Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.

下次当你的伴侣、朋友、兄弟姐妹或同事的观点让你大吃一惊的时候,记住他们能让你更聪明。

New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching careers.

新研究指出,在整个成年期里,智力不是固定不变的,而是可以通过家庭成员、聪明的伙伴以及用智力拓展的事业来提高的。

The study challenges the commonly held notion that intelligence is ‘static’ by the age of about 18.

Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a part up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilise.

当前科学界的共识是:智力是由基因控制的,而学校教育和营养等环境因素一直到18岁可以发挥一定作用。在这之后,智商分数就稳定了。

But James Flynn, Emeritus professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can ‘upgrade’ their own intelligence throughout their lives.

但是,新西兰奥塔戈大学政治研究和心理学荣誉教授詹姆斯·弗林持有异议,他认为人们在一生中都可以“提升”自己的智力。

He believes intellectual stimulation from others is crucial as the ‘brain seems to be rather like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets’.

他相信来自他人的智力刺激很重要,因为“大脑似乎更像一块肌肉——你用的越多,它就变的越强”。

However, the reverse is also true – so people who share a home or workplace with the intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels nosedive as a result.

不过,反之亦然,人们与智力有缺陷的人共享居住或工作场所,结果就会有智商水平暴跌的风险。