Thread: IQ tests

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  1. #1

    IQ tests

    Does IQ mean anything to you? In my opinion, IQ tests are a bunch of BS. I've seen people score low on IQ tests yet at the same time be smarter than people with a higher IQ in every area of life. Today I was thinking about the elementary school i attended and how they placed students into courses based on their IQ and how demeaning it was. They placed students into a course called "Challenge" if their IQ was high enough. My grades in school were always As and apparently when we took the IQ test in 1st grade I scored low mainly because I was 6 and did not take it seriously. Now that i think back on it it was very corrupt the way they took students with "higher" iqs and gave them a better education than those who scored lower on the IQ test.

  2. #2
    IQ means something, but not everything. The reason they do that with classes is probably because those with high IQ are likely to "get bored" and do poorly in normal classes. The challenge courses are probably designed to go a bit quicker, maybe with a bit more reasoning involved.

    IQ tests aren't perfect in determining someone's capability, but they aren't horrible either. Some people with high IQs based on tests may have 0 street smarts. They may be horrible with people. They may be awesome at everything. However, they probably can put two and two together quickly and succeed at a tougher curriculum. They have to go off of something, at least.

  3. #3
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    The basic problem with IQ tests is that we don't have a very clear definition of intelligence. The only definition psychologists can agree on is that intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure! That said, IQ is a powerful predictor of things like career success, criminal behaviour, and even life span. Which isn't to say that that there aren't people with both high IQs and an unsuccessful career, or a criminal record, or a low life span. It's just less likely.

    Intelligence tests should definitely be taken with a large pinch of salt. This is especially true of young children, where there are a lot of confounding variables - for example, age. Imagine a situation where you have two children in the same class, but one was born at the end of August and the other at the start of September (I'm using the British school calendar here). One of them is, in practical terms, a year older, but they both take the same intelligence test. Most of the time, the older child will score higher, and they'll be put in the advanced class, where they'll get the best teachers and opportunities. And over time, the ability gap will widen just because of something simple like a birthday.

    It's not just intelligence tests where this applies, though. It also applies to seasonal sports - children who are born at the start of a sport season will be older than their peers, which is often mistaken for natural talent. And of course, they'll get the special training, and over time the gap widens again.

  4. #4
    Legendary! Callace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elohel View Post
    Does IQ mean anything to you? In my opinion, IQ tests are a bunch of BS. I've seen people score low on IQ tests yet at the same time be smarter than people with a higher IQ in every area of life. Today I was thinking about the elementary school i attended and how they placed students into courses based on their IQ and how demeaning it was. They placed students into a course called "Challenge" if their IQ was high enough. My grades in school were always As and apparently when we took the IQ test in 1st grade I scored low mainly because I was 6 and did not take it seriously. Now that i think back on it it was very corrupt the way they took students with "higher" iqs and gave them a better education than those who scored lower on the IQ test.

    It only tests one type of aptitude, which is logical reasoning on paper.

    HOWEVER, there are now IQ tests that are aimed at other aptitudes such as music. So it's real, but it's also relative.

    How would you have tested those first-grade students? There's nothing wrong with separating children by ability. Maybe that was the best they could come up with, don't be so quick to judge.
    Last edited by Callace; 2011-03-26 at 10:24 PM.

  5. #5
    There are many types of intelligence and the typical IQ tests measure only one or two of them.

  6. #6
    I don't like them. They're not really indicative of how far you're going to go in life, at all. There are geniuses working for minimum wage who never amount to anything, and there are "stupid kids" pulling multiple-figure salaries because they decided to make use of what they had.

  7. #7
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    Well afaik IQ tests only test very specific skills. Doesnt really show how intelligent you are.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jokerpoker View Post
    Well afaik IQ tests only test very specific skills. Doesnt really show how intelligent you are.
    They show how intelligent you are, but only for a specific type of intelligence. There are around 10 types of intelligence.

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    Me not understand. IQ test confusing!

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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by haxartus View Post
    They show how intelligent you are, but only for a specific type of intelligence. There are around 10 types of intelligence.
    It was my understanding that they don't show intelligence or how smart someone is, but more of an indicator of potential to learn. That's why we would want to have kids entering the school system take them. A child with greater potential is not going to learn well in a course designed for children with more average potential. Thus, the child does poorly and risks being unintelligent due to inability to not learn the material in the format it was taught to them.

    Of course I could be wrong. I know next to nothing about learning theory and cognitive skills acquisition. I did stay at a holiday inn express last night.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by poser765 View Post
    It was my understanding that they don't show intelligence or how smart someone is, but more of an indicator of potential to learn. That's why we would want to have kids entering the school system take them. A child with greater potential is not going to learn well in a course designed for children with more average potential. Thus, the child does poorly and risks being unintelligent due to inability to not learn the material in the format it was taught to them.

    Of course I could be wrong. I know next to nothing about learning theory and cognitive skills acquisition. I did stay at a holiday inn express last night.
    This is also a type of intelligence. And I was talking more about the MENSA type tests.
    I will try to explain it differently. There are a large number of geniuses in the history of humanity who wouldn't be able to pass a standard IQ test today. They just had a different type of intelligence.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by poser765 View Post
    It was my understanding that they don't show intelligence or how smart someone is, but more of an indicator of potential to learn.
    No, how 'smart' you are is exactly what they show, what your brain is capable of, that's why most IQ tests are very simple, pick a symbol etc, however not how witty or socially capable you are, how good your musical talent or motor skills are or how much you know

  13. #13
    Banned Haven's Avatar
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    The thing that you have to know is that IQ test only test your logical thinking. There's also what is called "emotional intellect" and intuition, and IQ test ignores them. It also doesn't measure creativity. Only the ability to solve logical/memory puzzles.

  14. #14
    I watched a Horizon documentary on IQ tests, and it said a lot of what people are saying here.
    They only measure one type of intelligence.
    A theoretical physicist who has to logical thinking in the same way as an IQ test for his job did the best, a fighter pilot did well because of his spatial awareness and an IQ specialist did well because of knowing about the tests and IQ in general.

    A dramatist and I think it was some literary person didn't do well, but basically the conclusion was they weren't as good at standard IQ tests but actually did better in another type of test, where they came out on top, that measured another sort of intelligence.

    The general opinion of intelligence experts was that there was 7 types of intelligence, and the IQ test only measures 2.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by sagan-man View Post
    No, how 'smart' you are is exactly what they show, what your brain is capable of, that's why most IQ tests are very simple, pick a symbol etc, however not how witty or socially capable you are, how good your musical talent or motor skills are or how much you know
    I think "smart" might be a subjective term. When I think of smart I don't think initially of how effectively people learn, but rather that they are learned. Again though...what the hell do I know...I'm just a street pimp.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Callace View Post
    It only tests one type of aptitude, which is logical reasoning on paper.
    In actuality a genuine IQ test (recognized, usually a school test isn't a recognized IQ test) will test more than just logical reasoning on paper, it will include an oral part of at least 1/4th the length of the paper test.

    I however feel that IQ means something, I was scored with a high IQ, have not been given anything extra (apart from skipping 2 years of my own accord) and am now utterly bored acing my classes.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Delilith View Post
    I however feel that IQ means something, I was scored with a high IQ, have not been given anything extra (apart from skipping 2 years of my own accord) and am now utterly bored acing my classes.
    Take harder classes. If you're still bored when taking something truly challenging in the academic world, then your IQ is high enough to really mean something special.

  18. #18
    I'm personally a December baby, and I skipped 1st grade (lols), and some people in my classes when I was younger were all 1 year or older than I. I remember in 12th grade, I was 16, everybody were 18 and 19. I was the only guy without a mustache or a beard.

    I had an average of 79% in that year, nothing exceptional. But I was much younger than some of them. I passed an IQ test, and got the same thing as almost every one of them.

    When I got my bachelor at 21 (Psychotherapy - shit salary, but hey, that's what I like), I realized that IQ is total bullshit and will never measure how smart you are.

    ***All of this in in Canada, so it might be weird to read this.
    ***Don't think I'm a retard because of my bad grammar. English isn't my mother tongue.
    Last edited by Chickensoup23; 2011-03-28 at 04:55 AM.

  19. #19
    Herald of the Titans zcks's Avatar
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    Depends allot on the test but they all have problems in the fact they can only test you in certain things.

    As badpaladin said, there are some very smart people doing minimum wage & some very idiotic people making millions on charm alone.

    For instance I graduated high school at 16, barely ever studied for any tests. Yet I did average on my SAT's because again I did not study at all & stayed out late the night before.
    I know make a comfortable life for myself as a firefighter & doing occasional odd jobs (I'll soon have my FFL dealers license & certified Gunsmith license)
    Could I have gone to a high end college & become a scientist or lawyer? probably but then again I love the perks & hours of my current job/hobbies.
    The way balancing for WOW PVP works is allot like American politics.
    1: Be lazy & ignore problems till the yelling is so loud your cant concentrate.
    2: Refuse to do the things you have Said need to be done, then make up reasons why they cannot be done.
    3: Lay the blame for problems on someone else even when it's your fault because you did all of the above.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Badpaladin View Post
    Take harder classes. If you're still bored when taking something truly challenging in the academic world, then your IQ is high enough to really mean something special.
    The way my country is set up prevents me from taking harder classes, we have 3 basic levels of education (VMBO-HAVO-VWO) with VWO being the precursor to university, but apart from getting into VWO there is no harder or easier, which is one of the things I dislike about my country, I do extracurriculars but I still feel like the school should be more challenging.

    EDIT: Basically my country's educational system does not allow me to get anything considered challenging untill finishing the VWO, which will hopefully be in 2 months.

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