IQ is supposed to measure intelligence, but does it? Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
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A huge thank you to Emeritus Professor Cecil R. Reynolds and Dr. Stuart J. Ritchie for their expertise and time.
Also a massive thank you to Prof. Steven Piantadosi and Prof. Alan S. Kaufman for helping us understand this complicated topic. As well as to Jay Zagrosky from Boston University's Questrom School of Business for providing data from his study.
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References:
Kaufman, A. S. (2009). IQ testing 101. Springer Publishing Company.
Reynolds, C. R., & Livingston, R. A. (2021). Mastering modern psychological testing. Springer International Publishing.
Ritchie, S. (2015). Intelligence: All that matters. John Murray.
Spearman, C. (1961). " General Intelligence" Objectively Determined and Measured. - https://ve42.co/Spearman1904
Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1907). Le développement de l'intelligence chez les enfants. L'Année psychologique, 14(1), 1-94.. - https://ve42.co/Binet1907
Intelligence Quotient, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/IQWiki
Radiolab Presents: G. - https://ve42.co/RadioLabG
McDaniel, M. A. (2005). Big-brained people are smarter: A meta-analysis of the relationship between in vivo brain volume and intelligence. Intelligence, 33(4), 337-346. - https://ve42.co/McDaniel2005
Deary, I. J., Strand, S., Smith, P., & Fernandes, C. (2007). Intelligence and educational achievement. Intelligence, 35(1), 13-21. - https://ve42.co/Deary2007
Lozano-Blasco, R., Quílez-Robres, A., Usán, P., Salavera, C., & Casanovas-López, R. (2022). Types of Intelligence and Academic Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Intelligence, 10(4), 123. - https://ve42.co/Blasco2022
Kuncel, N. R., & Hezlett, S. A. (2010). Fact and fiction in cognitive ability testing for admissions and hiring decisions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(6), 339-345. - https://ve42.co/Kuncel2010
Laurence, J. H., & Ramsberger, P. F. (1991). Low-aptitude men in the military: Who profits, who pays?. Praeger Publishers. - https://ve42.co/Laurence1991
Gregory, H. (2015). McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War; Plus the Induction of Unfit Men, Criminals, and Misfits. Infinity Publishing.
Gottfredson, L. S., & Deary, I. J. (2004). Intelligence predicts health and longevity, but why?. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(1), 1-4. - https://ve42.co/Gottfredson2004
Sanchez-Izquierdo, M., Fernandez-Ballesteros, R., Valeriano-Lorenzo, E. L., & Botella, J. (2023). Intelligence and life expectancy in late adulthood: A meta-analysis. Intelligence, 98, 101738. - https://ve42.co/Izquierdo2023
Zagorsky, J. L. (2007). Do you have to be smart to be rich? The impact of IQ on wealth, income and financial distress. Intelligence, 35(5), 489-501. - https://ve42.co/Zagorsky2007
Strenze, T. (2007). Intelligence and socioeconomic success: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal research. Intelligence, 35(5), 401-426. - https://ve42.co/Strenze2007
Deary, I. J., Pattie, A., & Starr, J. M. (2013). The stability of intelligence from age 11 to age 90 years: the Lothian birth cohort of 1921. Psychological science, 24(12), 2361-2368. - https://ve42.co/Deary2013
Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. Psychological bulletin, 101(2), 171. - https://ve42.co/Flynn1987
Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents' | James Flynn, TED via YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vpqilhW9uI
Duckworth, A. L., Quinn, P. D., Lynam, D. R., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2011). Role of test motivation in intelligence testing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(19), 7716-7720. - https://ve42.co/Duckworth2011
Kulik, J. A., Bangert-Drowns, R. L., & Kulik, C. L. C. (1984). Effectiveness of coaching for aptitude tests. Psychological Bulletin, 95(2), 179. - https://ve42.co/Kulik1984
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Written by Derek Muller, Casper Mebius, & Petr Lebedev
Edited by Trenton Oliver
Filmed by Derek Muller, Han Evans, & Raquel Nuno
Animation by Fabio Albertelli & Ivy Tello
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Produced by Derek Muller, Casper Mebius, & Han Evans
"It's totally fine to disregard science because the history hurts my feelings!"
What an absolute moral vacuum you are. You either believe in truth or you don't. Obviously you believe that perverting truth and science is a reasonable action to take if it makes you more comfortable.
Zero moral courage.
@gussampson5029 Says:
Sterilizing rapists is a fantastic idea.
@gidon-kaina Says:
It makes total sense to me that people with a higher g-factor have less interest in making money. The love of money is the root of all evil. Of course, money itself isn't evil, but there are better things to worry about.
@dodevsk1 Says:
So they say I tried to fake it but I got lucky. But i just did a speed run 😅 it's dumb questions I just know them instantly
@TheWyoCroc Says:
I took an IQ test and scored 139, that puts me higher than 99% of the population, but I think these tests are very flawed and not a real score of intelligence. besides if I was smarter than 99% of the population, I would be scared
@robertlivingston1634 Says:
Scared to take an IQ test I'm afraid to find out how dumb I really am
@eyeguy51 Says:
I’ve taken three different tests (in the distant past) over the course of several years.
All substantially different.
I either got smarter or dumber depending on which test results were to be believed.
@Joy-joy-8 Says:
1:11 that’s kinda defeating the point?
@Rylanoninsta Says:
Interesting video! I like how you contrasted the video with the dark history of IQ, associated with eugenics, which most people overlook when just looking at the term IQ, (intelligence quotient)
Now to make this comment worth replying to; if you happen to see it, i did not see neuroplasticity mentioning IQ, and i am very interested to hear your knowledge and/or response to this?
@LionAmongWolves Says:
“People who boast about IQs are losers” that was hilarious. You’re clearly intelligent, your content and achievements prove that. I’m so glad you made this and waded into the debate. I do wish discussion on wisdom and intelligence would evolve.
@TheStoicCode1 Says:
11:30 I've met big headed people that are not very smart... Maybe the skull is full of air
@TheStoicCode1 Says:
People talking about IQ are losers, and you can challenge them to expose them
@DokoDiko Says:
Rowan?
@kajimu137 Says:
"He who progresses in knowledge but falls back in morals, progresses more backward than forward"
@gerrysecure5874 Says:
Practicing IQ tests is of course possible and cheating. There are also different types of intelligence, a good test tests all, but a number cannot tell if you have great spatial imagination or are good at languages or people reading. Still, a difference between 105 and 110 is probably meaningless, but a 85 and a 110 are different animals.
@Hasibaeri666 Says:
One positive thing about IQ for me personally is the aspect of community.
I‘ve scored 138 on a test a couple of years ago (I still am in my early teens, for reference), and have since then participated in many educational programs, where I‘ve met some great people and some of my best friends.
I‘ve also started visiting camps offered by my country‘s Mensa, which are also always fantastic experiences.
Almost everyone there has experiences being an outcast, most of all at school, and there they can just be normal. Also literally no one gossips or judges, and everyone gets along well with one another. This is all the more strengthened by many people there having mental impairments in other ways, such as adhd, autism, or LRS, thus making them seem even „weirder“ to the public‘s eyes.
(Of course there are both exceptions and idiots everywhere tho)
These experiences have massively helped me build confidence, social skills, and express myself.
Of course this experience could be (and probably is) extremely limited, mostly to my own experience.
@Güdiş-g8o Says:
? Good
@sascharoni Says:
Doing practice tests makes the test invalid.
@Bob94390 Says:
There are tests to measure how fast a person is, or how strong a person is. They can to some degree predict performance at different tasks. Measuring how fast a person is at 400 m hurdle race or how much a person can lift in bench press isn't much more or less strange than measuring how good a person is at a test of pattern recognition and similar (called IQ test).
@householdone7559 Says:
There is still definitely something to it.
My wife has a high IQ and I don't... (I'm below average but pretend I'm cleverer than I am)
It's abundantly clear how much more intelligent and capable she is than I am.
There is definitely something to it.
@drleno2024 Says:
Ceciiiilllllllll
@katiestrekalova1235 Says:
Note: 0.7 and 1.0 indicate a strong correlation, 0.5 to 0.7 indicate a moderate correlation. This isn't a precise scale/categorization, but gives some context for the findings.
@Kirifr Says:
most of them are just testing your pattern recognition to see how fast you adapt to new envgironments
@PopcornForLife Says:
nah deep down he is definitely smug that he got 134
@phoenix_NZ Says:
IQ and age was interesting, all 4 of my grandparents died in their late 80's, My mum was a university literature, My dad dropped out, both in their late 70's. I sat an IQ test at 13 when I wasn't preforming at school, I loved puzzles at the time, I did surprisingly well on the IQ test, still failed school. I became a mechanic for the last 39 years, But I also invested and did well financially before the divorce. At school I never put any effort in, I have 4 children 2 have finished university and one is slowly finding his way and the youngest is super smart but failing school Hmmm. I would say success comes from determination and self control more than IQ. Also how to measure success as well. If you setout to live off grid on a farm making your own power and growing your own food, that would be success, If you setout to be a multi millionaire and only made it to $1.5M that is still success, Bringing up a family is also success
@allenstyer205 Says:
Every IQ test I've ever taken I could tell its geared to give you a higher number to make you feel better and possible buy the Full test or the one that costs more than 1 dollar
@ILOVEMONKYS-i3r Says:
I did an iq test it said my iq was 120-125 I genuinely didn’t understand 1/4 of the questions
@corryi9 Says:
IQ is a made up thing, However people weaponize it. Raw stupidity is rampant in the world, That is the issue - IQ means nothing
@JetADR Says:
I feel like IQ tests are like Predicting the Weather... they are only accurate up to their last Data Point...
And Weather is WAY more COMPLEX than we Even Know
@donald-parker Says:
There are different kinds of intelligence. Some of which these tests completely ignore. Like emotional intelligence and social intelligence. I'm sure we all have met some people who a brilliant in one area (let's say technology) and completely inept in others (for example, social skills). And these "ignored types of intelligence" play a HUGE role in personal success, happiness, and your ability to influence.
@alisha.c6707 Says:
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@medoran530 Says:
Wait so if a 6y old has a brain of 12y old, he's 200iq 🙏
@LucaBerg22 Says:
Muricans and their "multiple choice" testing for everything... 🙄
@lv4077 Says:
Actually, the quote that “three generations of imbeciles is enough” supposedly attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, is in error. What Holmes actually said was.” three generations of imbeciles is a political party.”.
@lv4077 Says:
There seems to be an inverse correlation between how often you use the word robust and how high your IQ is.There seems to have been an infectious outbreak of robustity in the US over the last few years
@lv4077 Says:
I don’t know if I agree with the Bell curve at all. From what I’ve seen there’s a giant spike and a rapid decline.
@hughbarton5743 Says:
I think the Stanford-Binet is 100% accurate.
It measures your ability to take the Stanford Binet test, perfectly, in that time and place. And of course, are you good at taking tests?
Thats it. No analytic value.I apparently share a 160 IQ with some clever fellow named Einstein. Did some heavy duty physics stuff.
Relativity? Space and Time apparently the same thing?
Now, I was very good at operating car dealerships. I felt not so bright after learning that...
So, I'm as smart as Albert E? I am sort of bright, I guess.....
@R3_dacted0 Says:
Would it not be pertinent to allow people who are talking an IQ test to study and train for the test? In fact, I think it should be baked into the test itself. Instead of one test it should be a series of tests with the same styles of questions. And material to help train for those questions should be given to the test takers. The final score should be an average of all of the tests taken.
@victropolis Says:
He failed to mention planned parenthood’s links to the eugenics movement.
@hearhaw Says:
Yes, but could you pass a dementia screener? One of our so-called presidents thinks they're the same thing.
@bergenwhitney Says:
I scored extremely high but mostly because I have a knack for pattern recognition. I sucked at physics, sucked in machining. But ended up doing extremely well in chemistry and eventually chemical engineering. Put me in a production line or anywhere remotely with a fast pace and I'm terrible. People have strengths and weaknesses. I used to be strong as an NFL line backer, can easily develop high endurance and stamina, extrodinary dexterity but my agility is trash.
@sean-pp3zi Says:
The problem with IQ tests is certain minorities don’t do very well. That’s it. Otherwise it’s the best predictor of personal wealth and the wealth of a country. Nothing else comes close.
@Tron42a Says:
Wrong or not if someone receive below 80 it is a strong metric.
@SpectralObjectivity Says:
Stephen Jay Gould's "The Mismeasure of Man" should be mandatory reading. It ripped apart the fallacies of IQ testing years ago.
@event-keystrim213 Says:
30:22 and then said kid ends up in an insane asylum, like 95+% of "gifted" kids who never amount to anything
@JimB-yh3iq Says:
I'm with Hawking on this one.
@liranp5901 Says:
oh this is not genetics, I can tell I do have a brother and a sister from the same mom and dad
@jessiehermit9503 Says:
I think people that are more intelligent just sometimes know that there are things that are more important than money.
@JimDeferio Says:
There are many very ignorant and/or low IQ people who dismiss IQ tests. What I tell them is, "OK, just go by recorded history concerning all of the inventions, innovations, advancements in art, music, literature, politics, science, technology and engineering and tell me what people groups were responsible for the majority of this.
Now, look at the IQ testing results around the world, especially the results that preclude rote memory. Correct, EUROPEANS (and their descendants)!
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