B showed a mental poise that I have rarely, if ever, found in a child. It was not so much a matter of a sudden keen grasp of a subject, which might or might not be permanent. She seemed to have the power, which is usually met only in mature minds, of weighing, reasoning, and then placing for permanent use the matter with which she was dealing. [3]
Always B appealed to me as a normal child, with unusual mental poise. She was not at all uncanny or tiresomely intelligent. _From a former classroom teacher_.
Measurements of general intelligence of B have been made as follows:
DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD ARMY ALPHA AGE -BINET POINTS OF B MA IQ B Norm Mar. 3, 1921 8-3 15-8 189 Apr. 8, 1922 9-4 17-6 188 84 (Form 5) 0 Dec. 29, 1924 12-1 142 (Form 5)
B was measured at the age of 9 years 4 months and again at the age of 12 years 1 month, in light indoor clothing, with the following results:
DATE WT. (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.) B Norm [4] B Norm [5] April 8, 1922 106.0 61.5 56.0 52.0 December 29, 1924 123.0 82.8 61.6 57.7
HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF. CRANIAL CIR. (IN.) B Norm [5] B Norm B 56.0 52.0 1.88 1.18 22.4 61.6 57.7 1.99 1.44 22.5
B greatly surpasses Badlwin's norms (making the usual allowance for heels and clothing).
_Grip measurements_. Measured with Smedley's dynamometer, B's hand grip scores as follows:
DATE GRIP (KG.) Right Hand Left Hand April 8, 1922 13.0 11.0 December 29, 1924 20.0 18.0
Superior size is therefore accompanied by superior strength.
_Diversions_. At the age of 9 years B listed her favorite diversions thus: "All sorts of outdoor games; then reading; then drawing; then playing with dolls, sometimes."
_Imaginary land_. "When I was 8 years old my imaginary countries were generally of grownupness, where I figured as chief actress and queen."
_Career ideas_. At the age of 9 years B was asked, "What will you be when you grow up?" B responded promptly, "A doctor." Then she added, "I will learn to sing, too. Perhaps I'll sing to the patients. There are so many things to do. I'll try to combine several things." Now, at the age of 12 [[1925]], she is ambitious to become "a celebrated authoress, actress, artist, and musician."
_Reading interests_. When asked how many books she had read (April 8, 1922), B replied, "Oh, hundreds and hundreds. We have plenty of books." It is characteristic of her that she reads over and over again a book that especially pleases her. Thus she had read nearly all of Louisa Alcott's books twice each, and had read _Lady Luck_--at that date her favorite book--several times. She had read a great many books written for boys, and remarked, in trying to describe her preferences, "I like boys' books best. They have more in them than girls' books."