Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a measure of mental skills: chiefly, logic, reasoning, quick thinking, and knowledge base. Testing your IQ can allow you to compare your intelligence to another person. Simple right? No.
IQ may seems strain forward but in actuality it is not. The only reason we think of it that way is because we are given a number that saposedely shows exactly how smart we are.
Psychologists are even now debating what constitutes IQ and how it can be measured. How do we tell the difference between ability and learned skills? How do we get rid of cultural differences? Also, should we also test vocabulary and history? There are so many variables that some psychologists even say that IQ can’t be accurately depicted as a single number.
But what we can say is that IQ can be a measure of achievement. This is because statistics do show that people that score as the highest 5% on controlled IQ tests do generally have the highest income. On the other side people that score in the low 5% usually have to deal with social problems like jail time, or taking drugs.
But, there are some common IQ myths that you should be aware of.
Having a high IQ does not entitle:
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A huge amount of information stored in your brain
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Being able to do huge mathematical calculations in your head at high speed
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A first class degree
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A measure of your potential
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Having a great memory
IQ Tests:
IQ tests are used for many different things from having some fun testing your knowledge to determining how well you are fit for a job.
When you are taking an IQ test the most widely officially used scale is Wechsler Scale usually know as the WAIS. WAIS tests 14 aspects of mental ability that can be divided into 4 areas:
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Processing Speed (ability to absorb and understand information quickly and accurately)
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Working Memory (being able to remember sequences of letters or/and numbers
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Verbal Comprehension (Vocabulary and the use of it to explain a topic)
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Perceptual Organization (ability to see patterns and details)
But most online tests use another scale (MENSA). These tests only test 3 aspects of intelligence: language, mathematics, and logic. The MENSA scale is widely used in recreational tests that you will find online. In fact, if you typed IQ test on Google you would find that every single link will be based off the MENSA scale. These tests are fine for testing your knowledge but are considered very far from accurate.
IQ and the Bell Curve
The population generally has an IQ that will fit into a bell curve. The extremely low IQ scores and the very high scores are only made up of about 3% of the population while about 50% is roughly average.
Can IQ be Enhanced?
This idea that IQ (not learned knowledge) can be enhanced after the ages of 13-18 is something that has been in scientists minds for a very long time and has always been placed into the realm of science fiction. Only know are psychologists really searching for ways to enhance pure intelligence.
It has been generally excepted that IQ can not be boosted after the ages of 13-18 but there are tests that prove this wrong. One study of taxi drivers in London showed that their brains were slightly different then normal. this is thought to be the result of them having to memorize over 25,000 streets and from this, figure out the most direct route to their destinations.
It is possible to increase intelligence after it starts to find that it needs to use certain parts of it more. Even though there is currently, no ‘magic potion’ to increase your IQ there is a way to make it better, and that is constant practice and the use of both sides of your brain.
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