Quote of the day:

[conuly]

Jesus, the average human IQ is only 100?

IQ tests are specially designed so that whatever the average is, it's marked as 100. It's graded on a curve. So if you took a room full of MENSA candidates and ONLY measured them (let's say the rest of the human population had been killed off), the average IQ there would be 100. And the same applies to if it were a room full of people with Downs syndrome.

Seriously, doesn't everyone learn that?

Comments

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

I thought that was a given? Of course, I've taken somewhere along the lines of 5-10 IQ tests in my life... and I'm not counting online stuff, I mean diagnostic IQ tests used to figure out what's "wrong" with me that someone sat down and gave me over the course of several hours.

[conuly]

Apparently not. That guy had thought that the average IQ was ~160. Riiiiight.

Of course, that's why I don't like IQ tests. It doesn't seem very fair to me to grade 'em on a curve, nor reasonable. We know now that the "average IQ" has risen, but only by testing people today with tests made back in the 50s. The average IQ is still 100, but 100 points doesn't mean 100 points anymore. Or something like that.

At any rate, in our room full of mensa candidates, even though the average IQ would be 100, those with scores of 80 would by no means be retarded, even compared to the rest of the group. The numbers really mean nothing.