The capacity for knowledge. The aptitude to learn. The ability to comprehend new ideas. These factors may seem like concepts a philosopher would be concerned with. But what about an 8-year-old?

IQ, or intelligence quotient, is a standardized measurement of human ability to understand and adapt to new information. For years, a person’s IQ was believed to have been set very early in childhood and development. While this idea has been the most prominent theory, a study done by University College London  in October 2011 showed that IQ may not be set until deep into the teenage years. This could mean that a “baby genius” could turn out to be just a regular Joe.

Junior Nick Johnson has had a first-hand experience with IQ tests. He took one at the age of 10 as part of the application process for Sycamore School, a highly selective school for gifted students.

“I felt like (the IQ test) wasn’t that bad. It was divided into portions, so it wasn’t all one day,” Johnson said. “There was a math section, a logic section; it was mostly logic. An example of one of the questions was that there was a outline drawing of a bus, and you had to figure out which way it was going, and the way you had to figure that out was by noticing that the door wasn’t on the side you were looking on.”

Johnson earned an IQ score of 128, a high score with the national average being around 100. Johnson said while the chance for IQ to change in the teen years was a probable theory, he generally agrees with the idea that IQ is set earlier in life.

“Your IQ is kind of separate from your intelligence. Your intelligence is how much you know and your IQ…measures your ability to learn. I think it could (change during teen years), but I think that there’s a definite range, and it’s usually set during childhood.”

Psychology teacher Peter O’Hara said he agrees with Johnson. He said studies have shown that most of the determinants of IQ would have been already set and acquired during childhood.

“The largest chunk of your learning comes in the first three to five years,” O’Hara said. “Your language skills come then…you learn how to get up, move around, walk around. So many concepts are implanted in you those first few years. Cultural things are implanted in you the first few years. Things you won’t even remember are implanted in you. Your brain is a sponge.”

James Ganges, consulting psychologist for Sycamore School, conducts the required IQ testing at the school for prospective applicants. He said IQ is believed to be set even earlier in life than O’Hara said.

“Cognitive development is related to how effectively one interacts with her/his environment, and IQ, which is a statistic derived from a measurement of intelligence.  Cognitive development begins prenatally and continues throughout one’s life. ”

Ganges, however, said that IQ can have small variations over time such as in the teen years, as the study showed. He added that IQ test results obtained later in childhood can fluctuate more than those obtained earlier in life.

“We typically find greater consistency in scores between a 12-year-old and those obtained when that same person is tested as an adult than we find between a 5- year- old and the adult score,” he said.

Junior Gabrielle Stephens said she agrees with Ganges. She took an IQ test when she was 12, and she said she believed that IQ could easily change into the teen years.

“I think that your mind is still growing, it’s still pushing its limits…and you’re learning new ways to study and new ways to learn when you get to high school.”

Johnson said if he did have a change in his IQ, he would expect it to have decreased since his childhood testing at Sycamore School.

“I think (my IQ has) gotten lower, I honestly do…Part of IQ has to do with your willingness and your appreciation and wanting to learn, and I think the stress that we all face (during high school) can impact that,” Johnson said. “I know it has for me in that I don’t have as great of a will to learn anymore just because I feel like it’s such a massive burden to my daily life.”

Ganges said despite any fluctuation in IQ, a factor of greater importance is the maintenance of knowledge and brain activity.

“The advice to continue to read and do puzzles and crossword puzzles is a way of preventing the decline of cognitive skills that occurs as we get older,” Ganges said. “So basically, you use it or you lose it. That’s true for teens and for middle aged and elderly people, and with infants too.”