dl7 wrote: ↑April 4th, 2023, 6:39 pm
GerardButler I did not insult you. I do not have any specific credentials in the field and and do not claim to be an expert. Like yourself I have read Lynn and Vanhanen. Also Charles Murray, Nicholas Wade , Rushton. Nobody believes that IQ is purely genetic. There has been a rise on IQ tests in Ireland over the past few decades. That is most likely due to the general rise in the standard of living which impacts nutrition and education. I do agree science is always changing. Everything I have read has indicated a genetic component to intelligence. I have not read anything about a role of pathogens playing a role concerning the heritability of intelligence. take care
In intellectual settings, it is insulting to make such a strong assertion without providing an argument, as all of your points have already been addressed. IQ tests measure academic abilities i.e. Fluid Reasoning, Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory. Collectively, these skills are known as "symbolic logic" -- not any sort of fixed, innate intelligence. Some difference of 10 -15 points between individuals is pretty much indistinguishable and reveal little about an individual's potential for further growth.
IQ tests rely heavily upon language and upon a person's skill in defining words, in knowing facts about the world, in finding connections (and differences) among verbal concepts. The tasks featured in the IQ test are decidedly microscopic, are often unrelated to one another, and are remote, in many cases, from everyday life. This is why employers do not administer IQ tests and don't focus on academic scores such as GPA. IQ problems tend to be "clearly defined", come with all the information needed to solve them, have only a single right answer, which can be reached by only a single method. Practical problems, in contrast, tend to require problem recognition and formulation . . . require information seeking, have various acceptable solutions, be embedded in and require prior everyday experience, and require motivation and personal involvement.
In other words, IQ tests are basically puzzles and only work for measuring people who have been exposed to the puzzles it tests for... turns out it’s a western culture test and slowly those cultural puzzles have been taught to more of the world to bring up the IQ scores. There is plenty of evidence, for example, that schooling raises overall academic intelligence. As, I said before, I am fairly certain that even a person with slight mental disabilities could reach a high “IQ” with enough time and a high enough training frequency. The problem there would certainly be with training motivation.
~Dr PAG
"[Some] assert than an individual's intelligence is a fixed quantity which cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism." - Alfred Binet, inventor of the original IQ test, 1909
The happy reality is that IQ scores:
A) measure developed skills, not native intelligence.
B) can change dramatically.
C) don't say anything about a person's intellectual limits.
