Fecal McAngry
New member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 976
Correct me if I'm wrong, but IQ tests are simply meant to measure one's "ability to learn" or I've even heard that they measure ability to learn quickly - to "pick things up" so to speak. I used to dismiss the results of IQ tests as well when I thought they measured "how smart someone is" (and I'll definitely admit that one's score should not determine success in life), but if you understand that it's just measuring the ability to learn (or to learn quickly) - then it's perfectly understandable to have some score in the 130's and others much less. Think about a person who is mentally retarded. I've read that this is usually below 70. 60's being a mild case of retardation and it gets more severe the lower the score. Being "smart" and a success in life (whatever that means) is not what these tests measure, contrary to popular belief.
I don't think those that are mentally retarded are necessarily stupid. I've talked with a few who are and thought, "aha...he knows his stuff!". They just maybe don't learn as quickly. It would be like if there was a test that measured how hard one swings a hammer when framing a house. Of course, some would score high and some would score low. IQ tests only measure one tiny aspect of life - how quickly we learn - it means nothing outside of this. Success in life has to do with so much more. IQ tests cannot account for other success factors such as motivation, people skills, a good work ethic, passion, the necessity or drive that comes with having to put food on the table for your children, how hard you swing a hammer, how fast you run, if you have the looks of a supermodel, great leadership skills (whether learned or inherited), and the list goes on.
With that said, I think most IN's tend to score high on these tests. I know INFP's who are great in math and I know NT's that can write extremely well, but I would assume (and could be wrong) that generally speaking NT's are going to score higher in the math/hard sciences while NF's score higher in the verbal areas of tests like SAT/GRE/GMAT, etc.
This is a great book, written by an INTJ I admire profoundly:
Amazon.com: The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability (Human Evolution, Behavior, and Intelligence) (9780275961039): Arthur R. Jensen: Books
Arthur Jensen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Excerpts are available online...