IQ tests are 'fundamentally flawed'

Posted on Sunday, 23 December, 2012 | Comment icon

44 comments | News tip by: Still Waters

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New research has added weight to the notion that IQ tests do not reflect an individual's intelligence.

For years IQ tests have been accepted as a definitive way to measure a person's intelligence. Consisting of a set of logic-based conundrums, the tests have been used to determine the intellectual capabilities of an individual in a variety of circumstances. But how accurate are these results ? A new study has found that IQ tests fail to take in to account the complex nature of the human intellect.

"The results disprove once and for all the idea that a single measure of intelligence, such as IQ, is enough to capture all of the differences in cognitive ability that we see between people," said Roger Highfield of London's Science Museum.

The idea that intelligence can be measured by IQ tests alone is a fallacy according to the largest single study into human cognition which found that it comprises of at least three distinct mental traits.

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Source: Independent

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Recent comments on this story

#35 Posted by Mag357 on 26 December, 2012, 0:03

I know a guy that has an IQ of 136. Even though he can crunch those numbers he doesn't have the brains to do home maintenance on his house. It falling apart around him. He has a 50k job and single.

#36 Posted by Render on 30 December, 2012, 12:43

Like Math? Thank Your Motivation, Not IQ http://www.livescience.com/25854-motivation-fuels-math-ability.html

#37 Posted by JGirl on 30 December, 2012, 17:58

i think we call people nutcases a lot of times because we dont understand them. so who has the problem lol the thinking outside the box type of intelligence is what interests me more than strict academic knowledge. anyone can learn what's in a book. lots of so called intelligent people can conceptualize what is already laid out for them. a true genius doesn't need a starting point. yeah their ideas may come off as incredibly out there, but it isn't to say they are 'out there'

#38 Posted by shrooma on 17 February, 2013, 13:38

IQ tests aren't a test of intelligence, they've just been labelled as such. what an IQ test does, is help find how well your brain organises information. i'm very good at recognising patterns, whether they're numerical, geometrical, or grammatical (left-handed piscean), so score highly in IQ tests. my first one scored 136, 20yrs ago, and my last one, 2yrs ago, scored 160. the way the scores are calculated, are correct answers over age, which means your IQ should decrease over time, but mine hasn't, because I do IQ puzzles in my spare time, and have trained my brain to reco... [More]

#39 Posted by Everdred on 17 February, 2013, 13:59

The Telegraph's article is highly misleading. Scientists who use IQ tests never posited they served as a full test of all brain function, rather they asserted the test was a measure of g, or general intelligence, which is the "reasoning" category of the three types discussed in the article. IQ tests themselves are still quite valid so long as they're interpreted correctly.

#40 Posted by Orcseeker on 17 February, 2013, 16:25

At the end of the day, no matter what a number on a piece of paper tells you, it means nothing if you don't apply it usefully. So many people think a lot differently to each other. To deem the IQ test a legitimate measure of intelligence is a farce. For example, those people who compute numbers and patterns in their head in amazing times might do incredibly well. But completely fail when creativity or real world problem solving comes into play. However some artists or musicians are incredibly talented and very intelligent but don't have that thought process deemed desirable for ... [More]

#41 Posted by shrooma on 17 February, 2013, 19:47

_ i'm left-handed, so my brain is geared towards the spatial, not the temporal. I draw, am a musician, like my brain is set up to be, but i'm also an engineer, which should be out of character for me, but I find it's the most natural thing in the world. but my brain seems to be a little cross-wired. I write with my left hand, kick with my left foot, am left-handed at things like darts and pool, but for things like golf, baseball, tennis, archery, i'm right-handed. my right eye is also my dominant eye, so something must be wired wrong somewhere down the line.....

#42 Posted by solubus on 17 February, 2013, 19:51

It is possible that even a hundred tests of mental acuity, agility, and accuracy would not yet so narrowly and correctly determine the level of a person's intelligence.

#43 Posted by JC2 on 19 February, 2013, 3:13

Just for the record, I.Q. Test's are now by the thousands yet the standard test is formatted in such a way that if you do well on the first you will be presented with a second then a third until ultimately you reach the forth, of which a score of 162 will max out the actual test rendering it mute! First format test the memory, second the numerical, the third the analytical and the forth the philosophical. The current algorithms enable a greater test-bed via the technology now being used yet the philosophical houses worldwide perfected the testing of your quota way back in the days befo... [More]

#44 Posted by Render on 9 April, 2013, 7:11

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2013/04/08/learning-strategies-outperform-iq-in-predicting-achievement/

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