4 ms·

>IQ tests are not only politically incorrect they are illegal in the US. It is illegal discrimination to make hiring decisions based on IQ scores. Oh come now.

by lsc 11y ago

>IQ tests are not only politically incorrect they are illegal in the US. It is illegal discrimination to make hiring decisions based on IQ scores. Oh come now. Every company in the valley emphasizes "cultural fit" and that's about as subtle a dog-whistle as an '88' neck tattoo. It's pretty obvious that nobody here cares about even the most clear-cut discrimination against protected classes (and it's not at all clear to me that less intelligent people are a protected class.)

TheCoelacanth 11y ago
The difference is that "cultural fit" means a different thing at every different company, so it would have to be proven to be discriminatory on a case-by-case basis. That takes too much work, so it doesn't happen very often. IQ tests are well known to have a disparate impact on some protected classes, so you are treading on extremely thin ice to use one.
- lsc 11y ago
  >IQ tests are well known to have a disparate impact on some protected classes, so you are treading on extremely thin ice to use one. Really? I mean, I know that the racists have been going on about how some races are dumber than others for as long as the idea of race has existed... but is this an idea that would be taken seriously by the courts?
  - TheCoelacanth 11y ago
    Absolutely. The concept is known as disparate impact. A test which results in members protected classes being less likely to be selected is not allowed unless you can demonstrate that the test is connected to job performance. There is a famous case from the 70's where the company wasn't even allowed to require a high-school diploma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.
    - lsc 11y ago
      I was expressing doubt at the idea that intelligence correlates with ethnicity.
      - TheCoelacanth 11y ago
        Intelligence, perhaps not. IQ tests certainly do. And regardless of correlations with ethnicity, IQ tests would correlate with some mental disabilities, and people with those mental disabilities are also members of a protected class.

by lsc 11y ago

TheCoelacanth 11y ago

The difference is that "cultural fit" means a different thing at every different company, so it would have to be proven to be discriminatory on a case-by-case basis. That takes too much work, so it doesn't happen very often. IQ tests are well known to have a disparate impact on some protected classes, so you are treading on extremely thin ice to use one.

lsc 11y ago
>IQ tests are well known to have a disparate impact on some protected classes, so you are treading on extremely thin ice to use one. Really? I mean, I know that the racists have been going on about how some races are dumber than others for as long as the idea of race has existed... but is this an idea that would be taken seriously by the courts?
- TheCoelacanth 11y ago
  Absolutely. The concept is known as disparate impact. A test which results in members protected classes being less likely to be selected is not allowed unless you can demonstrate that the test is connected to job performance. There is a famous case from the 70's where the company wasn't even allowed to require a high-school diploma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.
  - lsc 11y ago
    I was expressing doubt at the idea that intelligence correlates with ethnicity.
    - TheCoelacanth 11y ago
      Intelligence, perhaps not. IQ tests certainly do. And regardless of correlations with ethnicity, IQ tests would correlate with some mental disabilities, and people with those mental disabilities are also members of a protected class.