Intelligence

by asleif_dufansdottir 25 Replies latest jw experiences

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  asleif_dufansdottir

  OK, I'm not trying to fan any flames, (don't beat me Simon!) but the anthropologist will explode if she doesn't get to say something. (people who teach intro anth classes have to deal with this over and over)

  "Race" - we are all Homo sapiens sapiens. No matter what our skin color. If you were given an IQ test in German, or Arabic or Hindi, how high would you score?

  So you scored 110 on an IQ test given by the average US educational system. So what? In some cultures you would be considered mentally deficient if you could not name every one of your ancestors going back a couple of hundred years. Or recite from memory the history of your people that far back. Or identify every plant in your home territory and tell whether it was safe to eat or not, and what medicinal purpose it had. Or only spoke one language (like most Americans).

  Studies show there is no difference between groups of people and intelligence (barring brain damage from living in toxic environments due to environmental racism - like poor black, hispanic or white kids living in areas with lead paint). Differences in IQ tests are due to cultural bias in the test, not to actual differences in intelligence. To say otherwise is ignorant (ig·no·rant adj 1.Lacking education or knowledge. 2.Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge: an ignorant mistake. 3.Unaware or uninformed.).
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  Valis

  Um...I'm not sure what sparked your post, but is interesting to think about anyway..For those unaware of a broader picture here's a related link for your viewing pleasure.

  http://www.cpsimoes.net/artigos/art_test_eng.html

  Cultural bias is tough to get around because not all cultures go about learning the same skills the same way...measuring the way in which a society of cultures learns may be more important than the individual scoring of IQ, IMO. Some ways of learning may be more effective than others, or simply equal to, and when those ways can be quantified accross the board, or globally, there will be less if any bias in such tests. Just my .02 cents..Have a good day..

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer
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  asleif_dufansdottir

  Um...I'm not sure what sparked your post

  Sorry. It was another thread that is now locked. Doesn't really matter *which* one, because I'm not trying to argue with others, just make a point.
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  Introspection

  What's more interesting to me is the fact that people will use that intelligence to fool themselves - just look at all those funky religions with smart people in it. It seems to me being honest with yourself is even more important.
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  Gopher

  That's right, Intro... It's not your IQ, but how you USE your intelligence that counts.

  Some people understand life's basics better than those who can answer test questions well.
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  one

  Anecdote:

  Many years ago I was taken by a mssionary/pionner to listen to his bible student, a rural black hispanic lady.

  I could not belevie the lady could "read" parragrahp after parragrahp wihout even looking at the book. I mean reciting vervatim the whole content each time. Not to mention those 'uneducate' rural domino players who seem to be 'seeing' what the other player triy to hide from them. AND those who can sing, improvised meaningful ritmic songs nonstop for hours.
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  Maverick

  There is a lot of controversy as to how intelligence should be measured. Some of the standard tests do have cultural bias. Example; a hat is to a head as a cup is to a... and they give you four choices...car, tie, knife, saucer. The answer is saucer. But inner city, less affluent people simply would not know this. It is outside their social exposure. Ask them to match up hudcaps or navigate the NY subway system and they would 'ace' those problems, where someone from the suburbs would be lost.

  Also emotional intelligents is being considered with great interest. As a member of Mensa, how these tests are factored and scored is a concern. Membership is based solely on scoring in the top 2% of the general population. Many academics dismiss the whole concept of a High IQ Society. Claiming it is purely ego driven. I am sure ego does play a part. Some members join just to add membership to their resumes, or the plaque to their ego wall. I joined for personal validation. And it is nice to have people I can talk to about things that interest me, like quanta. As a J-dud if I started talking about Elementary Particle Physics at a Witness picnic with fellow duds they just looked at me like I was nuts. Now, at a Mensa RG or picnic, if I bring up Inertial Reference Frames or Planck's Quantum Hypothesis I get some feedback. But I digress, The problem of measured intelligence will not be settled anytime soon. Maverick
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  zucker

  The cultural bias thing is right on the money. I was learning in my development class about how African American children would sometimes score lower then white-American children on certain IQ tests. When researchers studied the test (the test included questions from a adult to the child) and aspects of it they found out that in certain minority groups (i.e blacks) adults ask fewer (when compared to whites) questions to children when they already know the answer to the question their asking. So what was happening with the test was the adult was asking a simple question like what is the color of this card (the card is brown) and the child would give the wrong answer because he or she thought the adult was trying to deceive them. They were put in a position where an adult did something that seldom every happens to them in real life. I have always maintained that practical intelligence is 25% social values, 70% personal effort, and 5% genetics.
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  SYN

  An excellent post, and the things you say are very true.

  For example, I learnt English from a BOOK in school. LOL.
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  RAYZORBLADE

  A D (long name) - that was a good post, and very considerate too.

  One can be educated and book smart and be a complete lame-brain in the practical living skill dept., I've seen it many times.

  Yet, some of the poorest in our society (no matter what colour) may not have the book smarts, but they are real survivors.

  Give any child/person equalibrium in all aspects of their lives: the I.Q. (bah) - will probably be as even keeled as you can get.

  If we stopped measuring intelligence and focus on our measure of worth as a human collective, we've not only learned something, but we'd be able to teach global equality without hypocrisy.