text: do you think our iq level is in our genes? i mean, say the first time you take an iq test, and it is determined that you have an iq of 102, does that mean that you were born with an iq of 102, and that it's in your genes? or does it depend on your life style, education...? intellingence is thought to be influenced by many factors, genetics being but one of them.  obviously, injury or disease can damage the brain, and result in lower intelligence, as can other factors such as malnutrition.  also important are the conditions encountered during early childhood development.  the brain has certain "critical windows", when it is most open for developing language, reasoning, spatial relationships, and other skills.  children who do not receive the proper stimulus during these windows find it difficult, if not impossible to learn the skills in later life.