How much does IQ matter?
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Anonymous
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To what extent does IQ demonstrate intelligence? To what extent does it determine one's career and success in life? Can a person of average IQ become a doctor or a lawyer if they're determined enough?
What IQ is entry level for the Nobel Prize, National Academy of Sciences etc. |
Anonymous
| I don’t think anyone can answer any of that. Maybe just take a guess. |
Anonymous
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IQ doesn’t really matter.
EQ matters more. |
Anonymous
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Some high IQ people are successful.
Some low IQ people are successful, often in positions involving some element of sales, or having their own business. Some high IQ people are very underperforming. I know one. They are so smart, they figured out how to live without ever working a real job, or working much at all, but live fairly well and I suspect most jobs would bore them to tears. Had they been raised with exposure to STEM, I suspect would've been different. |
Anonymous
| The Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has written about multiple intelligences. |
Anonymous
| I've worked with some lawyers who at least seemed of average intelligence. I can't really say for sure without their testing, though. |
Anonymous
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You need:
IQ EQ no serious disabilities or disorders. We're an ADHD/ASD family with high IQs. The most successful ones are the ones who temper their high IQ with emotional maturity, and who also don't have severe ADHD or too much socio-communication issues. |
Anonymous
I saw a chart that tracked outcomes (I.e jail time, ever received food stamps, worked in managerial job, child out of wedlock etc) at each IQ quintile and the differences were amazing. For example, in the top 20% of IQs, 2% of people had been in jail. At the lowest 20% that number was 40+%. Similar differences in the rest, and there seemed to be a clear relationship between IQ and outcomes. That being said, it’s not determinative; lots of high IQ screwups out there. Grit and determination will compensate some, but I’d guess it’s nearly impostor someone with a below average IQ (for example 90) to ever be a doctor or lawyer. |
Anonymous
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This is a highly controversial topic with no clear answer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Validity_as_a_measure_of_intelligence IQ is a test score. For comparison, think of asking someone to run a timed 100 meter sprint. Their time tells you how fast they ran that day. It does not tell how fast they will run ever, how fast they run usually, how strong they are, how long they can run, etc. etc. It can give you an idea of those things, but it can't tell you the "real" answers to all those questions. IQ is a similarly limited test. |
Anonymous
Some people argue that just reflects biases in the test and the justice system. (I'm not sure how much I agree, but that is the counterpoint and it can't be completely disproven.) |
Anonymous
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The average IQ for a lawyer is around 115, which puts them at one standard deviation above the mean.
https://enhancingbrain.com/what-is-the-most-current-average-iq-of-a-lawyer/ |
Anonymous
An IQ score comes with a confidence interval that will be included with any responsible report. People cling to the number reported but the IQ is reported as there is a 95 percent chance that the IQ is between X and Y. Which accounts for the what ifs you comment. IQ is remarkably stable over life. Keep in mind that it's age normed as you think about these things. |
Anonymous
An average IQ is between 90 and 109. What you consider average based on your neighborhood could very well be high average or superior. IQ of 125 with a very high EQ will suit most people very well in terms of what is conventionally considered success. |
Anonymous
| Of course it’s important! Overall success in life is a broad measure and people of any IQ can be “successful” but that’s more a subjective measure than IQ. Some jobs are made for people with high IQ- do you want a neurosurgeon with an average IQ? |
Anonymous
Average is 100. |