Tuesday 4 December 2007

IQ Tests

Frankly, I think IQ tests are a load of codswallop. They don't really measure intelligence in my opinion. Because - What is intelligence? I'm sure there are plenty of people smarter than me with lower IQ scores than me.

I remember the first time I took one very clearly. I was 15 and my dad borrowed a book from his colleague and photocopied the entire thing at work, then brought it home. From memory it was a very lengthy test and took forever to do and at the end of it my score was 130.

I have done lots of IQ tests over the years (just for fun and interest) and my score has always been around the same, it really doesn't change much. I recently did the Facebook one and got 136. Yeah it was flattering for my ego to get a higher score than almost everyone on my friends list - but so what??

I noticed that friends I considered more successful than me all had lower scores than me. Friends that had done PhDs, were doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.. ALL scored lower than me. And I'm a mere housewife! Why? This is crazy. I have a feeling that intelligence and 'studying ability' have no relationship whatsoever. I am willing to bet that my sister (currently doing a PhD and tutoring at university) would also score lower than me. I hated studying and was pretty bad at it. It was a miracle I that I did fairly well in high school and finished my degree. Yes I'm proud of the fact that I score relatively high but to me it doesn't mean anything because it doesn't guarantee a great life, great career and wealth, great health, great relationships, etc. Now if there was a test like that and I scored highly on THAT then I'd be a very happy camper indeed. :)

I think I'll go and do some EQ tests now... ;)

3 comments:

Vampire Rabbit said...

There is nothing "mere" about being a housewife.

la llama said...

I think there's an established practice effect with IQ tests anyway; if you've done it a few times, you're inevitably going to score higher than someone who doesn't do them often, and is not used to the format of them.

That, and a cultural bias in some tests.

Not that I'm saying you're not smart!

S said...

Thanks 豪杰 . That's lovely of you to say. Your partner is very lucky to have a man who thinks that :)

Siew - That's what I don't get though. I have done quite a few but I don't really score that much higher than the one I did many years ago... I think it's because the scores are adjusted for your age?