IQ test

[DrPizza]

Did you ever notice that some of the people who accuse IQ tests of being meaningless are among those on a short list of people you would accuse of never having an intelligent conversation on these forums?

 

[dank69]

Did you ever notice that some of the people who accuse IQ tests of being meaningless are among those on a short list of people you would accuse of never having an intelligent conversation on these forums?

:thumbsup:

 

[OverVolt]

Sounds like you proved my point, the test is accurate.

If you are honest about taking it, maybe .

 

[OverVolt]

Did you ever notice that some of the people who accuse IQ tests of being meaningless are among those on a short list of people you would accuse of never having an intelligent conversation on these forums?

I've noticed teachers teach because they can't do.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Did you ever notice that some of the people who accuse IQ tests of being meaningless are among those on a short list of people you would accuse of never having an intelligent conversation on these forums?

The test is pretty crap. It only tests abstract reasoning in a very limited format, the pattern progressions were predominantly Western-style up-down-left-right, and many of them were quite arbitrary - though this is hard to determine for sure because none of the answers were released. Even the rules - if you find two rule sets, go with the one that's simplest. That is not the mark of a well-designed test in any field.

Ideally I would have liked to see comprehension-based reasoning, formal logic, memory, and visuospatial reasoning also.

 

[Ban Bot]

The test is pretty crap. It only tests abstract reasoning in a very limited format, the pattern progressions were predominantly Western-style up-down-left-right, and many of them were quite arbitrary - though this is hard to determine for sure because none of the answers were released. Even the rules - if you find two rule sets, go with the one that's simplest. That is not the mark of a well-designed test in any field.

Ideally I would have liked to see comprehension-based reasoning, formal logic, memory, and visuospatial reasoning also.

The test is limited. It is testing fluid intelligence relating to spatial reasoning. The test is intended to be culturally/linguistically neutral. For those purposes the test is fine. I haven't had an IQ test since middle school but iirc they have a much broader survey of questions. This test didn't touch on crystalized intelligence which is a big part of a full IQ test. Ideally, if it was a comprehensive IQ test, it would be broader and deeper as you note. So calling it an IQ test is misleading to a degree.

But for the test appears to accomplish I think it succeeds. It is exceedingly difficult to create a culturally/linguistically neutral test. It is also difficult for a single test to capture a broad examination of an individual. e.g. memory. I have a fantastic memory, short and long term. Unless you are asking me a name or a gloss for a vocabulary word in which case I struggle. I taught myself a dead language in my early twenties and I resorted to reading lexicon entries to learn my vocabulary as I failed miserably with flashcards. If you gave me a flashcard test I would fail but any number of other memory tests I would pass with flying colors.

But that doesn't mean this is a bad test. It just means it has limitations and as far as I am aware I don't think it purports itself as a definitive measure of intelligence (aside from dishing out an IQ score). Although I would guess those who did well on it also tend to skew toward the "intelligent people" demographic although that doesn't mean someone who was average in this test doesn't have exemplary intelligence in other areas or wouldn't score highly on a proper IQ test. For what the test is I think it does a good job.

I gave the test to my 9 year old and it made complete sense to him and he did well without any help. There aren't many tests that can transcend age, language, and culture so I can see value in the test. But even though he did well I told him his score didn't matter--if he wants to do well in life there is no substitute for hard work and integrity. Give me a hard working employee with integrity with average intelligence over a super intelligent and lazy employee with dubious character 6 days a week and twice on Sunday.

Tests are a measure, nothing more. They have for what they test. They don't say anything of the value of the individual. There is more to being "smart" than a score on a piece of paper. But that doesn't invalidate the test as far as its limits.

Now if I had gotten a 79 I would argue the test is a total sham

 

[DrPizza]

pattern recognition is not intelligence.

Really? I'd argue that pattern recognition is a huge part of intelligence.
"Hey, I hit these two rocks together and it made a spark. I did it again and it made a spark. Hey, look, guys, I made a fire!" That's pattern recognition.

 

[lyssword]

I'm sure you randomly selected the correct answer out of 8 choices 50% of the time.

I kinda did the same thing, but I answered the first 10 correctly then started furiously clicking random answers. also 94