It's not your imagination. Northwestern University study confirms American IQs really are dropping

[SixFoot]

I wouldn’t call those scores “good news”.

But, the online one is very close to what the “official” score was. I’d also like to fool myself into thinking I got a wee bit more intelligent as a result of my life. lol

[Gaius]

@zantax

It’s only a valid test if performed by a psychologist

Yeah those were the kind of numbers I got.
I should have written down which areas were the ones where I performed well (I am better at remembering things If I have written them than if I have heard them.)

The different areas are key.

EG

1. It is not unusual to find a high IQ auto mechanic, plumber etc. who is really good at problem-solving, but does not have the verbal ability to write a newspaper article.
2. It is not unusual to find a high IQ professor or journalist who has the verbal ability to speak/write well but is incapable of solving puzzle-problems.

[SixFoot]

@Gaius

• It is not unusual to find a high IQ auto mechanic, plumber etc. who is really good at problem-solving, but does not have the verbal ability to write a newspaper article.
• It is not unusual to find a high IQ professor or journalist who has the verbal ability to speak/write well but is incapable of solving puzzle-problems.

It is not unusual to find high IQ people in jail.

[Gaius]

@SixFoot

It is not unusual to find high IQ people in jail.

There are people who can solve every one of these puzzles easily,
but completely flunk other aspects of an IQ test.

[SixFoot]

My pattern recognition and ability to recall boosted my score the most.

[zantax]

@Gaius

@SixFoot

It is not unusual to find high IQ people in jail.

There are people who can solve every one of these puzzles easily,
but completely flunk other aspects of an IQ test.

There are definitely different kinds of intelligence, my social IQ isn’t great, that’s why I have a wife, well, one of the reasons.

[zantax]

I am much more on the verbal side, also have near perfect recall of anything I read. Math makes me sleepy, I can do it well, it just bores me.

[Gaius]

Good me:
Still dark. Pre Dawn. Lost walking on the curvy winding roads of a suburban subdivision trying to find my way to the subdivision exit so I can get to the bus stop.
I solved it by looking at the moon, know which side would be lit up like a crescent at 5AM and navigated my way out.

Bad me:
In a bar, I can’t tell a tough guy from a bona fide gangster. (I was the only guy in the room who didn’t know “Bob, that guy wouldn’t have gotten in a fight with you. He would have shot you in the face.”

When it comes to women, I have heard more than once (after the fact) “Gee Bob we all knew that about her. I’m surprised you couldn’t see it. Everyone else sure did.”

[SixFoot]

The world definitely gets much ■■■■■■■■ like that the more intelligent you get.

[Guilds]

@Eagle-Keeper

I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent, but I thought some context would be helpful. In my analysis, which includes that of those I had worked with, is that the quality of student has indeed declined. There’s more students on average who fail classes than in past. The types of students going into the AP classes has declined. The number of students going into the honors type classes has declined. And the number or students who are classified as “special ed” (these are not the students who are special needs but that have certain learning challenges like ADD, Autistic spectrum, emotional issues, etc.) has gone up substantially!

Are these national stats, or the area where you taught? (sincerely asking)

I also wonder if the attack on public education, that has been happening for decades, has any influence on that as well. I am almost 60, and when I went to school there seemed to be more of a partnership with parents and teachers. Teachers were respected more by the kids…and also the parents of those kids. Many parents today tend to side with their kid, and question the credibility of the teacher, or school staff.

On another note, in high school, I cut class, a lot. My parents were never notified. Today when a kid is not in class, parents are getting called within hours of missing said class.

[Gaius]

@zantax

have near perfect recall of anything I read

So your wife doesn’t have to tell you a million times what day is garbage day and “put the toilet seat down,” she just has to write it once?

[zantax]

@Gaius

@zantax

have near perfect recall of anything I read

So your wife doesn’t have to tell you a million times what day is garbage day and “put the toilet seat down,” she just has to write it once?

Hearing or remembering and obeying are separate issues. But no, I can’t pretend I didn’t remember successfully. Unless she said it when I was occupied by writing or reading, I sort of get tunnel vision and block out externals while doing them. But she s on to that and makes me look at her if she thinks it’s important.

[Eagle-Keeper]

@Guilds

@Eagle-Keeper

that the quality of student has indeed declined. There’s more students on average who fail classes than in past. The types of students going into the AP classes has declined. The number of students going into the honors type classes has declined. And the number or students who are classified as “special ed” (these are not the students who are special needs but that have certain learning challenges like ADD, Autistic spectrum, emotional issues, etc.) has gone up substantially!

Are these national stats, or the area where you taught? (sincerely asking)

I’ve read enough news articles over the past few years that in my view would confirm that in general it’s a national trend. I simply used the anecdotal account at the school I worked at to support this view.

[Gaius]

And then there is Isaac Newton

.
.
.
He proved it.

[Gaius]

@zantax

It’s only a valid test if performed by a psychologist

True enough.

Imagine you have a written test with 100 questions. It is designed such that 85% of all test takers score 85 or below.

It could be a good solid test, BUT what about people who score a little higher?
In such a case the written test is trying to differentiate between them with (only) the final 15 questions, and 15 questions really isn’t enough to do that with any.

So yeah, I score well on such tests but I was warned long ago not to let it go to my head, especially about the number because good luck or bad luck on just 2-3 questions can skew the score.

[thinkingman]

people just open up their heads and let garbage pour in

not surprised

[Supreme_War_Pig]

@Gaius

@zantax

have near perfect recall of anything I read

So your wife doesn’t have to tell you a million times what day is garbage day and “put the toilet seat down,” she just has to write it once?

Well… to be fair, the toilet seat thing is a front in the endless war.

[zantax]

@Supreme_War_Pig

@Gaius

@zantax

have near perfect recall of anything I read

So your wife doesn’t have to tell you a million times what day is garbage day and “put the toilet seat down,” she just has to write it once?

Well… to be fair, the toilet seat thing is a front in the endless war.

I refuse to concede it is any more rude to leave it up than to leave it down. I also refuse to put the toilet paper on the holder. If it was just me a roll would last a month, she goes through them every two or three days. Sorry, it’s your job at that point.

[Munimula1]

“The scientists used the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment (SAPA) Project, a free survey-based online personality test that provides test-takers feedback on 27 temperament traits (e.g. adaptability, impulsivity, anxiety, humor) and their ability scores.”

I have a lot of issues with this methodology. For example- whatever this is, it is NOT an IQ test. IQ tests are individually administered and standardized.

[Gaius]

Sure, a test like that is not sufficient to asses the IQ of any individual test-taker. (We know that.)

However,

• the scientists took 120 items (questions) from an actual IQ test and posted it online for anyone to answer.
• Over the course of 12 years, more than 697,000 people took the test.
• Over those 12 years, respondents’ performance was neither random nor evenly distributed
• Over those 12 years, respondents’ performance declined in a statistically significant fashion and did so in every age and subgroup.