IQ

Empathy (Obama)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4md_A059JRc&feature=related

http://www.ask.com/health/galecontent/intelligence-quotient-iq?o=15527&l=dis
Excerpt:
Although IQ scores are good predictors of academic achievement in elementary and secondary school, the correspondence between IQ and academic performance is less consistent at higher levels of education, and many have questioned the ability of IQ tests to predict success later in life. The tests don't measure many of the qualities necessary for achievement in the world of work, such as persistence, self-confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills, or the ability to set priorities and to allocate one's time and effort efficiently. In addition, the creativity and intuition responsible for great achievements in both science and the arts are not reflected by IQ tests. For example, creativity often involves the ability to envision multiple solutions to a problem (a trait educators call divergent thinking); in contrast, IQ tests require the choice of a single answer or solution to a problem, a type of task that could penalize highly creative people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_thinking
Excerpt:Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It is often used in conjunction with convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a "correct" solution. Divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected connections are drawn. After the process of divergent thinking has been completed, ideas and information are organized and structured using convergent thinking.[1]

Psychologists have found that a high IQ alone does not guarantee creativity. Instead, personality traits that promote divergent thinking are more important. Divergent thinking is found among people with personalities which have traits such as nonconformity, curiosity, willingness to take risks, and persistence.[2] Additionally, researchers at Vanderbilt University found that musicians are more adept at utilizing both hemispheres and more likely to use divergent thinking in their thought processes.[3]

Activities which promote divergent thinking include creating lists of questions, setting aside time for thinking and meditation, brainstorming, subject mapping / "bubble mapping", keeping a journal, creating artwork, and free writing.[1] In free writing, a person will focus on one particular topic and write non-stop about it for a short period of time, in a stream of consciousness fashion


http://www.jstor.org/pss/27531573

http://thesalesblog.com/2010/02/empathy-and-emotional-intelligence-the-ability-to-connect/
Excerpt:
What Is Empathy? What is Emotional Intelligence?
Empathy is the ability to feel what the other person is feeling. It is to experience their emotions. It is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes in a big and meaningful way. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. This is a skill that all great communicators possess (more about this tomorrow).



http://www.dyslegia.com/about/
Excerpt:
This site is maintained by Davis Dyslexia Association International to report and track pending legislation in the United States. DDAI supports laws that meet the following goals:

•Increase awareness about dyslexia and divergent thinking styles;
•Promote scientific research into brain function and dyslexia, including research focused on exploring the perceptual gifts and creative talents of dyslexic people;
•Encourage educational research into alternative, innovative and emerging approaches for teaching students with dyslexia and atypical learning styles;
•Provide greater opportunities for dyslexic children and adults;
•Promote educational initiatives that increase options for parents and students and provide individualized support for children with dyslexia.
We have created this blog-based web site as a resource for sharing information about legislative initiatives, as a forum for discussion and exploration of policy issues, and as a communications tool to encourage citizen participation and involvement with their representatives in government.

This site was created during the summer of 2009 and does not track or reference legislation introduced in earlier legislative sessions. Statutes that were enacted in previous years can be found by reviewing the table on the State Dyslexia Laws page.

Please feel free to register and post comments on any pending bill or action.

If you have specific concerns or problems related to this site, please contact webmaster@dyslexia.com

http://eqi.org/empathy.htm
Excerpt:
Empathy

You don't need a university degree to care. S. Hein.

Showing Empathy
Awareness & Acknowledgment

Empathy and Sensitivity

Empathy, Understanding and Compassion

Empathy and Conscience

Too Much Empathy?
Einstein Quote
Empathy Deficit

Barack Obama Quote About "Empathy Deficit"

Article on Cultivating Empathy in Children & Youth, by Dr. Arundhati Ray

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Empathy and the Process of Socialization

Barack Obama Quote About the Empathy Deficit

There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the laid-off steelworker, the immigrant woman cleaning your dorm room.
As you go on in life, cultivating this quality of empathy will become harder, not easier. There's no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care. You'll be free to live in neighborhoods with people who are exactly like yourself, and send your kids to the same schools, and narrow your concerns to what's going in your own little circle.

Not only that - we live in a culture that discourages empathy. A culture that too often tells us our principle goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and entertained. A culture where those in power too often encourage these selfish impulses.

They will tell you that the Americans who sleep in the streets and beg for food got there because they're all lazy or weak of spirit. That the inner-city children who are trapped in dilapidated schools can't learn and won't learn and so we should just give up on them entirely. That the innocent people being slaughtered and expelled from their homes half a world away are somebody else's problem to take care of.

I hope you don't listen to this. I hope you choose to broaden, and not contract, your ambit of concern.


From http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060616-northwestern_un/