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Tests Feedback Internet Oversimplification

One of the people I work with found a ten-minute IQ test on the Internet. Just for fun, several of us took it. Almost everyone scored fairly well, but I was shocked to see how low I scored. I know my IQ is higher than that. Whether people are kidding me or not, I think they are treating me differently. Now what do I do?



Even a standardized and professionally administered IQ test has its limitations, and a quick-and-dirty version on the Internet is virtually useless. As a result, the best suggestion is to let it go.

If your peers are treating you differently, it is probably more in fun and jest than anything else. In fact, they may not even be treating you differently at all, but you are so sensitive about this matter that you are misinterpreting their behaviors.

Even if the test were absolutely accurate, there would still be real questions about its usefulness for you. In the first place, intelligence itself is a very broad construct, and IQ tests typically measure limited aspects of it. And further, IQ tests do not generate much information regarding intellectual effectiveness and creativity, to name just a couple of factors that are rather important in life. These tests also tell you nothing about drive, energy, motivation, tenacity, and persistence. Then there is the issue of possible cultural bias in various intelligence tests, but do you think a ten-minute test on the Internet has accounted for that?

If you really want to demonstrate your high IQ, take all of your concerns about this test, hit the delete button, and move on.



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