Researchers in Canada have debunked the theory that the IQ system is a valid way of measuring someone’s intelligence. That may come as welcome news to some of you…
Did you ever take an IQ (Intelligence Quotient) back in school? If you did then you probably scored somewhere between 70 and 130 – as this is considered the ‘average’. Anything above it and you’re considered a genius while anything below it is considered… eh, not so bright.
However, Canadian scientists have conducted the largest ever study of intelligence and they’ve found that the IQ test is actually quite meaningless. The scientists asked more than 100,000 people to complete 12 different tests that assessed someone’s planning, reasoning, memory and attention.
The researchers found that being considered extra smart isn’t down to one particular factor (i.e. being good at an IQ test) and it actually requires three vital elements – short-term memory, reasoning, and verbal ability.
Traditional IQ tests are ‘too simplistic’, according to the researchers and it takes more than just one 30-minute test to determine how brainy you actually are. So, if you want to see how smart you really are then you should try your hand at the Cattell III B test – the same one used by the researchers.
