Biting my tongue on Facebook.
I just saw a heartwarming FB post (reposted by a good friend) in which a "neuroscientist" (*doubt*) allegedly explained to her daughter about cognitive abilities. She used glasses filled with water. If the "memory ability" glass was filled up extra for someone, that meant some other ability had to be emptied out a bit, so if someone has a cognitive deficit of some kind you can be sure they have a compensating cognitive strength somewhere else.
As someone who has administered about 200 IQ tests and other intellectual assessment measures to kids and adults...
Just no. Fairy tales that misrepresent reality aren't good for kids even if they seem to support your values.
Another issue is that this anti-evidence theory could plausibly lead someone to ignore or minimize others' disabilities when they need recognition and support. "It's sad that you have low IQ, but that's okay because I'm sure your brain compensates in other ways! Bye!"
#badscience #misinformation #goodIntentions #RoadToHell