IQ

Umm, its a long, long time since I had an IQ test from what I remember its not your usual reading, riting and rithmetic. Its more kindof squiggle, dash and see if that fits and from that you can see that if I took an IQ test today it would probably be around minus something serious.

I don’t know from IQ tests. I’m not sure how valid or important they are and nor am I at all sure that they can be applied to people who may not have had the luxury of even the most basic education.

In theory of course its possible but in practice when you’re dealing with the poorest people on the planet, those whose every waking thought has to be of where the next meal is coming from is it really fair to expect them to approach an IQ test with anything like the same, experiences, knowledge, enthusiasm or even trepidation as people from more secure, better educated and more structured countries?

I’m not sure it is, what I know is I don’t like the idea of it. In the first place an IQ test as far as I know is pretty much a western construct and whichever way you look at that you better also look at it as European in origin.

In countries like India, every bit as intelligent as the west, there are whole levels even an entire bottom level of people who are not only not educated, their entire family history will be comprised of people who were not educated because the caste system does not expect or want its bottom rung to better itself. Such people struggle to survive and if you ask me their success at surviving is a pretty good indication of IQ level.

Africa, the whole continent not this or that bit of it, has thousands of miles and even more people who live in the kind of conditions that make theory ridiculous, many may not thrive but against the greatest odds they do survive and that too is an indication of IQ level.

China and Japan could take the glorious European idea of its own IQ level and clean the cats litter tray with it.

And, frankly the whole of South America could care less, some parts are well educated, some are not and a few lucky ones have never seen a European predator, but they have got pyramids and temples going back thousands of years, they need no IQ lessons from Europeans.

I guess what I’m saying is I don’t trust the idea of IQ tests being used to gauge the intelligence levels of entire populations. Of course I could start on a breakdown of the numbers of people tested, their education etc. etc. but that would be playing the European game.