Why is the average I.Q. only 95?

[EnigmaO01]

Do you have a link to them? That's a new one on me.

We bought ours at a bookstore years ago. They are all over the Internet.

 

[Deuce]

I know many that have, as I was the one giving it to them. There was usually a three-year gap required between administrations to account for practice effects, which were negligible. Most scores only varied by a few points, higher and lower.

Very few people in the general population have taken an actual IQ test.

If you're allegedly so familiar with the tests, then why are you objecting to the fact that some of the things on the test are skills that can be improved? Are you claiming that absolutely nothing found on the test is something a person could get better at by practice?

 

[Kelby]

We bought ours at a bookstore years ago. They are all over the Internet.

It's safe to say scores from those tests are for entertainment purposes only, and would never be used for research or diagnostic purposes.

 

[Deuce]

It's safe to say scores from those tests are for entertainment purposes only, and would never be used for research or diagnostic purposes.

Irrelevant.

 

[Kelby]

If you're allegedly so familiar with the tests, then why are you objecting to the fact that some of the things on the test are skills that can be improved? Are you claiming that absolutely nothing found on the test is something a person could get better at by practice?

Oh, one can certainly improve their performance on certain aptitude tests, especially those like the SAT/ACT, with which users can become familiar.

The vast majority of examinees are completely naive to the content of formal IQ tests.

 

[Kelby]

Irrelevant.

 

[The Mark]

I always thought it was 100?

My understanding is that IQ tests are mostly useless unless they involve a ton of testing with experts, and I'm talking minimum multiple hours of it.
Even then they're only as good as the people administering them?

So how the hell do we have an average IQ number for the entire population?
Has there been IQ testing going on that I'm not aware of?
I mean that's totally possible since I rarely leave my apartment and work from home but...

 

[Kelby]

My understanding is that IQ tests are mostly useless unless they involve a ton of testing with experts, and I'm talking minimum multiple hours of it.
Even then they're only as good as the people administering them?

So how the hell do we have an average IQ number for the entire population?
Has there been IQ testing going on that I'm not aware of?
I mean that's totally possible since I rarely leave my apartment and work from home but...

One expert, usually a psychologist, a couple of hours give or take, depending on the age and ability level of the person.

Representative sampling to form norm groups comprised of individuals from different sexes, ethnicities, age, and socio-economic status.

 

[Deuce]

Oh, one can certainly improve their performance on certain aptitude tests, especially those like the SAT/ACT, with which users can become familiar.

The vast majority of examinees are completely naive to the content of formal IQ tests.

If you're not going to answer the question, then there's nothing else to discuss. Good day.

 

[Kelby]

If you're not going to answer the question, then there's nothing else to discuss. Good day.

OK, this does remind me of a story.

In grad school we had to find test subjects among our friends/associates. One of our psychology classmates (not in the clinical program) was given the Wechsler Scales by another guy in our program. The guy scored high overall, but completely blasted the top off the memory scales. Blew our minds, cause that never happens. Turns out he was doing research in that area and had perfected the technique of "chunking".

I think he's a professor in Michigan, now.

 

[noonereal]

Very few people in the general population have taken an actual IQ test.

I took an IQ test in high school. (private prep school) I really recall very little of it now except that the questions asked were thinking questions, not acquired knowledge questions. It seemed with concentration and invoking logic, an intelligent person could provide the answers.

By contrast, my first wife took no such test but was asked to join Mensa based on scoring in the top 1% in her LSAT's.

 

[noonereal]

The guy scored high overall, but completely blasted the top off the memory scales. Blew our minds, cause that never happens. Turns out he was doing research in that area and had perfected the technique of "chunking".

Referencing my first wife again, she knew everything she every read. It was just there.
She would never considerer herself more intelligent than I but she is a walking encyclopedia. Priceless to me before Google.
Point is, clearly there are different kinds of genius.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

I always thought it was 100?

Meaningless tosh, there are umpteen articles at any one time that suggest there "are people smarter than Einstein..." including people like Marilyn vos Savant with "an IQ 60 points higher than Einsteins or higher than Isaac Newton or Da Vinci......... but they (Einstein / Newton / da Vinci) actually did something with their intelligence, actually created theories or works that moved the human race on in science and maths.

To me, most high scoring people are just good at tests - ground breaking theoreticians who change the world, they are most definitely not.

Flynn effect - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Interesting reading on the topic, but it seems to claim that overall intelligence test scores are going up. Curmudgeons will disagree.

Intelligence scores do go up, Flynn shows that they are not fixed even within a test subject's lifetime. People can improve their scores in intelligence tests.

 

[Kelby]

I took an IQ test in high school. (private prep school) I really recall very little of it now except that the questions asked were thinking questions, not acquired knowledge questions. It seemed with concentration and invoking logic, an intelligent person could provide the answers.

By contrast, my first wife took no such test but was asked to join Mensa based on scoring in the top 1% in her LSAT's.

Yep. There are a couple subtests that rely on acquired knowledge but not the majority.

 

[Kelby]

Meaningless tosh, there are umpteen articles at any one time that suggest there "are people smarter than Einstein..." including people like Marilyn vos Savant with "an IQ 60 points higher than Einsteins or higher than Isaac Newton or Da Vinci......... but they (Einstein / Newton / da Vinci) actually did something with their intelligence, actually created theories or works that moved the human race on in science and maths.

To me, most high scoring people are just good at tests - ground breaking theoreticians who change the world, they are most definitely not.



Intelligence scores do go up, Flynn shows that they are not fixed even within a test subject's lifetime. People can improve their scores in intelligence tests.

Marilyn Vos Savant's "IQ" was pulled out of thin air.

Intelligence test scores actually are generally quite stable over the course of a person's lifetime, barring illness/disease.

Flynn's research showed that a person scoring 96 on the current edition would likely score 100 on the earlier version. Over time, the population is either getting "smarter" or is better at taking tests.

 

[Kelby]

Referencing my first wife again, she knew everything she every read. It was just there.
She would never considerer herself more intelligent than I but she is a walking encyclopedia. Priceless to me before Google.
Point is, clearly there are different kinds of genius.

Put her on Jeopardy.

 

[EnigmaO01]

Meaningless tosh, there are umpteen articles at any one time that suggest there "are people smarter than Einstein..." including people like Marilyn vos Savant with "an IQ 60 points higher than Einsteins or higher than Isaac Newton or Da Vinci......... but they (Einstein / Newton / da Vinci) actually did something with their intelligence, actually created theories or works that moved the human race on in science and maths.

To me, most high scoring people are just good at tests - ground breaking theoreticians who change the world, they are most definitely not.



I hear ya. There are people in the music industry that are brilliant musicians that have become icons with their original work but probably couldn't score high on an I.Q. test.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

You obviously know nothing about the topic, nor are you willing to learn.

Thank you for your ignorant opinion about wtf I know.

Meanwhile....

'IQ' as a measure of intelligence is a myth, says Western U. team

A research team from the University of Western Ontario is re-thinking how society measures human intelligence.

www.ctvnews.ca

"A landmark study coming out of Western’s Brain and Mind Institute has proved that the notion of measuring intelligence quotient, more broadly known as the IQ, by means of a standardized test is highly misleading."

 

[EnigmaO01]

Meaningless tosh, there are umpteen articles at any one time that suggest there "are people smarter than Einstein..." including people like Marilyn vos Savant with "an IQ 60 points higher than Einsteins or higher than Isaac Newton or Da Vinci......... but they (Einstein / Newton / da Vinci) actually did something with their intelligence, actually created theories or works that moved the human race on in science and maths.

To me, most high scoring people are just good at tests - ground breaking theoreticians who change the world, they are most definitely not.



Intelligence scores do go up, Flynn shows that they are not fixed even within a test subject's lifetime. People can improve their scores in intelligence tests.

There is a myth that has gone around that Einstein was a poor student in grade school due to the fact that the writers had the numerical system of grades reversed.

 

[notquiteright]

Because the schools teach agenda and don't stick to real education any longer.

Thank the left for dumbing down K-12.

Difficult premise to support with facts. I realize the Rabid Right doesn't require facts but most of us do...

Best any testing can determine is age at the time of test counts, education past 12th grade counts (though it might mean those with a higher IQ are much more likely to continue their education past the 12th grade), injury or illness...

Rather than look at the Rabid Right's abandonment of the teaching profession as a career let's blame those willing to educate the MAGA's brats...

 

[EnigmaO01]

It's safe to say scores from those tests are for entertainment purposes only, and would never be used for research or diagnostic purposes.

I think you're wrong. They were standard I.Q. tests. I think you're mixing up the ones my twin and I took with the bullshit ones on the Internet. The Internet ones are garbage.

The ones we took on our own were right in the range of the scores we got in high school -- just a little higher. We did have college degrees by then.

 

[Kelby]

I think you're wrong. They were standard I.Q. tests. I think you're mixing up the ones my twin and I took with the bullshit ones on the Internet. The Internet ones are garbage.

The ones we took on our own were right in the range of the scores we got in high school -- just a little higher. We did have college degrees by then.

All respect, what made them a "standard IQ test"? There are only a handful recognized by the professional community. You still haven't identified them by name.

Along the same lines, what IQ test did you have in high school?

 

[EnigmaO01]

All respect, what made them a "standard IQ test"? There are only a handful recognized by the professional community. You still haven't identified them by name.

Along the same lines, what IQ test did you have in high school?

Fair enough. But I graduated from high school in 1975, took the I.Q test my freshman year (1971) and we probably took the I.Q. test we purchased in the 1980's. So answer is: I have no idea! Too long ago!

 

[donhughesmusic]

I always thought it was 100?

Crab people??

 

[Infinite Chaos]

There is a myth that has gone around that Einstein was a poor student in grade school due to the fact that the writers had the numerical system of grades reversed.

Whatever he was, if his "IQ" was lower than half the so-called geniuses who get posted in top-10 rankings these days, then they should all be ashamed of themselves for not using that higher IQ for anything.