IQ
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:52 am
Creating this thread from the Username changes thread, because I was going really, really off topic... 
The concept of IQ (intelligence quotient) was developed as a tool to predict success in school and nothing else. It still works that way today. A higher IQ (140 is high) therefore means that one has greater chances to succeed academically. But it does not mean that someone with a high IQ will automatically succeed in school either, because other factors are important too: motivation, among other things, is very important. There are people with high IQ who fail in school for various reasons (and they aren't as rare as one might think).
There are also many things that are part of intelligence that IQ doesn't take into account: the ability to interact with other people is one; motivation is another, as I said above. There are many other qualities that have nothing to do with what an IQ test is evaluating that can have a great impact in one's success, such as having initiative and imagination.
In our world, a high IQ is probably desirable (who wouldn't want to have an easier time in school?), but I think in general, there are a lot of misconceptions over what it exactly is. It helps predict academic success and even then it is not a perfect indicator. That's all it is meant to be.
Let me also add that other factors can have an impact in one's result to an IQ test. Chances are that the more IQ tests you take, the better you'll get at them (I don't think one would jump from 70 to 140, but it can have an impact). The "good" answers sometimes can also be influenced by one's culture, so for example someone from a different country may not get a result that is as good as it would have been if it had been a test designed in his native country; it could actually mean that one would be more successful in school in his home country, so the test result may not "lie", but I give this example just to show that it doesn't mean that it tells all about one's intelligence. Obviously, taking the test in a second or third language can have an impact as well.
"Astro Boy2866" wrote:Is 140 a good thing? I have never taken an IQ test before :d oh: I should take it.
The concept of IQ (intelligence quotient) was developed as a tool to predict success in school and nothing else. It still works that way today. A higher IQ (140 is high) therefore means that one has greater chances to succeed academically. But it does not mean that someone with a high IQ will automatically succeed in school either, because other factors are important too: motivation, among other things, is very important. There are people with high IQ who fail in school for various reasons (and they aren't as rare as one might think).
There are also many things that are part of intelligence that IQ doesn't take into account: the ability to interact with other people is one; motivation is another, as I said above. There are many other qualities that have nothing to do with what an IQ test is evaluating that can have a great impact in one's success, such as having initiative and imagination.
In our world, a high IQ is probably desirable (who wouldn't want to have an easier time in school?), but I think in general, there are a lot of misconceptions over what it exactly is. It helps predict academic success and even then it is not a perfect indicator. That's all it is meant to be.
Let me also add that other factors can have an impact in one's result to an IQ test. Chances are that the more IQ tests you take, the better you'll get at them (I don't think one would jump from 70 to 140, but it can have an impact). The "good" answers sometimes can also be influenced by one's culture, so for example someone from a different country may not get a result that is as good as it would have been if it had been a test designed in his native country; it could actually mean that one would be more successful in school in his home country, so the test result may not "lie", but I give this example just to show that it doesn't mean that it tells all about one's intelligence. Obviously, taking the test in a second or third language can have an impact as well.
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