Aptiquant (PDF) has correlated browser choices with IQ scores for online IQ tests and found that IE users in 2011 score well under average. IE6 users had an average IQ of 82. Opera users rated 124.
posted by Chocolate Pickle
on Jul 29, 2011 -
79 comments
Chinese Outsourcer Seeks U.S. Workers With IQ of 125 and Up. "A Chinese IT outsourcing company that has started hiring new U.S. computer science graduates to work in Shanghai requires prospective job candidates to demonstrate an IQ of 125 or above on a test it administers to sort out job applicants. In doing so,
Bleum Inc. is following a hiring practice it applies to college recruits in China. But a new Chinese college graduate must score an IQ of 140 on the company's test. An IQ test is the first screen for any U.S. or Chinese applicant."
posted by eccnineten
on Jul 9, 2010 -
79 comments
Behind the growing Steven Pinker vs. Malcolm Gladwell feud (
Pinker criticizes Gladwell,
Gladwell snarkily replies) is a debate over the value of IQ, specifically, and intelligence, broadly, in success. Recent research has generally shown
little link between intelligence and success within fields, and that there are
multiple kinds of intelligences that drive achievement. On the other hand,
scholars of psychometrics claim the opposite, showing that
IQ at an early age can predict achievement, and
no amount of study will help.
Maybe everyone is right, with enough caveats.
posted by blahblahblah
on Nov 16, 2009 -
147 comments
Is the west thwarting Arab plans for reform? Few Muslims now invest much hope in the democratic western powers (essentially the US, Britain and France) that back the rulers who oppress them, even if, against the odds, they still admire “western” values, science and culture. There is no endemic or intrinsic conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, the root of the problem is that a majority of Muslims is convinced that the west – interested only in a stability based on regional strongmen, the security of Israel and cheap oil – is engaged in a war against Islam and is bent on denying them the freedoms it claims for itself. That is why it is so self-defeating to collude in tyranny as ostensibly a lesser evil than political Islam. [more inside]
posted by kliuless
on Apr 14, 2009 -
32 comments
Among white Americans, the average IQ, as of a decade or so ago, was 103. Among Asian-Americans, it was 106. Among Jewish Americans, it was 113. Among Latino Americans, it was 89. Among African-Americans, it was 85.
Was Watson right?
posted by landis
on Nov 18, 2007 -
473 comments
Get Smart! Can a few simple exercises really sharpen your mental acuity in 7 short days? According to this BBC program, yes.
posted by vronsky
on Apr 9, 2006 -
34 comments
A high IQ is a hindrance for women wanting to get married while it is an asset for men, according to a study by four British universities.
The study found the likelihood of marriage increased by 35 per cent for boys for each 16 point increase in IQ. But for girls, there is a 40 per cent drop for each 16-point rise, according to the survey by the universities of Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The study is based on the IQs of 900 men and women between their 10th and 40th birthdays. (
via)
posted by airguitar
on Jan 3, 2005 -
205 comments
Giga Society: the world's most exclusive high IQ society, where an IQ of 196 or higher (one in a billion) is required to join. Not quite as cranially-advantaged? Well, there's always the
Oath society, which'll take you if you're only one in a thousand (a mere 150 IQ or higher). Big brains and design skills (or
language ones, for that matter) don't mix well, though, it would seem.
[more inside]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken
on Jul 24, 2004 -
86 comments
Musicians are really smart. They have larger and more sensitive brains than non-musicians, and their collective IQ is much higher. They have 130% more grey matter in one area of their auditory cortexes. The question of how this explains Ozzy Osbourne nonwithstanding, I'll bet if you're really, really smart, you could be
one of the new members of Men Without Hats. Must be very knowledgeable in midi, sequences, and sampling.
posted by iconomy
on Jun 25, 2002 -
18 comments
Last night, ninety-five thousand British Internet users took part in '
Test The Nation', an IQ quiz, broadcast live on BBC television, which attempted to survey the intelligence on the national. As a simulcast it was only partially successful -- the questions appearing on television sometimes five minutes before appearing on computer, but the results from those who coped with the technology were quite interesting. Any other UK Mefites take part? The test is still available for the curious.
posted by feelinglistless
on May 12, 2002 -
46 comments
Rejection reduces IQ "To live in society, people have to have an inner mechanism that regulates their behaviour. Rejection defeats the purpose of this, and people become impulsive and self-destructive. You have to use self-control to analyse a problem in an IQ test, for example - and instead, you behave impulsively"
posted by zeoslap
on Mar 17, 2002 -
21 comments
Take the Wonderlic test. The Wonderlic is a 50-question
IQ test administered by the National Football League to all prospective draft picks. Teams use the test results to varying degree, in part to determine the ability of athletes to learn systems and grow as a player. Interestingly, offensive tackles and centers have the highest average NFL Wonderlic scores. (The test here is a fast 15-question sample; you'll need a piece of paper to jot down your answers.)
posted by werty
on Mar 1, 2002 -
31 comments
Is intelligence hereditary or environment? A
new theory sees the brain as a plastic mold of potential with the more neuron connections the better [hereditary] and environment stimulation shapes the mold untill maturity.
"You could present a person with an IQ of 200 with the appropriate phenomena when they are 20 years old, after the critical learning period, and they would not have the capacity to adapt their brains to the new phenomena". People of low IQ perform poorly because their brains do not adapt well to environmental stimulation.
posted by stbalbach
on Jan 21, 2002 -
15 comments
higher IQ = longer life span A study in the British Medical Journal shows a link between IQ and longevity. 2200 children were tracked from childhood to the age of 76. A 15-point disadvantage in IQ meant the child was only 79% as likely to be alive at 76. A 30-point disadvantage reduced the odds to 63%.
*link found at darwin awards
posted by bwg
on Jul 27, 2001 -
12 comments
Kids are smarter than ever before, AOL chat transcripts notwithstanding. It seems to me that the fact that IQ tests measure culture acquisition as much as anything else may explain a lot of this, but I wonder if there may not be something to the "visual literacy" idea: are we (as a species) building a new type of perception, or honing old cognitive tools into something which might as well be new? And, if so, where might it lead us?
posted by rushmc
on Jan 16, 2001 -
11 comments
