Math? Visual logic problems? How do these suffer cultural bias? I don't see it.

Perhaps not. Or maybe so?

Flynn effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regards,

d.

I don't recall ever taking an "IQ test" per se.

Is there a standard test that school-children take, and the standard test is then converted into an IQ score? At what age do children take that test?

_

Stanford-Binet used to be a std.; it is based on tests used by the Army - entire history is covered in Gould's book, cited supra

I'll tell you how. It's because the US gov't. and Americans in general are extremely meticulous in noting the race of every person filling out any kind of form, application, test, you name it. So, since they can then tie results to race, anyone who scores low can be said to face some kind of racism, bias or discrimination based on their ethnic group. Of course, this only exists because every form you ever fill out asks for that info. And the folks scoring, grading or approving these forms would otherwise never know unless they inferred it from the sound of the name. No one will ever admit someone is just stupid, lazy or incompetent. So we have to tie it to race and then find some way to compensate for it. It's a purely American thing.

IIRC, we were given one in 2nd grade and I suspect 5th grade. In 2nd grade, my family was approached about moving me to a gifted school after the test. They refused, so the public school skipped me a grade. It was quite clever how they did it, and I don't think the schools would do it now - I was moved to a class that consisted of 2nd and 3rd graders in the middle of the year, and basically they accelerated the work so that I'd completed the 2nd and 3rd grade curriculum by year-end, and of course by then I had friends in the class when I started 4th grade.

I suspect 5th grade because, though nothing like that happened again, my family later told me they were approached by the school that year as well but it could have been something else that made them re-visit the issue (the only thing of note I remember happening that year is a girl named Sheila spit in my hair, apparently because she liked me :confused:). I didn't learn my actual IQ until I was leaving high school, as it was noted on my transcripts. In 2nd grade, it was recorded as 142; later, in college, I scored at 156.

My mom told us never to check "white" on any form, and to write in "Irish".

Everyone seems pretty smart to me.

Er, isn't that pretty much illegal now? I don't think any organization can ask your race or age anymore, on the grounds they could discriminate.

It's more widespread than ever. Every single company asks it and says it's for gov't. compliance purposes. I've never filled out a job application that doesn't ask it. I always check on "prefer not to answer." Oh, and in the mortgage biz, it's on every loan application too. And if you're the loan officer and the applicant doesn't want to answer, you have to guess.

The food stamp program is in the news......saw some coverage showing families of 4...or more....why do people have kids if their household budget cannot support them?

I don't see any body asking this question, either.

Is it an inappropriate question to ask?

Some can't afford, understand and/or plan to avoid getting pregnant. Some don't care. Some see it as an avenue to get more money on the dole. Nearly everyone loses.

OP title: Yes We Are

Originally Posted by Rick Lee View Post
I'll tell you how. It's because the US gov't. and Americans in general are extremely meticulous in noting the race of every person filling out any kind of form, application, test, you name it.

I guess you haven't purchased a firearm lately.
And now they have separate boxes for race and ethnicity, had been combined for years.
Jim

More dumb people? Yea, there is. Along with more people in general. But the IQ bell curve remains steady IMO. We just have way too many people.

The same goes for the violent and insane. There is only a very small percent of people that will turn out to be psycho killers. But you get a couple of hundred milloion people together, and instant communication via the internet, and the whole country is filled with nut jobs.

Population growth is a serious issue. People dont want to talk about it. But we can eather fix it ourselves, or nature will fix it for us. What we need is a perfect government to make perfect decisions regarding human reproduction. Oh well, I guess nature will have to fix it for us...

Well, unless we keep screwing around with nature.

Not to be callous, but a lot of interventions in third world counties by well meaning individuals/NGOs are reducing infant/child/adult death rates in geographies where there are insufficient resources for the existing population, let alone a growing one. If those well meaning disruptors were to work first on issues of food and clean water insecurity and only later on increasing the number of people needing those resources, it would be better. The problem is that disease treatment and prevention is more "marketable" than resource stabilization. So reducing death rates may simply lead to more wars and violence over food and water resources that weren't "grown" fast enough.
.

Some good responses - thanks folks.

Should "someone" be asking the question though? Why propagate if you cannot support your offspring?

Or is that question inappropriate because it's no one's business?

Ah, so if this is the US 'food stamp/welfare queen' question, it'll soon be in PARF. The problem is, who is the authority to issue procreation licenses? If we limit or deny birth control and pregnancy termination resources, then we'll always have plenty of hungry kids.

Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!!!! Slow down there.......

No one said anything about creating any laws regulating births, etc.

Why propagate if you cannot support your offspring?

I just asked if we should be asking this question or not.

Let's just take this one step at a time.

1) Should we be asking the question? and 2) Is asking the question inappropriate?

I started writing cajun in the race box 2 censuses ago, that always results in one or two follow up visits to ask me about it. few people know cajuns were officially recognized as a minority race in 1964.. I'm still waiting for my govt cheese but I'm pretty sure we would be the only minority that would need a govt issued id to prove it. as a minority, wouldn't that would be racial discrimination because of the color of my skin?