Build a Smarter Group from Scratch: Converse Equitably, Add Women, Stir.

The below is a guest post from Dr. Sarah Ballard. Dr. Ballard completed her PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics at Harvard University in 2012 and is now a NASA Sagan fellow at the University of Washington.  Follow her on twitter at: @hubbahubble

To work in astronomy is now to work in teams. A recent PNAS study reported that the average team size associated with a single publication grew from 1.5 in 1961-1965, to 6.7 in 2006-2010 (Milojević 2014). However, much of the dialog about the nature of intelligence is still focused upon single individuals. Though the conception of a person’s intelligence as a fixed quantity is fraught at best (see this summary by J. Johnson), it’s often the only way we conceive of intelligence at all. What is the nature of the intelligence of a group? What quantities are predictive of it, if any? It is now groups of individuals who publish new ideas in our field. To ask about group intelligence is now to ask: “How are units of knowledge produced?”

What does it mean to be smart?

Today's guest blogger is Nicholas  McConnell. Nicholas earned his PhD in 2012 and is now the Beatrice Watson Parrent Fellow at the Institute for Astronomy (University of Hawaii).  His research focuses on supermassive black holes and giant elliptical galaxies.

High intelligence is a common stereotype about astronomers and physicists.  Indeed, many of us have performed well throughout school and on standardized tests.  But in graduate school problem sets are replaced by open-ended research questions, and steady affirmation gives way to occasional, even frequent, frustration.  Yet our colleagues seem brilliant and productive.  For many people, research provides fertile ground for self-doubt.  "Am I as smart as I thought I was?  Do I have what it takes?"

This self-reflection can have different flavors.  Social psychologists, most prominently Carol Dweck and her colleagues, have performed research supporting two distinct perspectives regarding personal intelligence.  One is a "fixed" mindset, which views intelligence as an innate quality attained early in life.  The other is a "growth" or "malleable" mindset, which views intelligence as a quality that can be exercised and strengthened.  Individuals tend to consider their own abilities through one of the two mindsets, although there is room for overlap (for instance, one may believe that intelligence is innate but creativity is malleable).