv above average in many respects.
AZ a fact we all know it. A pupil near
the head of his class brings home high
grades in almost every study-not
equally good or bad in all things. But
in any. He eXcels in one by virtue
of Qualities that stand by him IN ex-
ceiling in others.
The reason why we are APT 70 IEihN
otherwise Is because of a misleading
view of compensation. that because we
are weak in one respect we must make
up for it in another. Some do. but
thew are the exception. The usual
tendency is not toward compensation
but toward correlation, showing gen
eral high range Of peaks and nils.
All this we might expect both In the
light OF heredity, which makes nlgn-
GRADE endowment q good basis for
considerable variety of talents, and
hecause such talents, though we emu.
ynerate them separately, have a good
deal in common When they do not
we speak of versatility, and That again
ia more common than we think 1t Is,
because we are likely to cultivate one
talent and neglect the others.
Selection also has something TO DO
with 1t. Intelligent people seek ana
are attracted to intelligent mates. on