[NT] Problems with IQ, tests ect..

[ps646566]

IQ test results will vary somewhat. But the best, professionally produced tests, conducted under proper examination conditions will produce fairly consistent results.

IQ is actually a fairly good indicator of intelligence in the ways that should matter most. Objective reasoning, application of logic, speed of thought, and focus are all necessary attributes of successful operatives in the worlds of business, public services, politics, or the military. People possessing these attributes to a higher degree will tend to have the capability to take the actions and make the decisions which lead to successful outcomes.

Unfortunately in today's modern world, IQ and the attributes which it measures are under attack from those who consider that other more woolly alleged forms of intelligence are as important, if not more important. The most notorious of these if of course our old friend "emotional intelligence", which let's face it is really the manipulative brown-nosers' charter.

Most people do not want to live in a highly dog-eat-dog world, and people issues do matter. However if sound logic and reasoning in decision making is to be constantly contaminated by considerations about relationships, team-building, diversity, anti-elitism, and political correctness, then the world will not become a better place to live in, in the longer term. Everything will tend to reduce to the lowest common denominator.

So I say - long live IQ.

 

[FDG]

Most people do not want to live in a highly dog-eat-dog world, and people issues do matter. However if sound logic and reasoning in decision making is to be constantly contaminated by considerations about relationships, team-building, diversity, anti-elitism, and political correctness, then the world will not become a better place to live in, in the longer term. Everything will tend to reduce to the lowest common denominator.

I think that what we refer to as high intelligence can definitely comprehend and entail the ability to produce win-win solutions so that there is no need for a coincidence between meritocracy and dog-eat-dog world. All the names you have listed should at least be considered as variables in the decision-making process, otherwise the outcome is bound to be different from what was predicted.

As an example, economics has been integrating more and more stochastic processes in consumer behavior in order to model irrational choices, moving away from the classic rationalistic paradigm that depicted human beings as purely utility-maximizing agents.

A practical example: if subjects respond positively to incentives in the form of anti-elitism and a certain amount of political correctness, then the most rational choice is to include considerations about them in the welfare function we are trying to maximize.

 

[ps646566]

All the names you have listed should at least be considered as variables in the decision-making process, otherwise the outcome is bound to be different from what was predicted.

As an example, economics has been integrating more and more stochastic processes in consumer behavior in order to model irrational choices, moving away from the classic rationalistic paradigm that depicted human beings as purely utility-maximizing agents.

Yes, they should be considered as variables, which is what I meant by 'people issues do matter'. But it's a question of degree. If such factors are allowed to dominate thinking then optimal decisions will not emerge in most cases.

What you describe about modern developments in economics is perfectly sensible in that context -- ie trying to predict irrational behaviour, but not necessarily trying to control it. Management however is different in that it is essentially about control. Recognition of psychological impacts, such as offending those pre-occupied with political correctness, may sometimes be relevant and important. But such considerations should not be allowed to influence events for their own sake. Ultimately rationality must win-out if society is to progress, not regress, in terms of overall quality of life for the considerable majority.