3 ms·

> If IQ is important, maybe it's just that intelligent people know how to take personality tests. What even is intelligence? I know that IQ is what IQ tests m

> If IQ is important, maybe it's just that intelligent people know how to take personality tests. What even is intelligence? I know that IQ is what IQ tests measure, but what is intelligence? People say my dog is intelligent, but only in response to her displays of obedience to my commands, I've noticed. I silently translate their comment about intelligence to mean "your dog is obedient." Does an IQ test measure what makes good employees? Does an IQ test measure what makes good employers? Does an IQ test measure what makes good entertainers? Does an IQ test measure what makes good leaders? Does an IQ test measure what makes good entrepreneurs? Does an IQ test measure what makes good spouses? Does an IQ test measure what makes good neighbours? Does an IQ test measure what makes good friends? If an IQ test could measure some factor that leads to happiness, I might consider that factor to be "intelligence". But the things that make people happy vary on an individual basis, as well as over time and circumstances, so how could that be encapsulated in one static test for everybody?

clairity 5y ago
> "What even is intelligence?" to me, intelligence is simply the ability to discern (useful) connections between phenomena, basically being able to accurately inter-/extra-polate from observation through time and space, or alternatively, the ability to predict the future (for relatively finite values of future). it's kinda like the derivative of knowledge, and wit is the derivative of intelligence. an IQ test measures a very narrow slice of that. it doesn't encompass humor, art, or sports/dance (dynamic/kinetic ability) for instance. with dogs (or other pets), the intelligent part is their ability to parse your alien communications into desired responses, similar to learning a foreign language without an instructor, an interpreter, or a reference available.
erikerikson 5y ago
> "What even is intelligence?" I've found the following a fairly good definition: Efficient cross-domain optimization In less coded language: the ability to gain more benefit across many areas of value from the same or fewer resources.
- wombatmobile 5y ago
  > the ability to gain more benefit across many areas of value from the same or fewer resources. Your use of the term "more benefit" is clever because it avoids definition, and cannot be disproven. If you'd said "more money" or "more power" or "more calories" or "more resources" the notion of benefit could be directly assessed, although different people would assess each proposition differently, some positively, and others negatively, because the value of "more" of anything is circumstantial and a matter of taste. Sometimes less is more.
  - erikerikson 5y ago
    Indeed, sometimes less is more. More benefit stands in for the more technical term "utilitons" or units of value or utility. Less is more is adding description to what contingently has a higher expected or observed utiliton value. Between explaining all that or using "more benefit", I opted for less ;D
paulpauper 5y ago
I am sure someone with an IQ of 130 probably has better luck understanding coding than someone with an IQ of 100. To say that IQ is ill-defined and of no predictive power, is wrong.
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  That's just it, does IQ denote ability to rationally think? Can you be highly irrational and also have a high IQ, because if so then I'd argue that the 130 IQ person would struggle more than the 100 IQ person if the latter were better able to think rationally. We might assume that IQ translates directly to ability to reason through a problem, but that may not be the case. An 8 lane highway is useless if you're riding a skateboard.
ZephyrBlu 5y ago
I think general intelligence is about your ability to absorb and synthesize information. Higher intelligence = fast learner + better at joining seemingly unrelated dots.
- SneakyTornado29 5y ago
  Im curious if people can augment such abilities outside of their mind. Systems like Zettalkesten's and "smart note-taking" claim such notions you draw upon here.

clairity 5y ago

> "What even is intelligence?" to me, intelligence is simply the ability to discern (useful) connections between phenomena, basically being able to accurately inter-/extra-polate from observation through time and space, or alternatively, the ability to predict the future (for relatively finite values of future). it's kinda like the derivative of knowledge, and wit is the derivative of intelligence. an IQ test measures a very narrow slice of that. it doesn't encompass humor, art, or sports/dance (dynamic/kinetic ability) for instance. with dogs (or other pets), the intelligent part is their ability to parse your alien communications into desired responses, similar to learning a foreign language without an instructor, an interpreter, or a reference available.

erikerikson 5y ago

> "What even is intelligence?" I've found the following a fairly good definition: Efficient cross-domain optimization In less coded language: the ability to gain more benefit across many areas of value from the same or fewer resources.

wombatmobile 5y ago
> the ability to gain more benefit across many areas of value from the same or fewer resources. Your use of the term "more benefit" is clever because it avoids definition, and cannot be disproven. If you'd said "more money" or "more power" or "more calories" or "more resources" the notion of benefit could be directly assessed, although different people would assess each proposition differently, some positively, and others negatively, because the value of "more" of anything is circumstantial and a matter of taste. Sometimes less is more.
- erikerikson 5y ago
  Indeed, sometimes less is more. More benefit stands in for the more technical term "utilitons" or units of value or utility. Less is more is adding description to what contingently has a higher expected or observed utiliton value. Between explaining all that or using "more benefit", I opted for less ;D

paulpauper 5y ago

I am sure someone with an IQ of 130 probably has better luck understanding coding than someone with an IQ of 100. To say that IQ is ill-defined and of no predictive power, is wrong.

TameAntelope 5y ago
That's just it, does IQ denote ability to rationally think? Can you be highly irrational and also have a high IQ, because if so then I'd argue that the 130 IQ person would struggle more than the 100 IQ person if the latter were better able to think rationally. We might assume that IQ translates directly to ability to reason through a problem, but that may not be the case. An 8 lane highway is useless if you're riding a skateboard.

ZephyrBlu 5y ago

I think general intelligence is about your ability to absorb and synthesize information. Higher intelligence = fast learner + better at joining seemingly unrelated dots.

SneakyTornado29 5y ago
Im curious if people can augment such abilities outside of their mind. Systems like Zettalkesten's and "smart note-taking" claim such notions you draw upon here.