h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Intelligence Tests - A582257
Author: xyroth (getting swamped in the backlog) - U149792

well, another one here from the intelligence project in need of your help.

looking forward to hearing some awkward questions.

This seems to go over Intelligence tests well, but a few comments:

You might want to mention other types and methods of testing intelligence other than IQ testing.

You also should be specific about each one, i.e. one's intelligence quotient is the ratio of one's intellectual age to his or her physical age etc. I forget how the next part of that is, it's taking it x 100 or something but that should be included. I have some notes on the subject if you'd like some more test examples and exactly what they are and do.

Also, the contraversies about testing intelligence could be represented better and there are more of them, but it's a good start.

This is a bit too brief for such a large subject. If you just wanted to go over the basics, however, you should at least mention some other forms of tests, seeing as that is what the whole entry is about.

Cheers!
Intersturber


(Sorry, after a semester with a psychotic prof cramming wads and wads of psychology information about intelligence down my throat, it's hard to read something like this and not comment a bit. For all I know, to the average person this could be enough material, it's just that I am used to large quantities of information, meaning I have several notebooks full of this stuff as well. I still have hand cramps from it and it's been awhile since I had the course.)

I definitely like getting feedback on this project, as it has been languishing in the university due to the problems of getting people to comment.

any notes you can give which will help the project would be greatly appreciated.

I think it might be worth linking to (and probably mentioning) the work of Tony Buzan, who has done loads of work around specific intelligences, xyroth.

eg: http://www.mind-map.com/people_buzanfamily.htm

I would love to give buzan a mention, but he hasn't really done that much about intelligence testing.

what he has covered is lots of stuff to do with how to get the best use of your brain, either through mind maps for organising knowledge (and improving memory), or his stuff about speed reading.

(I have either got or read most of the stuff he has written that I know of)

also, looking at that site, it is dreadfully put together.

personally I would be ashamed to have put my name to it.

If you find a better or more relevent buzan site, then I am interested, and will try and give it a link.

What about throwing in the scales they used - I seem to recall these being in the back of the question books. Sub-normal scores below 20, average 90-110, gifted 150 - 170. (These ranges may be wrong, its been a long time since I did an IQ test.)

What about mentioning MENSA, they hold IQ in high regard.

This is one of those things about where do you draw a line, because now I'm thinking about DeBono and his thoughts on intelligence measuring. Then there's aptitude tests....

"The alternate answers problem stems from asking open questions, without realizing that you are doing it. This is dealt with by working hard to detect them."

Not every reader will know what an open question is, so you may want to provide either a definition or an example. Additionally, a mention of why it might be difficult to discern an open question might be in order.

Looking good, Xyroth!



0

Another problem with IQ tests is the ceiling effect - where somebody gets the highest score possible (I believe with little effort). The result they receive is therefore not a true measurement of their IQ. I guess this could come under "the tests only work properly for the "normal" population" but I think most of those people are "normal"!

I'd like to see some more information about what is in intelligence tests, the sorts that are available (Stanford-Binet, Wexler etc.) and the differences between them.

Niwt

McKay - I'd heard different scales for IQ tests. The best sort of normal was 100, but there was 20 on either side, above or below that you were considered above or below average intelligence. I think it depends on what test you were doing - maybe they have different guidelines for "normal". Anyway, I think they should be included in the entry too.

There was another suggestion I was planning to make, xyroth, but now I've forgotten it!

Niwt

Is this still being worked on?

Good question! Xyroth - are you there?

Sorry for the interuption in service, but I have been ill for the last few weeks, and thus only going online to collect my email.

Hopefully I will be recovered soon and able to get back to work on these entries.

I have just been checking the peer review threads for those entries in the project that I have entered, and the general consensus about all the entries but this one seems to be that more work is required, but those making the comments have not bothered to say what is wrong (in most cases) or to reply to replies to comments.

As this lack of feedback is what has delayed the project so far, it looks likely that no significant changes can be made, and thus the whole project might have to be abandoned.

I Hope I am wrong about that, but unless more feedback is forthcomming, I doubt that I am.

sorry.

Sorry to hear about your illness, and hope you're feeling better .

I've skimmed through these entries, and I can see where some of the criticism originates: thoguh not factually incorrect at all, perhaps the general feeling is that they need a bit more detail.

However, this can work to your advantage. Each entry would serve quite well as a subsection of a larger one, and since the University per se is defunct, why not write one large combined entry on the subject?

FM
Scout

And we here at The Towers are very sorry to hear aboput your illness. Here's hoping you get well soon! Don't worry about anything here but when your'e ready, let us know on this 'ere thread what you'd like to do with this entry.

oh well, it happens every so often.

I will keep everyone informed what is happening.

I have tried the one big entry route, but found that one entry with over 90 Kb of text tended to be a bit hard to work on, and regularly got moaned at for being too big.

While I am happy (when I recover a bit) to try and reintegrate some of the entries back into a smaller number, there is still a lack of feedback about what exactly is wrong.

any suggestions for which entries could be merged?

any specific ideas as to the precise faults with the existing splits and content?

What's up with xyroth's personal space? it says he hasn't posted since january...

I have two suggestions:

How about mentioning the Dove test...an excellent example of supposed bias in intelligence testing?

Some specifics on the variety of the tests would be nice, too.

i agree. what about listing other test such as the Wechsler intelligence test which tries in some way to compensate for the faults in the original test.

good work!

mini

Xyroth? Are you still working on this?