| The belief that IQ tests are the most | | | | |
| reliable means of scientifically testing the | | | | Sounds great, right? No. The controversies |
| intelligence and smartness of a person has | | | | started simultaneously with these studies and |
| always been surrounded by controversial | | | | umpteen questions were being thrown open for |
| opinions, sparking heated debates. Some have | | | | debate. |
| even questioned the so-called scientific | | | | |
| basis of the popular IQ tests. Many feel that | | | | The Controversies |
| the outcome of such tests is biased and does | | | | |
| not reflect the true intelligence of a person | | | | The controversial issues were: What exactly |
| that makes him successful in life. A person | | | | does an IQ test measure? What exactly is |
| may score genius grade in the test, but in | | | | general intelligence? Is the test racially |
| real life may be a total failure. | | | | biased? Is it a measure of one's acquired |
| | | | genetic intelligence or is it a measure of |
| How it all Started? | | | | cultivated intelligence? Do you have to be a |
| | | | part of some elite family to fair well in |
| Back in 1905, the French psychologist Alfred | | | | these tests? And what about the improvement |
| Binet decided that he wanted to pinpoint in | | | | in scores that comes with familiarity with |
| advance the "slower" students from the rest | | | | the tests and practice? Does it mean the |
| of the class, so that they could be provided | | | | person has suddenly become a genius after |
| extra attention in school. Along with a | | | | taking the tests a couple of times? |
| colleague Theodore Simon, Binet created a | | | | |
| scale to measure the intelligence of the | | | | Another issue about the validity and the |
| students, the Binet-Simon (B-S) Intelligence | | | | effectiveness of these tests was that they |
| Scale. | | | | cover only the left-brain-controlled skills, |
| | | | and no skills characteristic of right part of |
| They revised the B-S scale in 1908 and once | | | | the brain, like emotional intelligence, so |
| again in 1911, just before Binet's death. In | | | | very important to for achieving success in |
| 1912, a German psychologist, William Stern, | | | | life. A low IQ person can accomplish great |
| gave it a new name – | | | | things in life through grit, determination; |
| | | | courage and love instead of through ability |
| 'Intelligenz-Quotient", the English | | | | as defined by IQ tests (remember Tom Hanks in |
| equivalent being Intelligence Quotient or IQ. | | | | the movie Forest Gump?). These tests also do |
| Lewis Terman, a professor from Stanford | | | | not reflect on the creative skills or the |
| University, revised it one more time in 1916. | | | | body intelligence of a person. |
| And lo & behold, the IQ test was | | | | |
| officially ready for mass implementation! | | | | In the End |
| | | | |
| How it Works? | | | | So what types of people score high on IQ |
| | | | tests? Are they justifiably intelligent |
| The way it works is pretty simple. The mental | | | | people? Does race play a role? One study |
| prowess is tested for a number of skills, | | | | showed that blacks scored poorly until the |
| such as logical reasoning skill, pattern | | | | 1950s, before education took off in a big |
| recognition skill, cognitive skill, | | | | way. |
| mathematical computational skill, | | | | |
| three-dimensional visualization skill, | | | | The IQ test scores of some famous |
| language fluency, general knowledge, etc. | | | | personalities were: Einstein, 160; Mozart, |
| Scores are given for each of these skill | | | | 165; Leonardo Da Vinci, an incredible 220! |
| categories and based on them an overall score | | | | There is no set recipe on how to score high, |
| is assigned that indicates the IQ of the | | | | but training your senses to be receptive to |
| person. | | | | things happening around you and maintaining |
| | | | your physical and emotional health go a long |
| This IQ score is supposed to indicate a | | | | way in increasing your IQ. |
| person's general intelligence. The score | | | | |
| graph (score versus number of people) of IQ | | | | Summary: |
| tests conducted in large populations is a | | | | |
| bell-shaped curve, indicating that most | | | | In the eyes of the common man the IQ tests |
| people in general population have an average | | | | are the perfect way to measure scientifically |
| score around 100. At both the extremes on the | | | | how clever a person is. But the reality is |
| score line there is a steep decline in the | | | | that many controversial opinions exist on |
| curve, implying that very few people fall in | | | | these tests, and the debate will continue |
| the genius category or in the imbecile | | | | till a better measure of intelligence is |
| category. | | | | formulated. |