IQ is a myth

guypalm Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm

Hello Martijn,

Just found this article on the web. Very interested in knowing your response.

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http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1304289--iq-a-myth-study-says
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Just wondering how this would affect 'scientific' studies trying to find intelligence markers in the hand to predict IQ on the premise that IQ is an objective measure of 'intelligence' ?!

Thanks.

**Martijn (admin)** Thu Dec 20, 2012 7:26 pm

Thanks for posting this interesting report, mister guypalm! Thumbs up!

Well, I think the study kind of suggest that IQ is very hard to link with a specific region in the brain; the study also suggests that a complete measure of IQ should consider at least 3 factors, including: short-term memory, reasoning and a verbal component.

Advanced IQ tests do include all three factors.

But one should also be aware of the fact that a large part of this study relates to materials that have been collected online; therefore one can wonder if all aspects of the results we be replicated in future studies.

So, one should better not read these results as 'proof' for the sceptic (speculative) idea that IQ does not exist at all... because IQ actually concerns one of the best researched topics in the field of psychology. And hundreds of studies have been published during the past decades presenting proof that IQ test generally have high 'reliabitly and validity', see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Reliability_and_validity

In the video below the researchers from Canada describe themselves e.g.:

"... What we found, is that instead of one form of intelligence there are actually several forms of intelligence... "

So, I think one should better not read the title of the article as if the study suggests that intelligence does not exist at all. And therefore this study has no consequences regarding any past study with objective to research the hand-IQ connection.

I hope this makes sense?