the iq tests test the potential for abstract reasoning in traditionally educated, english speaking people.
Yep.
I do really well on IQ tests. It would be awesome if it was really a measure of "intelligence" over all, because then I'd be smarter than most people. However, I'm not. When it comes to the basics of living, I've found most people can figure out the best solution to their problems every bit as well as I can. I can solve geometry problems better than most, but that's about it.
What I'd really like is if it were a good measure of the ability to answer riddles or find insightful interpretations of allegorical stories. I'd love to be good at either, but instead, I'm lousy at both.
I know I could beat my wife on an IQ test, but when there's a hundred things to do and life seems horribly confusing, she has no problem figuring out some way to get all 100 things done in a timely manner. They need a test to measure that ability, because if I could hire her or me for almost any job that didn't involve lots and lots of math or brute strength, I'd hire her.
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