Are IQ Tests an Accurate Indication of Intelligence?
How Important Are IQ Tests?
Let's face it: we've all tried out an online IQ test or two, then retook them a few times until we got a score we were happy to share on Facebook. I mean, I for one have an IQ of 150 because I can usually score that high by the 8th or 9th attempt after googling half the answers. But is performing well on IQ tests really a strong indicator of high intelligence?
Until relatively recently, I had always believed that how a person answered that question heavily depended on their IQ score: those who are better at taking tests are generally quite happy to have these results reflect their intelligence/prospects of success/penis size, while the rest are more resistant to the idea that 'a single number' can define the entirety of our self worth. Indeed, growing up as the only Asian kid who nobody ever wanted to sit next to in a maths test a second time, you can guess in which group I belong. Fool them once, shame on me, I suppose.
The man himself is said to have an IQ of over 160. I bet people that smart have figured out how to use the text editor to write on the right side of images like this one
However, going against this 'it's shit because I suck at it' school of thought, is Donald Trump who boasted a few weeks ago about his IQ in a tweet, surprising many of us who didn't think he could even spell the abbreviation correctly. So I decided to do some research to settle the issue of whether your IQ matters once and for all, or at least until someone who disagrees with me comes along.
What IQ Tests Measure
The first IQ test was devised by a French psychologist Alfred Binet to push forward a national egalitarian movement that required every healthy child to attend school. I guess nothing says egalitarianism like having the entire country's children's intelligence measured and grouped accordingly so you know your child won't interfere with the studies of other children with whom he can't keep up, but is still somehow undoubtedly viewed as their equal.
The modern day version of this test uses an arbitrary scale which places your performance relative to others where the average score is 100; you know, a bit like what your wife does. The test predominantly assesses your abilities in the following areas: general knowledge, memory, maths, spatial cognition, problem solving and memory. So as it turns out, the question of whether or not IQ tests accurately predicts intelligence depends heavily on whether you deem these qualities to be a fair and complete definition of 'intelligence'. Conspicuously missing here are creativity, wit, self awareness, emotional aptitude and the ability to tell what she really means when she says she's fine.
What guys really mean when they say they want to date smart women. Not women who spend all day correcting our grammar or life choices
Even if we narrowly define intelligence as the extent to which you can learn new things or adapt to new situations, there is a growing body of evidence that suggest that intelligence itself is highly malleable and I don't just mean that Alzheimer and dementia can kick in for anyone at any time, perhaps increasing the intelligence of some of us. Studies show that intelligence can be heavily influenced by environmental factors; the quality of your education, the significance of academics in your culture, the support you receive from your family and how smart the kid you were sitting next to during the test, can all have a strong bearing on your ultimate IQ test results.
So Are IQ Tests Useless?
However, one shouldn't rush to celebrate their two digit scores too quickly. Research has also shown there to be a strong correlation between IQ and academic performance, and in turn future earnings. Higher IQ has also been correlated with traits that predict career success such as superior logical skills and attentiveness; apparently, people who score better generally have trouble with reasoning and are easily confused while those who score lower were less prone to confusion and have superior reasoning. No wait, sorry, the other way around!
Finally, there is also some evidence suggesting that intelligence is at least partially heritable, so if you want to be more intelligent you can always try getting smarter parents.
Refernces
8 Reasons The IQ Is Meaningless
Does IQ Really Measure How Smart You Are?
IQ: How important is a high IQ
Pictures from Pixabay.com
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Great Post @trafalgar and this is a topic that I love to discuss.
IQ is influenced by many factors as you mentionned. I also read that some scientists say that it is 60% genetic (your parent's intelligence X probabilities) and 40% linked to you environment as you were saying (Culture of Studies, Childhood...).
Nevertheless IQ is VERY important for the country as let's face it, we need more and more smart people in the IT/Entrepreneurs/Finance segments as there are less ans less manual jobs.
I think the fact that Asian countries have usually High IQ is an explanation of their recent economic success.
After the Korean War in the 50s, South-Korea was as "undevelopped" as Ethiopia/Somalia/etc... Look at them now !
Anyway AI will rule us all so let's relax and enjoy our lives :D
yes it's true, it's hard to quantify the nature/nurture split but they both play a large part
it's definitely a very important attribute
lol @ ai
The example of Korea proves just how important the society can be when it comes to developing the 40% of the IQ as you mentioned. Their working ethic and the very logic approach they have to things, made them great at developing technology.
In general the east asian countries are having high IQ scores.
A big part of their development is also that the government decided to support the private companies by making them partially owned by the state. The state would then boost the finances in case things were going bad.
I think intelligence should be measured by how happy we are. In the end I figure a happy hippie might actually be smarter than a depressed lawyer, because he or she chooses to live the kind of life they want, not the kind of life society defines as being successful
you can boil that statement down to capitalism is a shit system and hurts everybody ;)
Hehe in the end I guess capitalism is like the relationship with woman, you can't live with them, can't live without them
nah you can definitely live without it. Society actually does better too
I would love to think so, but I haven't seen many non capitalist societies that functioned very well either. Ideally it might be better with a communist society but in practice it doesn't work so well either. Maybe decentralized block chain technology can make a new society that will be better. Lets hope so.
"Are you going to work today ?"
"Yes I will be on Steem from 9-5"
oh and here is the debunking anti-communism masterpost
https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/wiki/debunk
in practise it works better than capitalism ever has. It doesn't matter how much blockchain tech we have, the relationship of the workers to the means of production will not change.
Just because you can make money on steem doesn't mean everyone can, unless you want us to all starve that is.
Millions of people escape from communist countries ! How many people try to enter into a communist country? That said, as for the people who like Bolshevism there is no reasoning with them. Don't even try!
A philosophy based on happiness is insufficient because we are all going to sick and die. Being happy is nice but life will hit you in the face at one point or another. You need a mode of being that allows you to deal with the reality of suffering and to face it with courage. That kind of wisdom is beyond intelligence and mere happiness.
I think intelligence rather measures your ability to cope with difficult circumstances doesn't it? And how creative your response to them is... The importance of intelligence compared to happiness (which are different things in my opinion) is another thing to discuss. I don't think one needs the other. what do you think?
I suppose that's one way of looking at it
but i think happiness is happiness and intelligence is intelligence, even if both are very elusive to define
I guess the bottom line is that IQ is important, but it doesn't equal success and happiness, there are many different aspects that come into play that might be bigger factors influencing who and what we become
Obviously intelligence and happiness are two completely different things no doubt. I'm just trying to make a point. What's the point of high IQ if you choose a path in life that doesn't make you happy ? Why should we put so much emphasis on IQ, I think we should put the same or even more emphasis on EQ. But no one hardly mentions it. Still there is scientific research that shows EQ is many times more important than IQ for success.
The word success is very interesting because today we associate it directly with high salary and probably high IQ. I'm pretty sure this is the brain washing of society. In my opinion I high IQ is no use if you don't know how to think for yourself
Dang. My entire life I thought IQ meant "I Quit." Up until now I thought I was kicking ass. :-(
don't let me stop you quitting your life :)
Lol. Have you considered life coaching as a career? 😁
oh don't get me started, I hate those guys!
I would definitely fail an IQ test - what's an IQ? I was once persuaded to go for the Mensa test and would have reached the bit where they ask you to go along for an assessment, but I chickened out. I didn't like the idea of someone telling me if I was intelligent or not. Loved your article, so funny thanks.JV
thanks a lot for having a look
no such thing as failing an iq test
but you can get a low score and feel terrible about yourself lol
Definitely no. After we get used to solve those IQ, it's obvious our brain will solve them easier next time.
In order for an IQ test to be relevant, it's a must to be a brand new one for each individual...
yes, we generally will get better at doing the same types of problems over and over
it's pretty hard to come up with a test that you can improve with repeat sittings
IQ test varies and time to complete the test is also a factor. There is a limit at which you will peak and you can take that as you "true" IQ. Someone with 85 IQ will never be able to answer the test like a IQ 140 would since at IQ 85, you can barely follow written instruction.
So you say if I manage to find smarter parents I will become smarter!? Bye my old mom and dad!
haha yup! That's the spirit
Well if she says she's fine and you've predicted it right, you've bypassed the impossibility of Heisenberg uncertainty and you've dwarfed Heir Einstein on the IQ scale all at the same time.
haha that's probably about right
The military won't employ people under IQ 85 even though they have all the incentives to do so. At 85, you have a hard time even processing written instruction. It is the most solid measure of intelligence we have. The correlation between IQ and income / poverty / criminality is hard to discard.
It sure sucks that we are not all equal when it comes to intelligence but facts don't care for our feelings.
https://pumpkinperson.com/2016/02/11/the-incredible-correlation-between-iq-income/
yes I broadly agree that it's a strong predictor of academic achievement and in turn financial success
a little bit surprised at the 10 bill+ group averaging 150, my hunch is that's a bit too high (assuming a standard deviation of 12-15), I didn't, and still don't, think the correlation is quite that high, even taking into account the tech billionaires
my groundless hunch is the correlation peters off at around 130ish, with academics in the hard sciences superseding billionaires
I'm not sure an academic in mathematics or physics has to deal with such complex and dynamic factors in their daily lives...but they just direct their minds towards solving hard abstract problems.
The amount of shit someone has to deal with at that level of wealth is staggering. I'm not surprised that one needs to have a lot of "processing power" in order deal with that.
hmm had a brief look out of curiosity, which is admittedly more research than I do when writing a comedy piece like this
about 45% of billionaires went to a top 1% school, comparable to judges and senators. a lot of the top silicon valley ceos have IQs estimated to be over 140. Broadly speaking I feel that my estimates were more in line, self made billionaires have IQs closer to 2 standard deviations from the mean (~130), than 4.
People like warren buffet, elon musk, bill gates are among the top of the really well known ones going by my intuition, likely 3 standard devs up from the avg (I feel zuckerberg is a little weaker, and jobs weaker still), and I hazard a guess that real estate moguls, oil and media tycoons etc are generally even weaker. Still, even members of the top group don't give me the feeling that they're at the level of a 'once in a generation' intellect, say for example, your Eulers, Galois, Newtons, von Neumanns etc. Modern day equivalents may be Pearlman or Andrew Wiles, maybe Satoshi and Terrence Tao, while Vitalik definitely falls short.
People in this elite group just don't seem to be motivated by the same incentives as most others. Likewise, I don't get the same vibe from even the best and brightest of the billionaires club, and I like to think I'm quite sensitive to the intelligence of others.
I don't see being massively successful in the world of business requires less intelligence than someone who's massively successful in the world of academia...even if it's in oil, import/export or banking. These things are insanely complicated when you consider their magnitudes, scale and the cost of making mistakes.
Personality traits (based on the Big 5) can also confuse us when it comes to the judging of someone intelligence. He/She may strike us as very intelligent, when in fact, they simply are high on Agreeableness and Openness.
Someone with a very low score of Agreeableness may repel us (aka Steve Jobs) and we would tend to consider him less intelligent because of our aversion to his behaviors.
hmm, perhaps
I don't think I'm discounting jobs due to his personality; i'm not prone to mistaking affability or gregariousness for intellect.
Most of the very smart people I listed would likely score lower in agreeableness and openness than jobs.
I'm not convinced that running a country/multi billion dollar company requires the same level of intelligence as, say, inventing calculus or proving fermat's last theorem. nor are they similar levels of complexity. while its easy to say it's an apples/oranges case, I don't really think they're in the same tier.
Pmsl 😂 do you have a bossy wife?? 🤔 Such a laugh always reading your blogs @trafalgar I love your narrative style.
As for IQ the tests coming from a former psychology student they are very easy to manipulate once you get used to them and they are socially and economically biased.
I have met many very intelligent people whom have absolutely NO common sense! So what does it really mean to be intelligent? Food for thought 😉
I have no common sense
I mean I'm not that smart, but at least I have no common sense
so yeah, best of both worlds here
😂 you are blessed!
Hello @trafalgar
There have been a lot of hype about IQ scores for years now and I am really sick of it.
It has caused a lot of self esteem problems for some who feel that they are not smart enough to pursue their dreams.
There are a whole lot of factors that can be employed in the evaluation of a person.
It is funny that most attention is given to IQ without considering the equally Important EQ, which is needed to co-exist with others.
EQ comprises of Perseverance, Self-Control and other skills that involves getting along well with others.
EQ plays a big role in self esteem, health and most importantly business. You can have the highest IQ and your business will fail if you don't have a good dose of EQ.
You brought in a little bit of @traf here :)
@ogochukwu
#blockchain-blogger
haha I've always been about comedy, just that @traf is for shorter form comedy
yes, there are definitely a lot of other factors to consider like emotional and social intelligence (I suck at these lol)
Hello @trafalgar
I sent you a message on Discord in regards to this post
When I was young I've seen a lot of kids who was marginalised because was considered by other childs like " the most stupid" but after many years time has shown that this was not important and they grow up like all the people. I think that the most important is how you can manage your IQ. For example: If I can't kepp all the things in my mind and I use the agenda, I'll be the same like others. :-)