For many years scientists tried have been trying to define the nature of human intelligence. However, they have been unable to agree on whether there is one kind of intelligence, or several kinds. In the early 20th century, psychologist Charles Spearman came up with the concept of ‘g’ or ‘general intelligence’. He gave subjects a variety of different tests and found that the people who performed well in the tests used one part of the brain, which he called ‘g’, for all the tests. More recently, research has found that this idea may well be true, as one part of the brain (the lateral prefrontal cortex) shows increased blood flow during testing. However, some scientists believe that intelligence is а matter of how much people have learned rather than some ability they are born with. They believe that environment also matters.
Born
6 March 1937
Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality
Soviet
Russian
Other names
Valentina Nikolayeva Tereshkova
Occupation
Pilot
Awards
Hero of the Soviet Union
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Order of Lenin (2)
Order of the October Revolution
Order of Alexander Nevsky
Order of Honour
Order of Friendship
Space career
Soviet cosmonaut
Rank
RAF AF F6MajGen 2010-1.png Major general, Soviet Air Force
Time in space
2 days, 22 hrs, and 50 mins
Selection
Female group
Missions
Vostok 6