IQ Tests

[IMI]

When it comes to an IQ test, is guessing right luck or are you subconsciously correct? I took an IQ test once and got all the pattern matching questions correct. I guessed at each one of them though. Had I guess at all of them and got up to or slightly higher than 50% correct then I would say that it is chance. Whereas I got them all right one could say that I was able to discern the right answer without actually being aware of why it was correct consciously. An innate ability as it were.

 

The problem I have with IQ tests is that they also measure learned knowledge, vice just raw intellectual ability. If I don't know what a prime number is, and can't pick the next number in a sequence of prime numbers, it's not necessarily because I'm unintelligent. It's more that I'm uneducated. Likewise, if I can't complete an analogy containing the word 'mendacious' it isn't because I am unintelligent. I just didn't know what 'mendacious' means.

[Dapthar]

Thats the point I was trying to make. IQ does not asess one's intelligence with any great validity.

Now that you have clarified your point, I find that, for the most part, I agree with your reasoning.

 

I'm sure you can become more intelligent as you get older, but you will find it very hard to raise your IQ score significantly as you get older.

Possibly, but I'm sure one could ace an IQ test by doing something that completely defeats the "purpose" of the test, i.e. studying the types of questions that are likely to appear.

 

Even if you got very skilled at solving the problems you practised, if you didn't have a very high fluid intelligence, when you came up against a new problem you had never seen before, it would take you longer to work out how to solve it.

The problem with this is that such situations do not arise very often in life, and thus, the premise is very hard to test. Also, besides basic sensory-motor skills, at the moment, I cannot think of any "fluid intelligence" (i.e. critical thinking) skills that can only be taught during one's childhood/early developmental stage, so I still contest the above point.

[Guest labyrinthe]

Yes I agree..IQ test is just a test..and it should not be really a measure of one's intelligence.

 

There are other factors that must be considered in order to evaluate one's intelligence. But for "leisure" fun's purposes! most of us takes online IQ tests right?...

 

And hey speaking of one..i came across this online IQ test recently..it's still for free (i think they will charge it in the future)...

 

The contents are more "meaty" than the other tests i found before...

 

Here's the site...

 

http://www.indiatests.com

 

 

I only got 117, but i still think i did pretty well!...

[DreamLord]

That test seemed a lot like the one on tickle.com, only more questions I think, and a few were a bit more difficult. I got 132 I think that's about what I got on the tickle.com test, so that must be sort of an outline for official IQ tests or something.

[Thales]

You can't assign a single numerical value to somebodies intelligence. People are intelligent in different ways, is an artist or composer any stupider than a scientist? As much as I would like to think so the answer of course is, no. Trying to write a paper that tests the multitude of varying talents and scales them 'appropriately' is maybe not impossible but close enough to it.

 

The true measure of somebodies intelligence can however usually be deduced by a much more primitve method...talking to them.

[MolecularMan14]

I agree totally, though I am quite satisfied with my IQ score. I think w/ my left brain, and many think w/ their right. That impacts the score on most standardized tests, mainly due to the difference in thinking patterns. I think logically, in progression, to reach a verdict and base it on what I know to be true, and logical.

 

btw, whats the average IQ of an adult, and is there an average IQ for a 14 year old? If so what is it?

[Thales]

Ideally the 'average' of any IQ test is 100. This should be age adjusted so it would be the same for old and young.

[DreamLord]

I believe average IQ for adults is between 85 and 115, or something like that. I don't know if it's different for different age groups though. I think to qualify for MENSA you need a 120, so maybe the average was 85 to 120... I dunno.

 

I also recently came across this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1263510.stm

It seems people with higher IQs live longer on average. Interesting.

[MolecularMan14]

well i suppose that I should i live a long time, apparently my IQ is 187...why is it that an IQ would have an impact on life expectancy? Remember that could just be coincidence

[DreamLord]

Yes, it could all be only coincedince. Or maybe the more intelligent people just tend not to do stupid things as much. You know, things that'd earn them a Darwin award. But then, intelligence is no measure of common sense...

[LucidDreamer]

I wouldn't be surprised if there really was a link between long life and a high IQ. After all people with high IQs are more educated. If they are more educated then they might have a better job with better health Insurance. Also IQ is linked to class to come extent so richer people have better means to keep themselves healthy.

 

The average IQ is always 100 regardless of age. If you are only 14 it just means that you have to answer fewer questions correctly to get an IQ of 100. Molecularman14, since you are on a science forum discussing complex science issues at the age of 14 you obviously precocious. Precocious children have a natural advantage on IQ test and anything academic.

[AL]

The true measure of somebodies intelligence can however usually be deduced by a much more primitve method...talking to them.

Even that's a bit sketchy. Some really intelligent people are inarticulate for whatever reason. Maybe they're uncomfortable in a social setting, or are dyslexic or savants who suffer from speech impediments.

 

I think what's most important is what people actually do and accomplish in life, not what they're theoretically capable of doing based on some theoretical measure of intelligence. Marilyn vos Savant could have a 500 IQ for all I care, but it wouldn't mean diddly if she spent her days gloating about it instead of using it for the betterment of mankind.

[Thales]

Agreed

[MolecularMan14]

holy crap, i dont even believe u said that...I have the hardest time speaking fluently, I find myself stopping, or changing words in the middle of a thought. I have the worse time choosing what word to use where. lol, all agreed!

[J'Dona]

Just had an interesting conversation with somebody today about IQ tests, and though I'd mention it as it relates to their general importance or significance.

 

I was told of a story of a student at Manchester university who did an IQ test and joined MENSA. Then they were transferred to Cambridge.

 

Is IQ really important enough that professors and employers consider it that big a deal? IQ test scores can be raised artificially by several points just by studying the sorts of questions they ask... I mean, even I might be able to join MENSA if I did that. I fail to see the actual point of the organisation, aside from boosting chances to get into a good university, but if it's that important an issue is it worth trying, or are IQ tests no longer considered as highly as before?

[DreamLord]

The true measure of somebodies intelligence can however usually be deduced by a much more primitve method...talking to them.

 

I have to disagree, along with a few other people who have made comments on this. Just because someone is a good speaker, it doesn't mean they're intelligent. And likewise, I have heard many highly intelligent people talk, and often stumble over words and have troubles putting their ideas into words.

 

Of course, I don't believe IQ test should be used as a measure of one's intelligence. Someone could get lucky, or have a bad day, or study for it... There are many reasons why those tests shoul not be considered a measure of one's intelligence.

[Callipygous]

To that you should be replying with a smug tone' date=' "Actually its called Intelligence Quota."

What the IQ test attempts to measure is your crystalline intelligence, (aquired knowledge) fluid intelligence, (problem solving abilities) and the speed with which you can use these intelligences, and compare it to everybody else thats taken the test.[/quote']

 

i have heard all sorts of things about what IQ stands for, the most common i hear is "intellegence quotient" as in result of a division. i dont know or really care what it actually stands for.

 

but more importantly, any good IQ test should have absolutely nothing that tests "crystalline intellegence". the test is supposed to measure how well your mind works, how quickly you can figure things out. it should be entirely unaffected by background, education, or where and how you live. in other words, all the things that might influence "aquired knowledge."

 

it should be much more towards the "fluid intellegence" you mentioned.

[Callipygous]

Even that's a bit sketchy. Some really intelligent people are inarticulate for whatever reason. Maybe they're uncomfortable in a social setting, or are dyslexic or savants who suffer from speech impediments.

 

you dont check how good their grammar is, or that they annunciate everything, you just talk to them and see if it seems like anything is going on up there. you can normally FEEL the intellegence when talking to a very smart person. even if someone is very quiet, if you talk to them you can normally tell "oh, that guys really smart and really shy."

[Callipygous]

I have to disagree, along with a few other people who have made comments on this. Just because someone is a good speaker, it doesn't mean they're intelligent. And likewise, I have heard many highly intelligent people talk, and often stumble over words and have troubles putting their ideas into words.

 

its not whether they are a good speaker or not, its not their knowledge of the language. how did you know those people stumbling over words were smart? you can just tell.

[Dapthar]

I was told of a story of a student at Manchester university who did an IQ test and joined MENSA. Then they were transferred to Cambridge.

I believe the first part about being a student at Manchester University might have had a larger impact than the IQ test results. I wouldn't think that they hold credence in matters of any measurable import. Unless there is some sort of standardization' date=' e.g. all potential applicants take the same version of an IQ test, there is no objective way to judge what bearing IQ has on a candidate's potential success.

Is IQ really important enough that professors and employers consider it that big a deal?

I wouldn't worry about it.

I fail to see the actual point of the organisation, aside from boosting chances to get into a good university, but if it's that important an issue is it worth trying, or are IQ tests no longer considered as highly as before?

I belive they lost their status (In the US, anyways) as a valid testing tool after the attempt to use IQ tests to justify institutionalized racism (See below).

From http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,124498,00.html:

 

...due to a statewide policy that goes back to 1979.

 

At that time, many black kids performed poorly on the IQ test and wound up in special education classes. A lawsuit claimed the test was biased and a judge agreed — banning public schools from giving the test ...

... you can normally FEEL the intellegence when talking to a very smart person.

I'm sure you'll have a fun time going up to people, and asking them "Mind if I feel your intelligence?".

[Callipygous]

"I'm sure you'll have a fun time going up to people, and asking them "Mind if I feel your intelligence?". "

 

the way you do that is "hey, hows it going?"

[MolecularMan14]

-hello there

-Hey!

-Hows it going?

-Fine, fine and u?

-fine...by the way...mind if i feel your intelligence?

-By All means, go right ahead!

 

lol, the world would be a funnier place...but not quite as funny as sharpton winning...

[DreamLord]

its not whether they are a good speaker or not, its not their knowledge of the language. how did you know those people stumbling over words were smart? you can just tell.

 

Because there are a few people from my school like that. I've known these people for quite some time.

 

I will admit conversations can tell you about people sometimes though. Not really by the way they talk, but just the way they... well, when you talk you get a grasp of their knowledge. I hope I've made sense with that last statement...