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256 points hirundo | 2 comments | | HN request time: 1.73s | source
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globalreset ◴[] No.35514334[source]
Honest question that keeps bothering me.

In the absence of reasonably strong natural selection pressure to select for IQ, how could IQ not be falling over time?

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runarberg ◴[] No.35514499[source]
It is not. IQ doesn’t measure a kind of intelligence which inherits, and is subject to natural selection (there is even a debate whether such intelligence exists; or at least is of any significant between individuals).

IQ at best measures something that correlates with SAT. And with better education, less exposure to damaging pollutants, etc. it should always be on the rise (as demonstrated by the Flynn effect; an effect which this poor paper desperately tries to refute).

IQ research has always been about proving the superiority of one race over others, this superiority doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t stop these pseudo-scientist from trying. They bend the definition of “intelligence” and device test batteries (and in this case, interpret test battery) in skewed and bias ways to manipulate results like these. Regrettably media outlets like the Popular Mechanics and lifestyle journalists like Tim Newcomb take these researchers at their words and publish their results, despite their results pretty much being lies.

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faeriechangling ◴[] No.35515158[source]
The heritability of IQ is very well established, usually estimated in the 50-80% range. You are fighting an uphill battle here because even if people haven’t seen the scientific evidence this effect is so strong that virtually everybody has seen anecdotal evidence of high IQ parents having high IQ children, but just seem to assert a very heterodox and counter-intuitive position without further elaboration.

It is incredibly arguable if during an obesity crisis if population wide health is actually improving and if population wide health isn’t improving that could certainly contribute to lower IQ. We’re also seeing population wide declines of health in other ways like sperm count. Food is becoming less nutritious as soil depletes. Our fish stocks being about to collapse is going to be another hit against brain health as omega 3s will become rarer in the diet.

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1. Apocryphon ◴[] No.35515786[source]
Thoughts on this post on the accuracy of IQ?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29798887

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2. faeriechangling ◴[] No.35516590[source]
I find it interesting because I did REALLY badly on oral tests. On the WISC-III I was doing extremely badly on the test until the examiner allowed me to write down my answers instead of giving them verbally and my measured IQ shot up like two standard deviations. I've been as far as 3 standard deviations apart in psychiatrist administered IQ tests, and my best and worst results in any given IQ test have also been about 3 standard deviations apart. My biggest theory is that I'm bottlenecked by how I both take in and communicate the information, I'm not very good at listening orally nor am I very good at communicating with my voice nor can I write very fast with a pencil. Not shockingly I was diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities and it's my opinion and the opinion of one psychologist I had that IQ testing is neither a reliable nor valid means of testing my intelligence.

I think the point being made more generally about IQ tests testing the wrong things is very valid and I do agree with it, but it extends beyond just IQ testing, it also raises questions about standardised academic testing. What I will point out though that any rebalancing of IQ tests or standardised tests at this point is likely to become an intensely political affair because these tests are used to justify gatekeeping access to status and societal resources, and any new tests would necessarily be far worse researched than existing tests, so I wouldn't expect current IQ testing methodology to be upended any time soon.