Adenoids and Diseased Tonsils: Their Effect on General Intelligence

This earnest 1922 study asks a question that seems almost charmingly naive today: does removing adenoids and diseased tonsils actually make children smarter? Margaret Cobb Rogers designed an experiment to find out, testing children's intelligence before and after surgical removal of these tissues, then rigorously analyzing whether the operations correlated with improved cognitive performance. She walks readers through her methodology, statistical approach, and findings with meticulous care, emphasizing the need for empirical proof over anecdotal medical wisdom. The book captures a pivotal moment when the medical world was just beginning to take intelligence testing seriously and to wonder whether physical ailments might quietly throttle a child's potential. What emerges is both a period piece and something more: a window into early experimental psychology, when scientists were first attempting to measure the unmeasurable link between bodily health and mental capacity.