IQ

[Astro Forever]

Creating this thread from the Username changes thread, because I was going really, really off topic...

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.

[Bakabits]

IQ is a measure of how much one's brain can hold. Like you said other factors apply to success. A stubborn kid will not succeed IQ or not.

[Astro Forever]

IQ is a measure of how much one's brain can hold.

Wouldn't that be called memory? IQ measures how one does with concepts useful in an academic environment (edit: actually, concepts that are correlated with academic success).

Edit #2: sorry if I'm being very nitpicking... but I've been in a situation where I had to learn a lot about such tests, so it's so clear in my mind... .

[Novacain]

IQ is such a non -peripheral way at looking at the world. There are many types of smarts, whether it be the artistically inclined, mathematical whiz or sports guru. Generally they don't come combined into one.

[Astro Boy2866]

Yeah, someone can be academically smart, but not socially or environmentally smart. I've heard it termed as academic smarts and street smarts.

[avatargirl]

hi- i would say IQ IS a measurement of how much of the UNIVERSE you can be aware of and understand- or have the potential to try to understand- otherwords how much awareness thinking you are capable of- science- mathematics -genetics-exobiology- gravitational fields- location in the galaxy- past- future- present- economics- behavioral patterns- robotics- literature- language- ability to learn and understand the universe around you

[Astronomical girl]

Why bother taking a test? What you do with it matters more then just having as redundant as an IQ test, tell you how much info your mind can hold,when we still can't answer the basics of human mind.we all like to think we are born einsteins but in truth,I bet,he'd say it's not worth it. True high intelligence would come in handy, but you don't learn.the human mind is never too old to learn new things

[Bakabits]

[QUOTE=AstroMars137;122240]IQ is a measure of how much one's brain can hold.

Wouldn't that be called memory? IQ measures how one does with concepts useful in an academic environment (edit: actually, concepts that are correlated to academic success).[/QUOTE]

I have taken many iq tests because the school gave me an IEP. to elaborate on a personal level my average iq is 140 BUT I am much lower in 1 area. I have a processing disability. I have trouble getting thoughts on paper. This iq level is about 100. It was worse being only about 75 in the past. therefore IQ can be broken down into categories. Further changing one's capabilitys when learning.

[Astro Forever]

I have taken many iq tests because the school gave me an IEP. to elaborate on a personal level my average iq is 140 BUT I am much lower in 1 area. I have a processing disability. I have trouble getting thoughts on paper. This iq level is about 100. It was worse being only about 75 in the past. therefore IQ can be broken down into categories. Further changing one's capabilitys when learning.

I have only taken two, at age 11, and I never got to see the results: the schools wouldn't tell. I wish I had asked a few years later, just out of curiosity. They would probably have told me. I don't know what my IQ is, but I can probably roughly estimate it from my studies. I once thought of taking the test, but my fear was that for some reason I wouldn't get the result I was expecting, and then it might make me less confident in my studies. After all, the only thing that really matters is whether I can manage to do what I chose to do!

Even without taking a test myself, I can still feel what you are saying over the different areas. I studied in two very different fields, let's call them #1 and #2. To me, #1 was a lot easier than #2, so in my mind anybody who could succeed in #2 could also succeed in #1, but I realized many people who did very well in #2 would actually have trouble to follow in field #1. The other way around was true, too.

I found #1 easier myself, but I can really see that my abilities in field #2 have improved from the work I put into it. In the end, I got a higher GPA in the field that I felt was the most difficult for me, something I never expected when I started, which shows how difficult it is to predict academic success, I guess.

[Astronomical girl]

Again I ask, why bother or why do you need to?