As an old school conservative, I believe proper upbringing is critical for intelligence and society to function. You do need to change cultural behavior regardless of underlying genetics We should have have standard disciplined curriculums that stress practical real world subjects from as early an age as possible. School uniforms, discipline, pledges of allegiances We should ban abusive wokeism, mandate physical fitness and nutrition we should eliminate crime. Give everyone a job whether they want one or not. Does this guest believe we’ve scratched the surface of societal degradation so far? School interventions, Mozart, and computer games don’t matter if kids are being beaten up or dodging bullets the other 16 hours of the day and night. They don’t matter if they still get punched by other kids whenever they ‘act smart.’ Liberal academics literally tried that in places like Camden , Detroit, and Kansas City and expected it had any chance of working? I really don’t think they’ll ever acknowledge the profound changes needed to help these people whose lives they falsely claim to value so deeply. And comparing rich and poor populations is like comparing apples and oranges. Rich white kids who can barely tie their shoe laces will outscore poor whites who can fix car engines and build houses because they’ve been taught how to take tests from preschool up. And that’s about all many of those people ever learn.,(reply>), What you are invoking is a distinction between intelligence and smartness. I agree that the upbringing has a profound impact on how smart a person is. What's more is that the lack of needing to worry about physical safety or about where food is coming from can protect the fluency of a person's thought.