4 ms·

Offensive lineman have other physical traits of value though. Namely they're very large (and strong). You'd have to argue that size and intelligence are highly

• diego 18y ago
  His point is that there may be a larger pool of people to choose from, and that you would choose the person with the higher IQ all else being equal. Also a stretch.
• pg 18y ago
  No, just that size and intelligence are more correlated than speed and intelligence. My guess is that the correlation between size and intelligence is close to zero. So that would imply there's a negative correlation between speed and intelligence. That would be easy to test: just compare the results of the players' IQ tests with their 40 yard dash speeds.
  • byrneseyeview 18y ago
    The correlation between size and intelligence is positive, because malnutrition can lower adult IQ and adult size. That correlation is a lot stronger when you control for other variables, of course. And 'speed and intelligence' is not quite the correlation you want -- IQ correlates with mental reaction time, so smarties may be 'faster' for short distances because they get a head start. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_and_intelligence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_and_intelligence (The talk page for this article is delightful, by the way)
    • lexlibra 18y ago
      So cornerbacks have lower IQs because they are malnourished? That explains the IQ difference in the chart? Right ...
    • menloparkbum 18y ago
      The malnutrition explanation doesn't really work in the NFL. Even the "small" players weigh 220 pounds. Regarding size, speed and intelligence, even though they are huge, most NFL linemen will have a faster 40 than most math graduate students.
      • byrneseyeview 18y ago
        That's a good point. I somehow didn't consider it before. I guess if they're in the 99.5th percentile of size, very very few of them will have any traits that cause lower height. I agree that at 40 they will be faster. But for short bursts of speed, or for a run that requires frequent changes of direction (e.g. because you're being chased around) the higher IQ people will have a 'speed' advantage due to mental rather than physical agility.
        • ojbyrne 18y ago
          I don't think that's true. Being "quick", which I think you're talking about, is all about strength.
          • byrneseyeview 18y ago
            It's not, really. As Galton discovered, reaction time correlates with other kinds of intelligence. I've read that modern tests show that some groups have a faster physical reaction speed, but a slower mental reaction speed -- e.g. the signal gets from eye to brain to hand slowly, but the hand moves fast.
            • menloparkbum 18y ago
              The thing about football quickness and reaction time, is that it is nearly all physical reaction speed. You rarely think at all. You've just repeated in practice what you need to do so many times that once you're on the field it becomes automatic. Running backs and receivers for the most part just need to be able to get downfield really, really fast. The offensive line needs to memorize more plays and formations, so a few points higher on the Wonderlic might help them in that regard. But once you're on the field, you aren't "thinking" in the sense that most people use the term. I don't think the Wonderlic scores even figure very highly into what makes a great football player. If anything, the scores are used by the coaches and trainers as a metric for figuring out the best approaches to teach the players what to do. note: I played tight end throughout high school. I'm a bit distraught that this infographic suggests that the offensive tackles might have been smarter than me.
  • deleted 18y ago
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