Abstract | This thesis makes a case for the rhetorical vector present in popular and clinical intelligence discourse. To achieve its intended purpose, it examines rhetorical elements and descriptors of the general intelligence factor present in The Bell Curve, by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, and Dr. David Wechslers The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence. Through a rhetorical analysis of both texts, an examination of G-factor criticism, and a historical overview of key concepts in intelligence assessment, the thesis provides the most comprehensive digest of G (general intelligence factor) available to persons outside the sciences, and is the first close reading and textual analysis of statements that have sought to define the same. Within this analysis, I argue for a qualitative definition of G, and I then discuss the implications of intelligence rhetoric for those with learning disabilities, brain injury, and twice exceptionality. |