Here's my rant and rave on "IQ" - it does have a real purpose - and I don't feel that it's at all self-serving but honest:
I refuse to take any more "IQ" tests. I was told in high school (although it was supposed to be kept from me) that my score from the
4th grade testing was 133. Later, in high school and before leaving the nest my parents built, I took another and it was 147. When I finally did leave the nest, my father's domination, and the state of North Carolina and went west to university, I took another one as part of a study by the psychology department and it was 152. Then, in grad school at a different university, I was given another one (the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) as part of another study. I was not told my score but only that it was "'something' more than four standard deviations above the mean." Most sources establish a standard deviation of 15 points for IQ scores so this put my scdore (not me, only my score) at something above 160. Mensa, Intertel, and Triple 9 took me on the documentation I sent from the psych department.But I am also a professional flop. I couldn't keep up with S. J. Gould or Richard Dawkins (both had lower scores than me - I know that for a fact) and I had so much personal crap going on that I flopped and came close to blowing my orals (note the clever pun) over a simple question on Rassenkreissen and evolution. I did not publish anything after my one and only paper a long time ago but went into medical laboratory work because I needed the money and academia was not fit for me, or vice versa. Who knows? Who cares?
The concept of IQ is a mismeasure, sorry for stealing the word, Stephen Jay, and loaded with misconceptions held by psychologists, neuroscientists, and especially the public. Nobody knows what "g" is anyway and IQ is what IQ tests measure. It's meaningless for living.
And, IQ is not correlated with income (at least above about 110)- so the old question of "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" is inane. That makes me feel a little better. But all in all, having a lot of "g" does not make life and living with people easier. It makes it harder - especially when it is combined with ADD or ADHD.
So, if you guys out there have kids that are classified as "gifted" or "talented" on the basis of an IQ test, you can help them by teaching them that their scores do not guarantee "success." You can help all kids by teaching them the attributes and skills by which they may succeed.
Finis de fulmination. Ende des Schimpfe. Konetz rechii.
Agki