What the fuck did you just say? [Student Thread]

[Potjeh]

The only thing that IQ tests measure is how good you are at taking IQ tests. I at the very least get better results if I practice, which would mean it's a specific skill rather than general intelligence. And yeah that's anecdotal evidence, but I reckon that's par for the course in a "science" like this.

[MagicManICT]

A proper IQ test will test your logic and reasoning skills, and it's difficult to cheat in such manner. Then again, such studying does, in general, make you smarter, as you have to learn material that will be covered by the exam, otherwise all the preparation in "how to take a test" won't do you any good as you'll be doing no more than random guessing without that deeper knowledge.

[Potjeh]

There's a fairly limited number of puzzle types in those things, so practice is most certainly helpful. And in general, intelligence is too fuzzy of a concept to apply objective measurement to it.

[jordancoles]

There's a fairly limited number of puzzle types in those things, so practice is most certainly helpful. And in general, intelligence is too fuzzy of a concept to apply objective measurement to it.

I think that an IQ test should be made where you are on a webpage with 40 "download" buttons and you have to find the real one to get to the next question

[MagicManICT]

There's a fairly limited number of puzzle types in those things, so practice is most certainly helpful. And in general, intelligence is too fuzzy of a concept to apply objective measurement to it.

The last fully involved IQ exam I had to do was a couple days for a couple hours each day. (Annoying as hell because of missed classes.) If memory serves, nearly all the questions were interactive, but maybe because it was the school psychologist administering it and they had a lot of paperwork already established .

I have done a couple of others since then that were strictly multiple choice Q&A exams (official psychologist scored exams, not web BS exams; one was during a psychology class as a "lab experiment" credit, other was for a psych eval). I've always excelled at doing multiple choice exams, though, so there is that. Even those can have "more correct" answers where you get 0, 1, or 2 points based on which answer you selected. Still, I've scored roughly the same on every one.

I realize this is a personal story, but research says that IQ exams are reliable for what they're trying to accomplish, and it's not a measure of "I'm smarter than you are because I have a higher IQ." Just look at many of the US presidents.

[sMartins]

Yeah .. i think they are made to understand the "personality" .... intelligence is relative, IQ test for the sake of themself doesn't mean anything ... intelligence can be rational, emotive, creative ... and so on ... there are many different kind of intelligence.
Idk .. if you are looking for a good person to work as a text corrector for a newspaper ... you want an obsessive and maniac person and you'll be sure he won't miss any errors .. so you make an interview or test to find out that kind of person.

[MagicManICT]

Yeah. There's been a lot of research go into "personality typing" all the way back to Carl Jung, and that thread has come up here before.

[sMartins]

Yeah. There's been a lot of research go into "personality typing" all the way back to Carl Jung, and that thread has come up here before.

And coming back to the previous topic, "personality" is irrational (or like Einstein said, a gift from the Sacred). It's what make me different from you and from everyone else ... otherwise under rational conditions we would be all the same. And again, when you fall in love, for example, it's cause your irrational meets the irrational of the other person ... and so on .... the stuff i have already said.
P.S. Wow, my English has improved ... at least from my perspective

[jordancoles]

Do IQ tests actually matter in the states? Like do you have to do one to get into certain colleges or something?

I've never done one here in Canada and I've never heard of someone having to do one

[ricky]

Do IQ tests actually matter in the states? Like do you have to do one to get into certain colleges or something?

I've never done one here in Canada and I've never heard of someone having to do one

I've never heard of any colleges asking for IQ test scores. basically all you need in the states is SAT/ACT/GPA. I feel an objective IQ score only matters if you're trying to get into MENSA