IQ Test: History's Geniuses & You

IQ is a ridiculous concept which is hopeless inadequate in representing intelligence. Moreover, the very idea of guesstimating the IQ scores of historically important figures is hilariously stupid.

Come on tell me the EQ story, I always laugh when ppl bring that up...

The EQ story? Here's the EQ story, summarized: EQ is bullshit.

Yeah I think IQ is a useless measurement.

The basic IQ test is made by people who think someone is smart if they can follow the pattern of logic created by the author of the test. The problem with this is that the test assumes that the author is the smartest person in the world and is infallible, and that everyone taking the test is intellectually somewhere under him.

If I were to ask you which of the following does not belong with the others:

Trumpet
Clarinet
Flute
Guitar

Which would you answer? The question is just stupid - any of the group could be different. The trumpet is the only instrument made of brass and is the only one with valves. The clarinet is black and played with a wooden reed. The flute is played by blowing air across a hole instead of blowing into a hole. And the guitar is made of wood (usually) and played with two hands and no mouth (usually). What is the answer?

I would say flute is different because it's the only instrument that is played to the side of the musician whereas the other three are played in front of the musician. Or I would say the guitar because you can play six notes at once. Or the trumpet because it is played with three fingers (usually) instead of two hands like the guitar, flute, and clarinet. There are so many reasons for each of them to be different than the others. The guy that wrote the question was probably thinking that the guitar was the most different because you don't play it with your mouth (usually), and the truly gifted and creative person would spend the entire test duration determining what the writer of the question was thinking when they wrote the question. Instead of giving the best answer, to score high they would have to guess what the author wanted them to answer.

And that is the biggest weakness to this type of testing. The person that responds to society's question with the expected answer may make a good politician or mid level management suck up, but do you think he could have created Fedex, conquered almost the entire continent of Europe, or created a reliable way to cheaply make light (or audio) from electrons in motion through a wire?

IQ really doesn't change after a certain age. Mental age stays the same around 16-20 I believe.

Mike,

Trumpet
Clarinet
Flute

are all classified under "Wind" instruments

Guitar is classified as a "String" instrument

Cheers,
BV
Guitar

I got a 100. Perfect score!

This is true. But Trumpets are played with one hand. Flutes are played to the side. You can draw whatever similarities you want, but there is no one correct answer, as many answers are legitimate. The guy who spots the trumpet as the only instrument in the group to require oil is truly brilliant.

LOL conformist

Actually, it isn't. The biggest problem with this type type of testing is that it misunderstands the very nature of intelligence.

If intelligence was "the ability to successfully and rapidly complete small, simple puzzles", iq tests would be a great way to measure it. But it isn't, and therefore, they are't.

This thread reminds me of King of the Hill and Peggy Hill taking the tests.

Oh I'd argue that in a heartbeat!

I grew up around huge mental hospitals and people who got treated had massive IQ increases. Usually it was as simple as nutritional changes.

My definition of intelligence is how much shit you don't step in and if you do, how fast do you take to get rid of the stink.