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Your IQ

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Posts

  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I had/have similar test scores (1460 SAT, 32 ACT, et...) and a college GPA at 3.85 and I was denied a scholarship to a school I was wanting to transfer to. The deciding board felt that my 76% in English 102 (the prof was going through a nasty divorce, and no one in the class got above a 78%) showed a possibility that I could struggle with the writing intensive nature of the program I was wanting to transfer into (the Oxbridge Honors Program at William Jewell College).

    They seemed to ignore the fact that I got an A in every other class I had taken to that point. Including 2 Honors History Classes and Philosophy of Religion, all of which all used essay tests for every major grade in the class.

    Did you have an interview?

    Despite my grades (or lack there of) I have wonderful people skills (no, really) and I can vouch for the power of the interview.

    Evander on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    I have a genius level IQ.

    I have a college GPA that is currently below a 2.0. I am a 22 year old Junior. It took me five times of taking Calculus I before I actually passed it. I graduated high school with a GPA or 2.09 (that is not a typo.) I didn't bother to get my driver's liscense until I was 21. I have generally just been floating aimlessly through my life not accomplishing much of anything.

    Oh, but I got a 1470 on my SATs (out of 1600)




    See how "much" IQ matters?

    You claim to have a "genius level IQ," but you've managed to conflate the concepts of motivation and intelligence like an idiot.

    See how much your assessment of stratified measures of intelligence matters?

    Except I'm not talking about the ways that concepts interact with one another.

    I'm talking about the relevance of a conceptual intelligence level to the real world.

    Your intelligence quotient doesn't do shit for you. Hard work, and maybe a little bit of random luck, is what actually matters. A number on a piece of paper doesn't mean anything except that you now need a new piece of paper if you want to write something else.

    Edit: By the way, I like your word usage. Stating that I "claim" to have a certain level of IQ, so as to point out that I am making remarks without backing them up, even though that is, in essence, a large part of whatthis thread was created for, and no one on here could honestly definitively prove that their IQ was what they say it is. If you're upset because I didn't give a number, I chose not to for a reason, simply because the numbers don't matter. The only reason I gave my SAT score was in order to further prove the meaninglessness of numbers.

    Evander on
  • muninnmuninn Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    On the internets, every other person is a genius.
    I guess it attracts really, really smart people.

    muninn on
  • BokiBoki __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    A number on a piece of paper doesn't mean anything except that you now need a new piece of paper if you want to write something else.


    One time as a little kid I erased an entire sheet of paper because I had none left and our teacher was bitching at people to take out a sheet of paper.

    Boki on
  • Wonder_HippieWonder_Hippie __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote:
    Except I'm not talking about the ways that concepts interact with one another.

    I'm talking about the relevance of a conceptual intelligence level to the real world.

    Your intelligence quotient doesn't do shit for you. Hard work, and maybe a little bit of random luck, is what actually matters. A number on a piece of paper doesn't mean anything except that you now need a new piece of paper if you want to write something else.

    Edit: By the way, I like your word usage. Stating that I "claim" to have a certain level of IQ, so as to point out that I am making remarks without backing them up, even though that is, in essence, a large part of whatthis thread was created for, and no one on here could honestly definitively prove that their IQ was what they say it is. If you're upset because I didn't give a number, I chose not to for a reason, simply because the numbers don't matter. The only reason I gave my SAT score was in order to further prove the meaninglessness of numbers.

    You did claim to have a genius level IQ. I don't claim that, and I don't know any reasonable, intelligent person that would. Most of my reaction to you was because, every time you post anything anywhere on these boards, you strike me as a mouth-breather.

    Aside from that, does the number actually mean anything? Yes, it does. It means, basically, this is how you compare to your similarly ranked peers on a series of tasks designed to assess your capabilities involving tasks that this culture requires you to perform just about every day of your life.

    Now, how you care to implement those capabilities does make a difference. It makes a big difference, but if you're lacking in a certain area of intelligence due to some sort of innate structural difference in your brain, you are going to have to work harder than others to overcome this problem.

    Your IQ is not a predetermination of success, and nobody's claimed as such. That doesn't mean the number's meaningless or useless, like you assert. It's a useful measure, and has some very practical applications, especially when you consider that our construct of IQ is based around the kinds of tasks that people are expected to be good at in this culture.

    Wonder_Hippie on
  • DeepQantasDeepQantas Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    What does my... 390 ... mean, when all it says is "you will probably do well, maybe.

    I'm not sure there are enough people alive for anyone to get a 390 IQ.
    muninn wrote: »
    On the internets, every other person is a genius.
    I guess it attracts really, really smart people.

    Too bad only few of those people are as modest about it as I am.

    DeepQantas on
    m~
  • GorakGorak Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    "Genius level IQ" is 140+, or 150+, or 160+ depending where you look, but at that end of the scale IQ comparisons are pretty pointless.

    I wouldn't be suprised if a fair few people on this board are geniuses going by IQ scores alone.

    Gorak on
  • GooeyGooey (\/)┌¶─¶┐(\/) pinch pinchRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gooey wrote: »
    Some years ago I took an IQ test and got a 154.

    Then about a year later I took another IQ test and got a 79.

    So I'm either smart or dumb.

    Actually I'm pretty sure they're both right. One of you just needs to kill the other one and take over the brain to escape Hitchcockian consequences.

    Yes, but which one?

    Should I choose simple, yet lovable Gooey?

    Or smart, but a pompous ass Gooey?

    Gooey on
    919UOwT.png
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I do seem to seriously have something of a prejudice against people with high IQs. Everyone I've met who's mentioned their IQ (and only those with high IQs mention it) has been a douchebag, and some of them have actually been kind of stupid. To relate an anecdote: there was one guy in particular, a big hulking dude who looked at least part Neanderthal. He bragged that he had an IQ of 169 or something like that. Yet he had no wit or sense of humour, he was awful at chess (not just "unpractised at chess" bad, 'cause I'm no superstar myself, but "I'll move my one pawn forward in a straight line until it reaches your lines and you eat it" bad), his grammar was ungood, he was socially inept... he probably did well on tests, but he was what I would normally term a dolt.
    I don't actually think any less of you, but as I've said before, I don't put any stock in IQ tests, so I'm unimpressed by high scores. Especially from internet tests, which tend to give wildly different ratings.

    I'm pretty sure I went to school with that guy. Or maybe not. The guy I'm thinking of claimed 180 if I remember right. Did your guy drive at like 60 MPH through the parking lot by the church and always drive do the cafeteria from his dorm?

    Tofystedeth on
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  • GorakGorak Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gooey wrote: »
    Gooey wrote: »
    Some years ago I took an IQ test and got a 154.

    Then about a year later I took another IQ test and got a 79.

    So I'm either smart or dumb.

    Actually I'm pretty sure they're both right. One of you just needs to kill the other one and take over the brain to escape Hitchcockian consequences.

    Yes, but which one?

    Should I choose simple, yet lovable Gooey?

    Or smart, but a pompous ass Gooey?

    Can't you be simple, yet pompous Gooey?

    Gorak on
  • GooeyGooey (\/)┌¶─¶┐(\/) pinch pinchRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gorak wrote: »
    Can't you be simple, yet pompous Gooey?

    I ain't sure what pompous means, but I know that I'm better than you!

    Gooey on
    919UOwT.png
  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gorak wrote: »
    My mum taught infants so I could write my name before I started school - that meant first pick of the toys!

    My brother, on the other, had real problems as he was the only left-handed kid in the class. He taught himself to write with his right hand because that's what he saw all the other kids doing and thought he'd got it wrong. His hand writing's still pretty crappy but he's an amazing painter.

    I found out several things I never knew about myself on my 20th birthday. One was that as a child I was allergic to pretty much every type of food. I remembered getting sick from donuts and always having to eat jello cake on birthday, but never knew why. The other, is that as a child I was ambidextrous. Apparently, some doctor or teacher or something told my parents to make me choose a hand because my handwriting would suffer later on in life. If only they hadn't done that. My handwriting is so bad now, I'm not sure it could have gotten worse. Or maybe they just made me choose the wrong hand...

    Tofystedeth on
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  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Gooey wrote: »
    Gorak wrote: »
    Can't you be simple, yet pompous Gooey?

    I ain't sure what pompous means, but I know that I'm better than you!

    I am the the most modest person ever.

    Evander on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    muninn wrote: »
    On the internets, every other person is a genius.
    I guess it attracts really, really smart people.

    To be fair, usage of the internet does require a certain level of education, and the ability and interest to discuss various topics suggests a higher level of education, and maybe even intellect. I mean, there are some factors thatexist here which make sense. It is thesame with noticing that the percentage of people who wear corrective lenses that are more educated, or considered to be"smarter" is higher than those without corrective lenses, simply because a heavy amount of readingtext, especially if you have been doing it continuously since childhood, puts one at a higher risk for eye issues that require corrective lenses.



    It is also a fact that most people are full of shit.

    Evander on
  • ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    So if my IQ tests the same sober and high out of my mind, does that mean that pot doesn't affect intelligence or does it mean that IQ tests are bunk?

    ViolentChemistry on
  • durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    To be fair, usage of the internet does require a certain level of education, and the ability and interest to discuss various topics suggests a higher level of education, and maybe even intellect. I mean, there are some factors thatexist here which make sense. It is thesame with noticing that the percentage of people who wear corrective lenses that are more educated, or considered to be"smarter" is higher than those without corrective lenses, simply because a heavy amount of readingtext, especially if you have been doing it continuously since childhood, puts one at a higher risk for eye issues that require corrective lenses.



    It is also a fact that most people are full of shit.
    I would just like to emphasize that it is in fact reading text that damages eyes (or simply staring at a static field frequently), not simply eye-strain. Ha! Take that, mom! Telling me not to read at night... shoulda just bought me some audio-books, jerk.

    durandal4532 on
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  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    every time you post anything anywhere on these boards, you strike me as a mouth-breather.

    I'll have you know that I use both my mouth AND nose for respiratory purposes, thank you.

    When I say I havea genius level IQ, I am saying that when I got my IQ tested, at the behest of my parents, I was given a number, and told that it was above genius level. I find this to be pretty funny, because I don't think that I am at all different than anyone else. Still, thereis some number out there that catagorizes me as being something that is somehow different. The idea that an arbitrary line amonga numberscale, combined with a score I recieved on some kind of standardized test, can supposedly objectively define what I am, wholy amuses me, especially because the vast variety of factors and their effects in life far outweigh some arbitrary distinction of where I rank on a number scale.



    I never said that IQ exists without any sort of basis, or that it is ENTIRELY without meaning, my point was simply that in PRACTICAL application, it really makes no difference.



    The fact is that I mentioned my IQ level solely for the purpose of pointing out that it didn't have any neccesary bearing on anything, and really to state that, clearly, I am NOT a genius. No one objected to me mentioning my GPAs or my SAT scores. Is the issue simply that I did not give a specific number for my IQ, but rather stated simply "genius level". Would you have the same issues if I'd just given you a number? Personally, I find giving a number to be MORE presumptuous, when it comes to IQ, and prefer to merely talk about ranges, when I bother to talk about IQs at all.

    Evander on
  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited July 2007
    So if my IQ tests the same sober and high out of my mind, does that mean that pot doesn't affect intelligence or does it mean that IQ tests are bunk?

    I can multiply three-digit numbers in my head and kick ass at Trivial Pursuit while drunk enough that I can't walk in a straight line, so I'd wager that not all people become stupid when under the influence.

    ElJeffe on
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  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    To be fair, usage of the internet does require a certain level of education, and the ability and interest to discuss various topics suggests a higher level of education, and maybe even intellect. I mean, there are some factors thatexist here which make sense. It is thesame with noticing that the percentage of people who wear corrective lenses that are more educated, or considered to be"smarter" is higher than those without corrective lenses, simply because a heavy amount of readingtext, especially if you have been doing it continuously since childhood, puts one at a higher risk for eye issues that require corrective lenses.



    It is also a fact that most people are full of shit.
    I would just like to emphasize that it is in fact reading text that damages eyes (or simply staring at a static field frequently), not simply eye-strain. Ha! Take that, mom! Telling me not to read at night... shoulda just bought me some audio-books, jerk.

    I'd use the same excuse, except eye issues simply run in my family. The fact that I wear glasses almost certainly has nothing to do with the fact that I would stay up all night reading, because EVERYONE in my family wears glasses.

    Evander on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    So if my IQ tests the same sober and high out of my mind, does that mean that pot doesn't affect intelligence or does it mean that IQ tests are bunk?

    I can multiply three-digit numbers in my head and kick ass at Trivial Pursuit while drunk enough that I can't walk in a straight line, so I'd wager that not all people become stupid when under the influence.

    I can walk in a straight line BETTER drunk rather than sober.

    Mostly because I actually put effort into it.

    Evander on
  • DeepQantasDeepQantas Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I'm a lot smarter when I'm drunk. I get the greatest ideas while under influence. It's the part where I'm sobering up that I start feeling really, really stupid.

    DeepQantas on
    m~
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    DeepQantas wrote: »
    I'm a lot smarter when I'm drunk. I get the greatest ideas while under influence. It's the part where I'm sobering up that I start feeling really, really stupid.

    Oh, I THINK I'm smarter when I'm drunk, that's for sure.

    The thing is, when I actually impliment those "great ideas" while drunk, THATS when I feel really stupid while sobering up.

    Playing small pranks on overly sensitive roommates just isn't a good idea, no matter how much they deserve it.

    Evander on
  • Aroused BullAroused Bull Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I do seem to seriously have something of a prejudice against people with high IQs. Everyone I've met who's mentioned their IQ (and only those with high IQs mention it) has been a douchebag, and some of them have actually been kind of stupid. To relate an anecdote: there was one guy in particular, a big hulking dude who looked at least part Neanderthal. He bragged that he had an IQ of 169 or something like that. Yet he had no wit or sense of humour, he was awful at chess (not just "unpractised at chess" bad, 'cause I'm no superstar myself, but "I'll move my one pawn forward in a straight line until it reaches your lines and you eat it" bad), his grammar was ungood, he was socially inept... he probably did well on tests, but he was what I would normally term a dolt.
    I don't actually think any less of you, but as I've said before, I don't put any stock in IQ tests, so I'm unimpressed by high scores. Especially from internet tests, which tend to give wildly different ratings.

    I'm pretty sure I went to school with that guy. Or maybe not. The guy I'm thinking of claimed 180 if I remember right. Did your guy drive at like 60 MPH through the parking lot by the church and always drive do the cafeteria from his dorm?

    No, and also he lived in [removed to drive cel insane], which you probably don't. I'm not especially surprised to find there're two of them.
    Evander wrote:
    When I say I havea genius level IQ, I am saying that when I got my IQ tested, at the behest of my parents, I was given a number, and told that it was above genius level. I find this to be pretty funny, because I don't think that I am at all different than anyone else.

    Some of my friends call me a genius, even though I patently am not. I'm the sort of person who randomly forgets the meanings of words and walks into doors. It makes me wonder if I present a very suave and witty exterior, or if I just have very stupid friends.

    Aroused Bull on
  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I'm in Mensa (seriously, I can scan my card, got in back in 9th grade on a dare), but I suck in college, I spend all my time playing video games and reading the internet, and have no real goals in life.

    IMO, IQ is fucking worthless, what matters is how much you apply what you have.

    Raiden333 on
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  • BokiBoki __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    So if my IQ tests the same sober and high out of my mind, does that mean that pot doesn't affect intelligence or does it mean that IQ tests are bunk?

    It's not that easy. Different parts of the brain could be affected while others are not. Such as people who forget how to speak but still know how to read, or when you cut brains in half and each side of the body does things differently, or when ElJeffe is drunk but can still multiply, etc..

    Boki on
  • Wonder_HippieWonder_Hippie __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    snip

    You know what you don't get? The following things:

    1. "Genius level" is not arbitrary for any test. It's based on the bell curve.

    2. Nobody has ever argued that an IQ is a predetermination for success, nor that the number you receive is 100% accurate. In fact, all major tests have a built in scale to determine the level of accuracy the tester believes he or she achieved, and scales an IQ range instead of just tagging a single number. Imagine that!

    3. You're arguing about something that you think happens, but actually doesn't. Nobody that's ever taken seriously thinks their IQ is some magical number; if they do, they're just as stupid as you're being. It's a useful number for a variety of reasons, but you don't seem to get that. Instead, you just rail off about how it doesn't make a difference. What, pray tell, is it trying to make a difference in?

    4. Anectdotes olol. That's all you're doing. "I'm a lazy dolt, but I've received high scores on IQ tests, so they must be useless!" Good fucking job. The truth of the matter, and this is very important, is that it has correlated very, very well, time and time again, with certain types of success, particularly job success. Just because you haven't done any sort of research on the matter doesn't give you the right to make claims based on your own experience.

    IQ scores have many, many practical applications. Read a fucking book about it instead of making baseless conjectures.

    Wonder_Hippie on
  • YarYar Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    It's reliability. Reliability is the ability to generate the same result. Precision is how fine the test can measure (my IQ is 136.527!). Accuracy is how close the test actually gets to the right answer (assuming that such a thing as the "right answer" exists for something like an IQ test).
    No, it's precision. You don't really know how fine the test can measure until you compare multiple results to each other and see how close they are. 136.527 isn't a precise measurement at all if the same test on the same person gives you 147.903 the next time.
    Low Key wrote: »
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    "Man, I don't want to be in some fucking club for pretentious nerds."

    They can make you hand in your mod badge for that kinda talk.
    KABOOM!

    Yar on
  • LaOsLaOs SaskatoonRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Sounds like what you said just there, Yar, was about Accuracy and not Precision.

    LaOs on
  • SavantSavant Simply Barbaric Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    LaOs wrote: »
    Sounds like what you said just there, Yar, was about Accuracy and not Precision.

    Accuracy is about how close you are to the right answer.

    Savant on
  • LaOsLaOs SaskatoonRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Savant wrote: »
    LaOs wrote: »
    Sounds like what you said just there, Yar, was about Accuracy and not Precision.

    Accuracy is about how close you are to the right answer.

    Yeah, I got that.

    But, aren't both those numbers Yar gave Precise with the chance of being inAccurate?

    [Edit]
    Wait, I just re-read what Yar actually said and realised I am being dumb... due to lack of reading comprehension. My bad. I'll leave this all here for humility.

    LaOs on
  • Wonder_HippieWonder_Hippie __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    You know what's funny about this? One of the tests I give asks for the definition of the word "precise." A synonym that counts for 2 out of 2 points: accuracy.

    Wonder_Hippie on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander wrote: »
    snip

    You know what you don't get? The following things:

    1. "Genius level" is not arbitrary for any test. It's based on the bell curve.

    2. Nobody has ever argued that an IQ is a predetermination for success, nor that the number you receive is 100% accurate. In fact, all major tests have a built in scale to determine the level of accuracy the tester believes he or she achieved, and scales an IQ range instead of just tagging a single number. Imagine that!

    3. You're arguing about something that you think happens, but actually doesn't. Nobody that's ever taken seriously thinks their IQ is some magical number; if they do, they're just as stupid as you're being. It's a useful number for a variety of reasons, but you don't seem to get that. Instead, you just rail off about how it doesn't make a difference. What, pray tell, is it trying to make a difference in?

    4. Anectdotes olol. That's all you're doing. "I'm a lazy dolt, but I've received high scores on IQ tests, so they must be useless!" Good fucking job. The truth of the matter, and this is very important, is that it has correlated very, very well, time and time again, with certain types of success, particularly job success. Just because you haven't done any sort of research on the matter doesn't give you the right to make claims based on your own experience.

    IQ scores have many, many practical applications. Read a fucking book about it instead of making baseless conjectures.

    Isn't baseless conjecture whatthe internet is for?


    Honestly, though, this thread asked for our opinions on IQ, so I gave mine. I wasn't responding to anyone else in the thread, merely stating that I feel IQ to be meaningless. If you want to disagree with me and discuss that, that's cool, I'm down for it. Coming at me with two fists swinging, though, declaring that I have no right to my opinions, which this thread had asked for, THAT is what doesn't make sense.



    Wanna start over, and pretend I just posted my first post in this thread? I'd love to discuss with you where you disagree with my opinions in a far more civilized manner.

    Edit: I just double checked the OP, and actually, it only asked for what my IQ is, not my opinions on it, so why don't we pretend that all I ever posted was "genius level". Would that make you happy?

    Evander on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ArrBeeBee wrote: »
    Evander wrote:
    When I say I havea genius level IQ, I am saying that when I got my IQ tested, at the behest of my parents, I was given a number, and told that it was above genius level. I find this to be pretty funny, because I don't think that I am at all different than anyone else.

    Some of my friends call me a genius, even though I patently am not. I'm the sort of person who randomly forgets the meanings of words and walks into doors. It makes me wonder if I present a very suave and witty exterior, or if I just have very stupid friends.

    I'm good at figuring out what people want to be told. That is basically my only skill. Not that I use it all that much, but it's pretty good for class work and job interviews.

    Evander on
  • Wonder_HippieWonder_Hippie __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Some people hold the opinion that blacks are inferior to whites.

    Yes, you're not allowed to have an opinion on something that is factual in nature until you have informed yourself.

    Wonder_Hippie on
  • EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Some people hold the opinion that blacks are inferior to whites.

    Yes, you're not allowed to have an opinion on something that is factual in nature until you have informed yourself.

    Are you saying that my opinion is akin to racism?

    My opinion is simply that I do not believe that IQ has any realistic bearing on reality in any way that actually matters. I'm not saying that there is no theory behind it, or any of that stuff, simply that, when it comes to real world application, it isn't a big enough factor to outweigh anything else. You keep saying that no one would call IQ a measure of success, etc. In fact. most of what you have said in argument to that is that no one said otherwise. If so, that's great. It seems like we're all in agreement, then. I'm not talking about IQ at all on the academic or theoretical level, or even on the applied acadmic or theoretical level. All that I have been saying is that when it comes down to pure real world application, IQ just doesn't matter.



    Can you pick out two guys on the street, and tell which one has a higher IQ without testing them?



    That DOES NOT mean that IQs have no value at all, just that they have a nominal value in the real world. There are too many other factors, like motivation, ammount of effort, amount of education, etc., for IQ to really make a difference. If you had two exactly identical subjects in all ways except for IQ, would it make a difference then? I guess it would, but you DON'T have those subjects, because that is a theoretical approach. People aren't identical in the real world.



    What, exactly, is the part of that argument which would some how change if I "saw the light" by readingtexts on the subject?

    Evander on
  • OtakuD00DOtakuD00D Can I hit the exploding rocks? San DiegoRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    As retarded and pointless as the test may be, I got 127. *Shrug* Any other ones I can try out for kicks?

    OtakuD00D on
    makosig.jpg
  • Wonder_HippieWonder_Hippie __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Evander:

    Western IQ inventories measure how well you think within the parameters of what is important in Western cultures.

    Yes, there are many fucking factors to an individual. Seriously, since when have I said that there aren't? Another bold bit, because you really, really don't understand a single fucking thing.

    IQ doesn't affect change, but rather acts as an indicator variable. Because it correlates highly with several things, it is useful for indicating the level or status of a correlating variable.

    As such, it does have a realistic bearing on reality in a way that actually matters.
    Evander wrote:
    Can you pick out two guys on the street, and tell which one has a higher IQ without testing them?

    You know what's fun about this question? You can, based on societal trends. If one is, say, a bum, and the other is wearing surgical scrubs... you get the point. Will it be a 100% accurate measure? No, but more often than not, it will be correct.
    Evander wrote:
    If you had two exactly identical subjects in all ways except for IQ, would it make a difference then? I guess it would, but you DON'T have those subjects, because that is a theoretical approach.

    If you have two subjects who are not identical, it can, and often will, make a difference. This is because your IQ, however intangible of a concept as it is, is a permanent aspect of an individual. Just as much as any of those other things you mentioned, it is an important part, and is often inextricably tied to those other things. We use it every day in social interactions, memory recall, spatial conceptualization, learning new information, organizing information, coordinating thoughts, etc.

    You seem to think it's just some number that indicates retarded, not retarded, and genius. It's not, as what that single number actually is is a weighted average of numerous numbers. All those numbers are also weighted averages of other numbers, which are often likewise. Again with the bold:

    What IQ actually is, what it really represents, is an individuals level of efficacy in the kinds of tasks we are all asked to perform every single day of our lives.

    If you don't think that's an important indicator, you're an idiot.

    Wonder_Hippie on
  • Che GuevaraChe Guevara __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Your IQ score is 131!

    Che Guevara on
  • Low KeyLow Key Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Wonder Hippie's right and then some. It's fine to be questioning of IQ because intelligence is such a huge concept and the way in which it is understood changes constantly. The meaning of intelligence is as much a philosophical question as a scientific one. It's cool that people realise that internet tests are bogus and maybe that teacher in Yr 2 who told you what a special little princess you were maybe wasn't in possession of all the facts. It's ok to go "Hey, Flynn Effect- What's with that?".

    To dismiss the entire concept of intelligence testing because you don't think it applies to you is just dumb though. These things (and I'm talking about the serious tests- you can tell how serious they are because their acronyms don't spell anything cool) are standardised to death, they are correlated with other empirical measures, their content validity is excellent, their predictive validity is better than any other generalised predictor of performance. The tests are reliable bost internally and in test-retest measures. In short IQ tests are fucking dandy.

    That said- there are plenty of problems with IQ testing. The American cultural bias is one, as things can get messing when you standardise for different cultures. The proportion of non-correlations is another, and one that makes IQ tests a fairly suspect set of selection criteria. The Flynn effect isn't so much a problem as a quirk, either in testing or the population, but it's a pretty interesting one.

    The point is that these problems are all real, but you can't talk about them with any kind credibility if your first response is IQ tests is to call them a crock of shit.

    Low Key on
  • Che GuevaraChe Guevara __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    How many people got shitty numbers back on the test and just refuse to honestly post an answer for fear of being rated by their peers?

    Che Guevara on
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