4 ms·

> We know that the single best predictor of job success and performance is IQ. Citation for this? As far as I know IQ isn’t a measure of intelligence (because

> We know that the single best predictor of job success and performance is IQ. Citation for this? As far as I know IQ isn’t a measure of intelligence (because intelligence is hard to define, let alone come up with a single number that quantifies it!)

Kharvok 5y ago
good summary of all the relevant data and studies for the last 50 years: https://www.amazon.com/Know-Debunking-Myths-about-Intelligence/dp/1108493343 https://www.amazon.com/Know-Debunking-Myths-about-Intelligen...
brimble 5y ago
> Citation for this? As far as I know IQ isn’t a measure of intelligence (because intelligence is hard to define, let alone come up with a single number that quantifies it!) All you have to do is get a figure that mostly correlates fairly well to most of the phenomena we might consider intelligence, and it works well enough for many purposes, even if it's not measuring any of those others.
- karaterobot 5y ago
  That's a far cry from "We know that the single best predictor of job success and performance is IQ." I think when people say things like that, what they mean is "what simple number is the best predictor of success", which begs the question that a simple number can be a good predictor at all. Keep in mind that something can be the best merely because every other option is even worse: in practice, the best predictor is a really terrible predictor. So bad, in fact, that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ.
  - oriolid 5y ago
    > that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ. Got any citations to support this?
  - Jensson 5y ago
    > So bad, in fact, that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ. But when you try to put a number on that five minute conversation it turns out that the number is worse than the number provided by IQ tests. Otherwise the simple number from conversations would be well known to be a stronger predictor, but nobody has found such a result.
oriolid 5y ago
If we forget about the concept of intelligence for a while, there is a lot of research that points to the direction that whatever the quality that IQ tests measure is, it correlates strongly with financial success, health and a bunch of other things that are often considered good. Whether it is the cause or effect is also anyone's guess.

Kharvok 5y ago

good summary of all the relevant data and studies for the last 50 years: https://www.amazon.com/Know-Debunking-Myths-about-Intelligence/dp/1108493343 https://www.amazon.com/Know-Debunking-Myths-about-Intelligen...

brimble 5y ago

> Citation for this? As far as I know IQ isn’t a measure of intelligence (because intelligence is hard to define, let alone come up with a single number that quantifies it!) All you have to do is get a figure that mostly correlates fairly well to most of the phenomena we might consider intelligence, and it works well enough for many purposes, even if it's not measuring any of those others.

karaterobot 5y ago
That's a far cry from "We know that the single best predictor of job success and performance is IQ." I think when people say things like that, what they mean is "what simple number is the best predictor of success", which begs the question that a simple number can be a good predictor at all. Keep in mind that something can be the best merely because every other option is even worse: in practice, the best predictor is a really terrible predictor. So bad, in fact, that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ.
- oriolid 5y ago
  > that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ. Got any citations to support this?
- Jensson 5y ago
  > So bad, in fact, that a five-minute conversation with somebody will tell you more about their ability to succeed at a job than knowing their IQ. But when you try to put a number on that five minute conversation it turns out that the number is worse than the number provided by IQ tests. Otherwise the simple number from conversations would be well known to be a stronger predictor, but nobody has found such a result.

oriolid 5y ago

If we forget about the concept of intelligence for a while, there is a lot of research that points to the direction that whatever the quality that IQ tests measure is, it correlates strongly with financial success, health and a bunch of other things that are often considered good. Whether it is the cause or effect is also anyone's guess.