You hear about the IQ’s of famous people,
but how is intelligence measured, and how do you stack up?
One of the most common tests involves identifying emotions in people’s faces.
For example, what is this expression?
Do you think it's embarrassment, sadness, amusement, or shame?
If you guessed embarrassment you are correct!
This test is used to help measure your ability to empathize and communicate effectively with others.
So let’s look at a more ubiquitous test for intelligence - the IQ Test, also known
as the Intelligence Quotient.
It is a standardized test that assesses both verbal and non-verbal abilities.
Study this geometrical pattern sequence right now.
Now of these 6 tiles below, which tile would you choose to complete the pattern?
I'll give you a couple of seconds, but pause the video if you need more time.
If you picked 5, you're correct!
Basically, each row has a diamond, a square and a triangle
as well as a solid bar, a lined bar and an empty bar.
Since this bottom row has a triangle and diamond, we know the next one's a square, and it also has a
lined and an empty bar, so we know we need a solid bar.
The direction of the bar is also the same in each line.
Though IQ tests are common, other ways to test if you are smart do exist.
There is now a prominent theory of ‘Multiple Intelligences’, such as musical-rhythmic intelligence.
Let’s test your pitch!
Which of these songs sounds ‘off’ to you?
Song one?
Song two?
or song three?
If you guessed clip 3, you have a good sense of pitch.
Though not fully understood, you could be tone deaf and still have perfect hearing but
how your brain interprets the sounds may make it difficult to interpret pitch.
Now, what about your visual intelligence?
I’m going to show you a picture of these six shapes for 10 seconds.
Try to remember them as best as you can!
Ok now which of these three did you already see?
If you guessed ‘C’ you are correct!
This task needed to use ziggerins’s - novel objects that don’t exist in real life in
order to accurately test you.
If you are good at the ziggerin task you may have higher visual intelligence which is not
the same as IQ.
But it could mean that you will excel at tasks like matching fingerprints, interpreting medical
X-rays, or keeping track of aircraft on radar displays.
Not all intelligences can be measured, for example bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, the
capacity to handle objects skillfully is difficult to tease apart.
A study of 4 year olds at a ballet class couldn’t assess rhythm effectively because some had
already taken classes before or dance at home creating predisposed knowledge.
As well many tests require a combination of many types of intelligences, so it’s hard
to study just one.
What this research underscores is that there are so many ways to be smart, and it is not
just about taking an IQ test.