deleted by creator

deleted by creator

deleted by creator

The conclusions made about IQ were done after controlling for factors like race and family income, which you would know if you even did a cursory study of the research behind these tests, because you weren’t the first person to ask that. Controlling for confounding variables was always a big part of IQ research.

I’m sure we both know that race and family income will have a big effect on life outcomes, regardless off who you are as a person. To account for that, you can control for both factors and see how IQ impacted life outcomes when those stay the same.

According to the NLSY, a big study often referenced to establish how good IQ is as a predictor, shows that even with a race or income bracket, a higher IQ is linked to better life outcomes.

Neither the LessWrong post, nor my comment, even touched on race. Pretending like either did is a strawman. You can’t defend your position, so you call people racists when they never did anything of the sort.

understand perfectly well that it’s largely nonsense

There have been studies like the National Longitudinal Study of Youth that showed IQ could predict many different life outcomes.

Do you think that test was fraudulent? Why are you dismissing research that is widely accepted, and published by professional psychologists who have meticulously documented their data?

This entire debate reminds me of the climate change debate: One side that cites research, data, and knows the relevant concepts. Another side who doesn’t ever cite actual research, can’t elaborate on how they got to their conclusion, and dismisses the science without giving any reason.

Veritasium, a popular science channel on YouTube, released a video just a few days ago explaining what IQ is and how it works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkKPsLxgpuY

IQ is not properly measured from a random website. If someone announced they have a 200 IQ because of some scam site, that doesn’t mean actual IQ tests are invalid. The problem is with that website, and the gullible test-taker.

Every time I’ve heard someone say IQ tests are meaningless, 100% of the time they admit they’ve never heard of Spearman or the G factor, which would have been covered in a relevant Psychology course at university.

It’s not everything in life, but IQ is real, measurable, and has value in predicting how well someone will do with various challenges in the future.

video games have value and IQ tests absolutely do not

IQ tests have proven to be a good predictor of job performance, health, and likelihood of being convicted for a crime.

The main study for this was the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, which took IQ tests and followed the same participants throughout their life. IQ was shown to be a better predictor than family income, and other factors.

Being able to predict job performance has value for companies who want long-term reliable employees. It has value for schools and students so that those struggling can get additional help before bigger problems pop up.

video games have value and IQ tests absolutely do not

IQ tests have proven to be a good predictor of job performance, health, and likelihood of being convicted for a crime

Predicting those does have value, because it can help companies making hiring decisions and help those struggling before they start having bigger problems.