Why do ppl base intelligence on IQ scores?

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Alright, what I am stating in this post is purely my opinion, so you DO NOT have to agree with me. Keep in mind that I am Neurotypical, not autistic, so I do not expect everyone to agree with me.

Basically, I am sick to death of people saying stuff like "I have a 140 IQ score, so I am so smart @11."

And then go on and tell me how they do random acts of stupidity on a daily basis.

So heres the real question(I might even call this a debate):

If you(Being people who claim there IQ Scores are 140,160,whatever) are so smart then why do you do all the dumb things that everyone else does in society?

Why do you drink? Why do you smoke weed? Who do you base all of your decisions a on things that people with lower IQ(And who you have declared as stupid) have set out for you.

You go to all the normal things that people who score lower than you go to. Yes, don't pretend like it doesn't affect you or that your brain is too intelligent to see the flaws because you want to be exactly like everyone else. It just makes you more and more angry because that is your goal.

You think you are very intelligent; you think you are special, but the reality is that you are no different than anyone else.

Hiding behind your test scores; your interest; or whatever it is that you do all day does not make up for capacity to make multiple human errors just lime everyone else.

I'm sorry but you're not smart. You're pretty much just a major tool, just like everyone else.

If Alex or another mod wants to delete this post then they can. I just rather have a reply from someone who apparently has a superior to-the-average IQ test score reply and actually form a counter argument.

There are pretty convincing statistics available that show that people with higher IQ are less likely to abuse drugs, and in general you could say do less stupid stuff. One example of a person with a high IQ doing something he shouldn't, doesn't break the rule. I've found no reason to question the validity of the established IQ tests.

Unhappy with your score Brian?
Mine was 137.

Having a high IQ doesn't make someone wise or good at decision making. In fact, a lot of people with high IQs are jerks, drug addicts, etc. (perhaps they are less likely to abuse drugs, but that doesn't stop plenty of them). Being smart has very little to do with making good life choices.

I don't think most people who have an IQ over 140 actually believe that IQ tests mean that much. It is just a number that attempts to put a handle on how well one processes data. It's very hard to measure a lot of what I would call intelligence - such as overall knowledge, creativity, wisdom, even kindness (yes I think that kindness and true intelligence go hand in hand). So, yeah, it's pretty stupid to think that just because someone has a higher IQ he or she is better/knows more about everything, but certainly a high IQ is representative of SOMETHING... namely, skill at data processing in a timed test environment.

I often think that there maybe IQ intelligence which is mainly directed at the left hemisphere of the brain with tests of mathematical, english literacy and things like logic etc being the obvious question within the IQ range. The most important area is that of wisdom which I believe to be another form of intelligence and operates within the right hemisphere of the brain meaning you are perhaps better at imagining and creating thus allowing you to see life in a different way and which helps you make sense of things that makes others seem senseless. So I believe that imagination is more powerful that knowledge just like Einstein did and that IQ is aimed at the knowledge of understanding mathematical patterns and other knowledge.

My IQ score is completely irrelevant to the topic.

Last edited by Brian003 on 08 Dec 2007, 2:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm not questioning the validity behind them; I'm questioning the actual meaning(As to why they measure a persons intelligence in the first place).

Because they feel that being intelligent gives them the right to do stupid things, and doing stupid things can often be fun. If you now you have an IQ of 140, it shouldn't matter to you if those watching you think you are a moron. You know better. It's called confidence.



If they like drinking and smoking weed, why shouldn't they do those things? I don't see anything wrong with drinking. Not everyone who drinks becomes an alcoholic, ends up with a damaged liver or runs someone over with his car. As for smoking weed, who cares? It's almost like you are positing that being intelligent is the same as wanting to live a healthy lifestyle in order to preserve one's existence for as long as possible. You are wrong; some people are not overly concerned about their health, and that doesn't have anything to do with their level of intelligence. And how do you know they base their decisions on things that people with lower IQs have set out for them?

I think a lot of people lie about their i.q.
I don't normally imagine people lying because it's a stupid thing to do but that doesn't mean other regard it the same way.

For example, in gaming forums you often see these teenagers with like 3000 posts of spam or random dull remarks - then there's an iq test and they post something like "Ha! very easy for me! 180! ROFL".
I've seen older people in the context of a "debate" post their i.q. as some sort of reverse ad hominem and that's a bit suspicious too.

Thats perfectly fine by my standards; just don't label themselves as "smarter" than other people because then they are doing nothing but fooling themselves.



Aspie's who try to conform seem to think like you. What is it that you want so badly in life? Is your goal to be exactly like everyone else Mw99, is that why you are posting in these boards and is that why you are so general unhappy with your current situation?



Always comparing yourself to other people and abiding by their standards. So, what exactly does this make you? This is off topic anyway.


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Thats a very valid point. If they like these things that is perfectly fine. It only makes them lose control of their minds in the process anyway.



Not many people do. In fact, people are much more anti-smoking; its rather ironic.



That is the way that you are interpreting it. I don't really care what other people do with their lives or how long they live because it doesn't in any way affect me. Although(As I have stated) I am annoyed by people who pose as intelligent when they are inherently dumb.




If you don't fully understand what I mean by the last sentence then there really is no point in arguing.

You asked a very good question and I know that Alex will leave it up. It's one of the best questions ever asked.

Yes, your IQ score means something. You have basic abilities. The ability to use those abilities is like a meta-ability and that can make it difficult.

If I walk 20 miles, am I exercising my intelligence, yes or no? Maybe yes because I am learning patience, tolerance of repetitive activity, physical endurance, and how to stick with a project until it is done. This can be applied to more complex activities.

The thing about high intelligence is that once it is tempered with real life experience, you can do amazing things with it. The IQ score isn't always accurate and your self-image has a lot to do with it. There are basic skills that a person needs to learn, like reading, writing, and arithmetic, and how to organize and check the quality of your work. You also need to know how to be human, which is unfortunately a sort of lost art these days.

This seems like an ever going debate here on Wrong Planet. Here I just pasted some thoughts I had on other threads about intelligence.

"By the way, IQ has very little to do with being a genius. Of course genuises all had high IQs, but some people have higher IQ than genuises and yet never achieve anything of great importance. I once read a study that mentionned genuises generally have high IQs, but rarely the highest. There are other traits that contribute to making someone a genius... creativity, self-criticism, strong ego, among others."

"By the way, Simon and Binnet first developped IQ tests to evaluate either retardation or giftness in children, and only children. The actual formula to calculate IQ was mental age / actual age x 100. So a 10 years old kid that could score like an average 15 years old would have an IQ of 150 (15 / 10 x 100 = 150). As psychologists extended IQ tests to adults, most of them concluded that high IQ doesnt necessarly mean genius. There might be a few hundreds/thousands persons that have an IQ greater than that of a genius, yet never achieve anything of great importance. Simon and Binnet concluded that in the saying : "The only thing that an IQ test can really measure in adults is how they will score on an IQ test."

sure it is. . .


Merle

I posted this some months ago (more or less):

"When taking tests of intelligence, 'thirteen of your mental abilities are measured, and separate scores for each are computed. These abilities are: Visual Apprehension, Spatial, Arithmetic, Logical, General Knowledge, Spelling, Rote Utilization, Intuition, Short Term Memory, Geometric, Algebraic, Computational Speed, Vocabulary'.

But why they call this thing intelligence? Intelligence, as I see it, is the intellectual capacity to cope with your environment, ecological and cultural. Ecological in the sense that you have to solve the problems of your ecological niche. If you are an hawk you have to process what you see, the behavior of prey, obstacles, dangers etc. Men must also have the capacitity to interpret cultural material, which, may be taught or may be stored in deposits: books etc. But in any case this cultural material must always be interpreted and the capacity for interpretation cannot be quantified easily.

Finally “intelligence”, as it appears to be the case for autism, may have much to do with an instinctive capacity to read emotional cues in other individuals and also to be able to communicate one’s own emotion in times and ways appropriate. Does one of the 13 abilities listed above take into account empathy or compassion?.

So I think that this whole business of intelligence tests as it is presented in our "culture” of achievement in industrial societies should be assailed and demolished.

I agree, your own IQ score is irrelevant and pointless. We're talking about proud people who rub it out on other people aren't we? "Look how smart I am." Like that?

I have averege IQ, maybe 125-to 150 depending on the kind of tests. I for one drink because it feels good, not that I'm an alcaholic. I hate further impairments with my brain, so the buzz of numbing is enough and that's what I like about it.

If I was an abuser of drugs like I'm an abuser with a hammer and knife, it would be for the same reasons. It has nothing to do with a person's IQ score. After all, most people have emotional problems that caused their addictions to get started. Alot of us in the world also do damage to our bodies, knowing full well how bad it is.

Maybe watching another person get treated like they are smarter than them will do it for some people, and those kind of people probably would like to brag about some high "IQ" or something, just to avoid another negative outcome. Unfortunate that attitude caused one to happen anyway. Rubbing one's own ego into other people's business is a little ignorant.

2 b honest a higher or lower IQ means nothin 2 me as i prefer ppl 2 judge me instead.