IQ 'a Myth,' Study Says

An anonymous reader send this quote from The Star: "The idea that intelligence can be measured by a single number — your IQ — is wrong, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of Western Ontario (abstract). The study, published in the journal Neuron on Wednesday, involved 100,000 participants around the world taking 12 cognitive tests, with a smaller sample of the group undergoing simultaneous brain-scan testing. 'When we looked at the data, the bottom line is the whole concept of IQ — or of you having a higher IQ than me — is a myth,' said Dr. Adrian Owen, the study’s senior investigator... 'There is no such thing as a single measure of IQ or a measure of general intelligence.'"

lemme guess

[DECula]

"If there is something in the brain that is IQ, we should be able to find it by scanning."

The test group consisted entirely of politicians and the control group was Slashdot readers?

Re:lemme guess

[Samantha Wright]

"Sixteen healthy young participants undertook the cognitive battery in the MRI scanner."

So, no politicians. Also, this isn't the kind of experiment you use a control group in.

Re:lemme guess

[Anonymous Coward]

Well shit, the Mensa boys won't be happy to hear that ...

Re:What is "intelligence"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't matter, they're both smarter than the schmuck giving out free food.

Re:lemme guess

[neiljt]

No point for you, obviously. Mind if the rest of us carry on without you?

Re:This will come as good news...

[dylan_-]

.to everyone who's pride was hurt when MENSA rejected them.

Did they refuse you for confusing "who's" and "whose"? ;)

Re:This will come as good news...

[neiljt]

I was a MENSA member for a very short while. They told me I had an IQ of 158. I didn't know what it meant, so maybe I wasn't that smart. I was smart enough to work out within the first 12 months that the overpriced annual subscription bought me nothing but a mag full of spam, and the opportunity to associate with a bunch of people who like to feel smart.

Re:True

[PRMan]

Emotions make things easier to remember. It means that your co-workers are more boring than the Silmarillion, if such a thing were possible.

Re:True

[amicusNYCL]

by Anonymous Coward
I have an IQ of 150, am a member of a 3 sigma IQ society. But I cannot remember names...

-- MyLongNickName

It's worse than you think. You also can't remember passwords for websites!

Re:True

[turkeyfeathers]

A person with an IQ of 160 would know to look under the keyboard for the passwords.

Re:True

[Macgrrl]

Does not compute - nothing is as boring as the Silmarillion. And I think I've read it twice knowing how boring it was.

Possibly it's the sheer mind piercing borningness of the Silmarillion which burned the information onto the OPs brain, whereas his co-workers are only neutrally boring.

Re:This will come as good news...

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you know someone is a MENSA Member? Do worry they will tell you.

Re:True

[Anonymous Coward]

Now if I can just remember where I put the keyboard

Re:True

[davester666]

But we are great at identifying them and then voting them into office.

Re:lemme guess

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

IQ is just as valid as any other indicator of intelligence - such as Slashdot Karma.

Re:lemme guess

[frank_adrian314159]

Slashdot Karma is not an indicator of intelligence, but of something else - probably sexiness, because my Karma is Excellent.

Re:lemme guess

[dontclapthrowmoney]

Ha, yeah, something to brag when talking to a lady friend... "Mine's SO tiny!" :P

Re:True

[quantaman]

I could remember that Galadriel crossed into Middle Earth with Feanor after Morgoth stole the Silmarils and killed King Finwe.

Sure, isn't that common knowledge?

An inability to simplify is a sure road to madness

[Capsaicin]

how would we measure height anyway

Take an engineering approach ... allow me to illustrate.

One day in the academic common room at my university an engineering academic and a mathematics professor were dissing each other. "You engineers, you just don't care that the "mathematics" you apply is an inaccurate bastardisation, it's a wonder your bridges even stand up!" "You mathematicians, you are so impractical, you spend your whole life fiddling with meaningless symbols."

A philosophy professor intervened. "Gentlemen, gentlemen ... no need to argue, I'll devise a way to resolve your dispute. Meet me at the oval at three this afternoon."

When the mathematician and the engineer turned up at the oval that afternoon, they discovered that the philosopher had placed, at the other end, a comely and rather buxom young PhD candidate in Zoology. "Gentlemen, what I want you do to is to measure out in your mind's eye half the distance between you and the young lady on the other side of the oval. When I say "now" walk to that point, measure out the half way mark from there and so on ..."

After a time the philosopher called out "now!" The engineer proceeded to walk to the spot, while the mathematician stayed frozen to the starting point. Again the philosopher called out "now!" and again the engineer moved forward leaving the mathematician right where he started. After the third turn the mathematician finally lost his patience. "You stupid engineer! Don't you realise that you can never arrive at the final point!"

"Oh I know that," replied the engineer, his face breaking out in a large grin, "but I can get close enough for all practical purposes."

As it happens, we do have the technology to measure height to at least within the closest cm, in almost any frame of reference where determining height as a datum (or 'data-point' if you prefer) of a multi-factorial prediction of basketball performance might want to be undertaken.

Re:This Is Ridiculous

[Dcnjoe60]

Well, it was designed to measure the IQ of Canadians, so maybe right there, that is the problem with their findings.