I’ve been wondering something, and I’d love to genuinely hear some perspectives on this matter. It seems as though the ones who most vigorously defend the importance of IQ (outside the educational psychology realm) are those who study the genetic and biological foundations of IQ. But why is this the case? Certainly it’s possible to be an intelligence researcher and focus on the environmental determinants of intelligence, and *also* argue for the importance of intelligence as a construct? Something could be real and important, yet still be substantially influenced by environmental factors. I’m trying to think through the deep implications of this, because it’s a fallacy to conclude that “intelligence is genetically determined” from “intelligence is real and important”. Likewise, it’s a fallacy to conclude that “intelligence is not real and important” from “intelligence is influenced by environmental factors”. For instance, I think the evidence suggests that (a) IQ is real and important, (b) IQ is influenced by cultural factors, and (c) IQ is influenced by genetics. Whenever I write an article showing the importance of an environmental factor, that doesn’t lessen my belief in the importance of IQ, and whenever I write an article showing the importance of genetics, that doesn’t strengthen my belief in the importance of IQ. What’s going on here?