Intelligence Project

Luis Alberto Machodo, a Venezuelan cabinet member, said last night he plans to use psychological techniques of "early intervention" in infant development, curriculum changes in the school system, and adult education through the mass media to improve the level of intelligence in Venezuela.

Speaking at a lecture sponsored by the Committee on Latin American and Iberian Studies, the Venezuelan minister for the development of human intelligence yesterday called for a "peaceful revolution" in worldwide educational methods "to raise man's intellectual capabilities to their full potential."

As a part of his program, Machodo has asked Richard J. Herrnstein, professor of Psychology, and Jorge I. Dominguez, professor of Government, to oversee an educational experiment called "Project Intelligence" in Venezuela's school system two years from now.

In an interview before the speech, Machodo said his goal is to "democratize science all over the world and to put into the hands of all the knowledge that has only been in the hands of scientists before."

As a part of his program in Venezuela, Machodo said every student will eventually have to take a course on how to develop his own intelligence as part of the school curriculum. "We will also educate adults and especially mothers on how to educate their children," he added.

Herrnstein said, "One does not have to believe that all of Machado's vision will be realized to want to know how much of it can be realized," adding "there are some rather hard rocks in this stream of developing intelligence."

He said his role in the intelligence project will be to explore what contributions psychologists can make to Machado's vision.