David Shenk
David Shenk is a writer on genetics, talent and intelligence. He is the author of Data Smog, The Forgetting, and most recently, The Genius In All of Us.
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David Shenk is the author of six books, including
Data Smog ("indispensable"—
The New York Times),
The Immortal Game ("superb"—
The Wall Street Journal), and the bestselling
The Forgetting ("a remarkable addition to the literature of the science of the mind."—
The Los Angeles Times ). He has contributed to
National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Gourmet, Harper's, The New Yorker, The American Scholar, and National Public Radio. Shenk's work inspired the Emmy-award winning PBS documentary
The Forgetting and was featured in the Oscar-nominated feature
Away From Her. His latest book,
The Genius In All Of Us, was published in March 2010. Shenk has advised the President's Council on Bioethics and is a popular speaker.
Click here to follow him on Twitter.
The future could replace words with delicate hand movements.… More »
Performing "Flight of the Bumblebee" on an iPad.… More »
Personal
Mar 19 2010, 2:42 PM ET
Appearing in The New York Times Book Review, Sunday, March 21.… More »
Personal
Mar 19 2010, 10:30 AM ET
I had a really wonderful hour today on KQED's "Forum," hosted by Michael Krasny. I love public radio.
Listen here.… More »
An excerpt from our correspondent's new book on where intelligence comes from--and why exposure to words as a child matters… More »
Personal
Mar 7 2010, 10:31 PM ET
A very positive, and thoughtful, review by Laura Miller.
… More »
Personal
Mar 3 2010, 4:50 PM ET
It takes a special kind of person to have kept up with my work over the years, following topics from data smog to dog noses to kids toys to Alzheimer's to the ancient origins of chess. I love it when someone shows up at a book signing for The Immortal Game with an old coffee stained copy of Data Smog. Such die-hard readers are to be appreciated, pitied, and feared.
And rewarded. Today I am announcing a special giveaway. A free,…… More »
The latest in a series of interviews about the source of ambition and the process of becoming an extraordinary achiever.… More »
Personal
Feb 26 2010, 9:15 AM ET
Book is trickling into stores now, ahead of March 9 pub. Early reviews for The Genius in All of Us
"Engrossing...revives faith in not just practice and determination but also parenting and lifestyle."
- BOOKLIST (starred review)"Empowering...myth-busting ...entertaining."
- KIRKUS REVIEWS"Interesting and informative...very well done."
- BOOKFETISH.COM • More advance praise here.
• Video introduction here.
• A Q&A…… More »
[This Q&A was put together by my publisher. I think it's helpful in introducing some of the basic ideas from the book].
Question: Your book is called The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ is Wrong. That's a big claim. Everything and how so?
David Shenk: It is a bold statement, and it reflects how poorly the public has been served when it comes to understanding the relationship between biology and ability. The…… More »
Everyone is grumbling about Washington gridlock, and rightly so. By all accounts, today's partisan atmosphere is so poisonous, it makes even the vitriolic Clinton years look warm and fuzzy. I know much of the problem is systemic, but I was struck by something Evan Bayh wrote in his weekend op-ed for The New York Times: … More »
The good folks at Doubleday have just released this brief video introduction of my new book, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Indiebound, and will be arriving in stores in the next week or so."Engrossing...revives faith in not just practice and determination but also parenting and lifestyle." -- BOOKLIST (*starred review*)"Empowering...myth-busting...highly readable...entertaining." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS …… More »
I strongly recommend this week's New York magazine cover story by Jennifer Senior about the foolishness of allowing intelligence tests to determine the educational fates of four year-old children. It's a very human story. But I especially enjoy how Senior brings the science to life. Here's my favorite moment:… More »
From a short essay of mine that appears in this month's Brown Alumni Magazine:… More »
I was honored to be part of a discussion panel at The Franklin Institute this past weekend to kick off this year's EduCon conference. The conference is an offshoot of the Science Leadership Academy, an amazing new Philadelphia public high school, and its visionary founder Chris Lehmann. The open-ended question posed to the panel was: "What is Smart?" Here are my slightly-edited opening remarks:What is smart? This is a really exciting time…… More »
My wife's iPhone was snatched a few weeks ago on the sidewalk in front of our house (reenactment for our local paper, above). I almost had mine swiped the other night in the exact same way. Our downstairs neighbor has had several taken. Both of my brothers have had their iPhones stolen, and several close friends. I haven't seen national data, but in our Brooklyn neighborhood, iPhone theft is rampant.On one level, this is not surprising at all. The iPhone…… More »
Our hearts go out to the Haitian people, and of course we all must help. Here's a link to donate to CARE, one very reliable aid group. (There are many others; check up on charities' reputations at Charity Navigator.)
This tragedy should also be a giant reminder that, when it comes to natural disasters, past is prologue. This shocking map shows how many regions in the U.S. have experienced a major earthquake since 1750. This list shows the major known world…… More »
The New Yorker's cover illustration this week by Javier Mariscal is entitled "New Worlds," alluding to the visionaries covered in the "World Changers" special issue. But, forgive me, what I see is a cool alternative cover for my forthcoming book, The Genius in All of Us. Take a look: All those in favor of replacing my original book cover, below, with Mariscal's brilliant image above, say "Aye." (This is impossible to do, but what the hell.)… More »
In response to this month's Atlantic feature "The Science of Success," by David Dobbs, which I admired, I invited Dobbs to engage in short back-and-forth over one particular gripe I had. He graciously accepted. Children, avert your eyes. This is literary brawling the likes of which haven't been seen since Norman Mailer head-butted Gore Vidal.Shenk alights from behind a doorway with his first jab:… More »
December 11, 2009Once upon a time, in a city [not so] far, far away, I became friends with an ordinary someone named Laurie Strongin, who was pretty much like the rest of us in a good kind of way -- smart, kind, funny, mildly ambitious. In our post-college youth, we lived near each other in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. In the morning, we all went to work as interns and assistants and junior thises and thats, and in the evenings we all gathered…… More »
Last Update: 12:26 PM
