A Field Theory of Human Intelligence

The standard model of human intelligence is a brain-centric and brain-specific depiction of intelligence, and it enjoys nearly universal acceptance within the intelligence research community. Nonetheless, the standard model does face some serious challenges, including a lack of specificity and an inability to account for the Flynn effect (other than to assume that the Flynn effect must be a temporary aberration). What is being presented here is an alternative model of human intelligence, one that locates intelligence not within the human brain but instead within the growing amount of artificial structure contained within the human environment. Although this field theory approach to human intelligence runs counter to the widely accepted standard model, a field theory approach does offer several advantages. One, it eschews any extraordinary biological or evolutionary assumptions regarding the functioning of the human brain. Two, it provides a specific and observable description of the material structure of human intelligence. And three, it gives a straightforward and elegant explanation of the Flynn effect. For these reasons, a field theory of human intelligence merits serious consideration.