4 ms·

Yes, it's been known for a while that IQ works in a "good enough" fashion -- once it's good enough there are so many other things more important. A good example

Yes, it's been known for a while that IQ works in a "good enough" fashion -- once it's good enough there are so many other things more important. A good example is of course Einstein, which was tested and had a normal IQ.

chrischen 13y ago
Really? I never knew that! Can you point me to some sources?
kroger 13y ago
There's no evidence Einstein had done an IQ test: http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#iq http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.h...
narrator 13y ago
I don't think he ever took an IQ test and that anecdote he failed math was made up[1]. His estimated IQ was 160[2]: 1.http://physics.about.com/b/2007/09/19/physics-myth-month-einstein-failed-mathematics.htm http://physics.about.com/b/2007/09/19/physics-myth-month-ein... 2. http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/research04.html http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/resear...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
zxcdw 13y ago
Scoring better in IQ tests means understanding the problems better -- if you encounter similar problems, or problems which provoke the same areas of brain -- better IQ test score should correlate with better performance in the said problems. Whether this happens alot or not is another thing though. However, as the TFA implies, we can practice and better our brain, intelligence and mental skils, maybe that's exactly what happens when we "work hard". We become more intelligent, more skilled, our brains work more efficiently which, when added with the fact that we use that brain more by working hard, makes us more intelligent/mentally capable/whatever. Of course high IQ/mental capability/intelligence means nothing if it isn't put to use, so step first is to start doing stuff which matters and learning from it.
Malus 13y ago
You were probably thinking of Feynman. From Wikipedia[1]: In high school, his IQ was determined to be 125—high, but "merely respectable" according to biographer James Gleick.[14] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feynman#Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feynman#Education
- gwern 13y ago
  While we're debunking IQ tests of historical figures, I'll add some context for Feynman: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1251164 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1251164 And I'll add something which probably isn't obvious from the summary: given the context of Feynman's test, 125 may have been the ceiling on it, since for educational purposes there would be little reason to detect anything higher.
jessriedel 13y ago
This is wrong. As you move up the ladder to more and more intellectually demanding jobs, the median IQ gets higher and higher, even as the fraction of the population with such an IQ falls off exponentially. Yes, there are other important factors. And yes, if you have low conscientiousness then there will be diminishing returns going from high to very high IQ. But there is no threshold, and IQ remains the largest single predictive factor for success by far.

chrischen 13y ago

Really? I never knew that! Can you point me to some sources?

kroger 13y ago

There's no evidence Einstein had done an IQ test: http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.html#iq http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/variousthings.h...

narrator 13y ago

I don't think he ever took an IQ test and that anecdote he failed math was made up[1]. His estimated IQ was 160[2]: 1.http://physics.about.com/b/2007/09/19/physics-myth-month-einstein-failed-mathematics.htm http://physics.about.com/b/2007/09/19/physics-myth-month-ein... 2. http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/research04.html http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/resear...

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

zxcdw 13y ago

Scoring better in IQ tests means understanding the problems better -- if you encounter similar problems, or problems which provoke the same areas of brain -- better IQ test score should correlate with better performance in the said problems. Whether this happens alot or not is another thing though. However, as the TFA implies, we can practice and better our brain, intelligence and mental skils, maybe that's exactly what happens when we "work hard". We become more intelligent, more skilled, our brains work more efficiently which, when added with the fact that we use that brain more by working hard, makes us more intelligent/mentally capable/whatever. Of course high IQ/mental capability/intelligence means nothing if it isn't put to use, so step first is to start doing stuff which matters and learning from it.

Malus 13y ago

You were probably thinking of Feynman. From Wikipedia[1]: In high school, his IQ was determined to be 125—high, but "merely respectable" according to biographer James Gleick.[14] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feynman#Education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feynman#Education

gwern 13y ago
While we're debunking IQ tests of historical figures, I'll add some context for Feynman: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1251164 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1251164 And I'll add something which probably isn't obvious from the summary: given the context of Feynman's test, 125 may have been the ceiling on it, since for educational purposes there would be little reason to detect anything higher.

jessriedel 13y ago

This is wrong. As you move up the ladder to more and more intellectually demanding jobs, the median IQ gets higher and higher, even as the fraction of the population with such an IQ falls off exponentially. Yes, there are other important factors. And yes, if you have low conscientiousness then there will be diminishing returns going from high to very high IQ. But there is no threshold, and IQ remains the largest single predictive factor for success by far.