Can Intelligence Really Be Measured?

[jakeXT]

Every year, the MacArthur Foundation bestows large financial grants on a group of people who are doing exceptionally creative or important work.

MacArthur fellowships are often called “genius grants,” and grant-winners tend to be unusually motivated, passionate and forward thinking. But are they geniuses? The annual conversation that ensues raises questions about what it means to be intelligent and whether that’s something that can be cultivated, measured or even defined.

Despite decades of research into how different brains work, experts said, there are no easy answers. Scientists now know that there are multiple types of intelligence. There's a strong genetic component to certain aspects of intelligence. And scores on intelligence tests are tightly linked to school performance, future income level, health and more.

But IQ scores are far from the only factor that determines how well people do in life. Also, conversations about innate differences in intelligence continue to make people uneasy, probably because there is a long history of racism, classism, sexism and even religious discrimination tied up in discussions about who is smarter than whom.

http://news.discovery.com/human/life/can-intelligence-really-be-measured-131001.htm

[PeteSelman]

1. Perhaps not.

But dumb is obvious.

[Vox Moi]

2. The key to any real measurement system is to have a zero point.

Might we find one in the House of Representatives?

[2naSalit]

5. That was my immediate thought

Only I wouldn't have posed it as a question, I would have claim that it is an absolute!

[pinto]

3. Not a clue. Yet I think intelligence could be viewed situationally.

What's the most intelligent response / take in a given situation.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

4. Hmm.

I guess you can measure or assess the raw ability to learn and to retain knowledge. Perhaps creativity or creative potential could be quantified. Learning can be tested. The ability to function under pressure and an openness to new ideas can be determined, presumably. Some of these things can be measured more effectively than others.

The question would seem to be one of how we should functionally define intelligence, and whether it necessarily correlates to success in life. If you can't tolerate stress, lack social skills, or can't accept new information, success might be difficult even if you have a high IQ. I see many people with well-developed social skills, an open personality, and middling intelligence who do far better in life than far smarter people. Luck also plays a role in success, and I suppose the embracement of luck through risk-taking is a factor, as well. We like to ignore the luck factor and equate successful navigation of risk to some kind of skill, which may be valid sometimes, but surely not always. I guess some kind of drive or ambition helps with success as well, at least sometimes. It might be hard to come up with a one-size-fits-all method of determining a person's true potential for success in life.

[applegrove]

7. That's just it. There are probably 1000 different types of intelligence.

[BlueJazz]

6. Generally speaking, IQ can be determined by fairly easy scientific means.

Republican = <100
Democrats = >100

[dimbear]

8. As you go through life, you occasionally run into people that are smarter than you are.

Unpleasant as that may be to admit, it happens. Conclusion: even if intelligence can't exactly be measured, it can be compared usefully.