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.
下一次當你被伴侶、朋友、兄弟姊妹或同事的觀點驚到時，請記住他們可能會幫你變得更聰明一點。

New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching careers.
一項新研究顯示，智力不是固定不變的，而是在整個成年期都會受到影響，家庭成員、聰明的配偶以及拓展智力的職業都會促進智力的提高。

Stimulating households where people talk, make jokes and challenge each other can boost IQ levels by several points, as can jobs that mentally energise employees.
可以談話、說笑、互相叫板的這種活躍的家庭，以及能激勵員工思考的工作，都可以使智商水平提高幾分。

The study challenges the commonly held notion that intelligence is ‘static’ by the age of about 18.
人們普遍認為，智商到了18歲左右就“靜止”了，此研究否認了這個說法。

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.
目前科學界的共識表明，智力由基因控制，教育和營養等環境因素在18歲之前也有一定的影響。18歲之后，智商就穩定了。

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.
但是新西蘭奧塔哥大學政治學和心理學退休榮譽教授詹姆斯?弗林說，人們能一輩子“升級”自己的智商。

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’.
他認為，他人的智力刺激非常關鍵，因為“大腦似乎和肌肉非常像——你用得越多，就越強壯。”

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.
然而，反過來說也成立——所以，與腦筋不太好使的人同居一室或一起工作，會有智商直線下降的風險。

Professor Flynn analysed US intelligence tests from the last 65 years and correlated the results with people’s ages. This enabled him to compile new IQ ‘age tables’.
弗林教授分析了美國過去65年的智力測試，研究了測試結果與年齡的相關性。通過這項研究，他編制了新的智商“年齡表”。

He found the ‘cognitive quality’ of a family alters the IQs of all members, especially children.
他發現一個家庭的“認知特性”能改變所有家庭成員的智商，特別是孩子。

It can ‘lift’ or hold them back, depending on the ‘gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents’.
他們的智商提高或降低，取決于“他們本人的智力水平和兄弟姐妹、父母智力水平的差異”。

A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings, the ‘age tables’ revealed.
“年齡表”顯示，一個10歲大的聰明孩子，如果兄弟姐妹智商平平，智商會比有同樣聰明的兄弟姐妹的相似孩子低5到10分。

However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up.
但是，低智商的孩子，如果有更聰明的兄弟姐妹，并受到特別的教育，智商就可以提高6到8分。

Professor Flynn, whose book, Does Your Family Make You Smarter? comes out next month, also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle.
弗林教授也總結說，盡管基因和早年人生經驗決定80%的智商，還有剩下的20%受生活方式的影響。弗林教授的書《你的家庭讓你變聰明了嗎？》將在下月出版。

This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more.
這說明人們可以提高自己的智商，或任其下降，幅度可達10分或更多。

Professor Flynn suggests that the best way to boost IQ levels is to socialise with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.
弗林教授建議說，提升智商最好的方法就是和聰明的朋友交往、找一個挑戰智力的工作，以及同比你聰明的人結婚。

Vocabulary

raise an eyebrow: 揚起眉毛（表示吃驚、不信或輕度反對）
consensus: 共識
nosedive: 暴跌

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：實習生孫美真
審校&編輯：丹妮