Free IQ Tests

Martin Mak asked:


There are many factors that help shape the mind of an individual and there are just as many ways an individual’s perception in life are shaped. No one is in a position to define exactly what constitutes intelligence. Although scientists do not agree on the definition of intelligence, a number of tests have been designed which attempt to quantify this unique human ability. These tests involve such exercises as continuing numerical series, completing pictures, comparing forms and drawing logical conclusions. Using a mathematical formula and a comparative table, the test results are used to calculate a quotient, the intelligence quotient (IQ). But is it possible to measure something we cannot explain? More importantly, is IQ a standard measure? In other words, does the IQ apply equally to everyone? For many, it is not important to complete a series of formal symbols. Can we deduce something as complex as an individual’s intelligence from an IQ test?

For instance, IQ tests do not measure a person’s capacity for learning nor does it tell you how good is an individual’s memory or whether the individual can leverage on his memory on a human level This is critical, for it means that the IQ measurements doesn’t give any indication as to a person’s potential for development. It is a mistake to think that a high IQ is a guarantee for success in school or in the real world. It is not.

Because IQ on its own does not tell us much about a person, many large corporations now test prospective employees in a so-called quality or assessment center, where they make use of a combination of various behavioral and practical tests in order to assess and evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a job The testing can takes two full days and can be a tiring affair.

As part of the tests, applicants must engage in role play, where they take on the role of a superior, a colleague or a customer and are required to bargain and negotiate about business trips, company allowance, fringe benefits or settle disputes between teams or carry out a project with other team members. Role plays can also take the form of a difficult customer for a product or service. Observers evaluate how well a candidate can remember details about the customer’s name, his needs or a fictitious company product line. Different observers then judge their behavior according to criteria such as the ability to empathize with others, leadership style, self-discipline and self-assertiveness and problem solving skills.

Although a high IQ can be of help to an individual in life or work, there are other talents, like soft skills, that can be an asset to a person in career or in life. For instance, just as a good memory can be of help in life, it is just as important to use that memory on a human level to drive further success For instance helping your boss to remember an event that will make him look good like his upcoming wedding anniversary, remembering and getting your colleague a specific data for a project he or she is trying to accomplish, or remembering your own spouse’s birthday or your children’s school play or soccer game. If we can remember, and perform the small things that matter big to other people, we can certainly bring ourselves to a higher level of success that intelligence cannot.



Daniel

Evgheny Stivenson asked:


It is possible to enhance your intelligence quotient in a matter of 10 minutes. Some techniques to do so are discussed below.

Don’t you want to enhance your IQ? Of course, you can use the brain power exercises and techniques. But these are long term and you would need to regularly practice them. What if you want to boost your IQ now, when you don’t have more than 10 minutes. You would need all your IQ for any important meeting, or a test or any other major event in your life. If you really need some concrete results and not argue about intelligence, try the following techniques.

Breath To Increase Intelligence Quotient

Breath deeply through your nose. This will relax you immensely and help you remain calm and composed. Deep breathing infuses oxygen into your blood and therefore into your brain and enhances its functioning. A relaxed brain will be far more efficient. Also nose breathing uses the diaphragm more, so lungs draw more air. This is the simplest and shortest way to enhance your intelligence quotient immediately.

Another level of relaxation through breathing is meditation. Sit in whatever posture you are comfortable and concentrate on your breathing. With eyes closed, breath through your nose initially and this will truly calm and relax you. you will have thoughts interfering but just ignore them and keep your focus on your breathing. Do this for a few minutes.

Posture and exercise can improve your IQ

The posture you take while at any problem will surely affect the intelligence at your disposal. Just observe the difference when you solve a math problem slouching and sleeping while you do the same sitting upright. The latter posture will definitely be better since you can think a lot better like that.

You need to exercise, but not a very hectic regime as such. Exercise just enough to pump blood into your brain. Walking works for many but a better alternative to boost your IQ is aerobics.

Sleep also is very crucial for proper brain functioning. But the quality of sleep is also important apart from the duration of sleep.

Diet to Boost IQ

One tree whose leaves do certainly increase blood flow into brain is ginkgo biloba tree. You can use its leaves either in tea or in form of capsules. It also helps improve your memory power and concentration. The effect is immediate and it lasts long if regularly used.

Caffeine is certainly a IQ booster. It has been proved that any test taken after consuming caffeine in some form or the other does increase your scores. But do remember, that the effect is only temporary and caffeine if used longer can have adverse side effects too.

Give up sugar. Any carbohydrate if taken beyond a limit, can blur your thinking. Insulin gets injected into your blood stream after you have sugar and thus diminishes your ability to think. Avoid all carbohydrates like white flour, sugar, potatoes if you want to think clearly.

Results matter in the end

Experts will endlessly debate if the above techniques can really boost one’s IQ. But there are times when it is very crucial for you to score high in a test. The above techniques if are found to be IQ booster, why not use them rather than wasting time in thinking if IQ really gets boosted or not. What matters is the score you get in the IQ test. So if you sleep well, have coffee and think sitting straight and if all this boosts IQ, there is no harm in doing the above techniques. These will prepare you better to face any task. Hence, be wise and don’t debate any more on IQ and its definitions.

I am sure you all know Henry Ford. What was his IQ, any idea? Why bother? He was the most creative thinker of the last century and he was so because he was always in the company of intelligent people. That alone is a direct 20 point in IQ. I hope you get the point I state here.

You are concerned about results. Hence if you want to be creative resort to such techniques of finding a solution. There are techniques available to try out anything. Try your hands at speed reading and you will have double the grasp on the subject you read. What the world will see are the results or achievements you garner in your lifetime. The Monalisa, the Empire State building, etc, are what the world will remember and not your score in IQ tests.



Allen

Steve Gillman asked:


An IQ test is supposed to measure one’s “intelligence quotient,” to provide a basic rating of how smart a person is. When we try to measure people in this way, we hope it will predict how well they will perform in either their profession or academic work. Of course we know that this doesn’t work very well. We can all think of examples of highly intelligent people who are less successful than those with “weaker” minds.

In the world of academics, studies have shown that a student’s habits of self discipline are far more likely to predict high grades than the score on an IQ test. Obviously the usefulness of the latter kind of testing is limited, but what is the alternative? On possibility is the “intelligence application,” or “IA test.”

The IA Test

The idea here is not to measure how well you can use your brain on “paper problems.” This measuring of “brain potential” is what the IQ test is about. An IA score would be a rating of how well you actually apply your intelligence in your life. As far as I know, nobody has yet developed a systematic test of this sort. What would it consist of, then?

Most likely it would start with a standard IQ test of some sort. That measure of “what you have” would then be used in conjunction with a measure of “what you do with it” to come up with an IA score. The first number (your IQ score) might be added to or subtracted from according to measures of “application.” But what would we use for these? There are many possibilities.

If we used income as an “intelligence application measure,” we might start with zero for an average income for that particular IQ level, and add or subtract points for being above or below that. This is based on the idea that being more intelligent should lead to a higher income if one is applying that intelligence well. We could divide IQ scores into ten levels, and for each, find the average income or create a scheme for what ones income “should be.” Then we could add a point for each level a person is above their “presumed” income, or subtract one for each level below.

Of course, this measure assumes that higher income is either an objective value, or at least a goal of the person being tested. That brings up the first serious problem with this new kind of test. Do we want to use an objective set of values against which to measure how well people apply their intelligence, or should we measure according to the person’s own stated goals? There are tough challenges with both approaches. The first requires some agreement on what is universally valuable. The second assumes that people really know what they value.

This is the problem with the all the possible measures. We can create measures of some sort to see how well a person does in relationships, health maintenance, creative output, and even happiness, but we cannot so easily say what the value of those things is, or how much the person being tested really desires those things. At first this problem of standards and measurements may make it seem that we cannot develop an intelligence application test. But we can choose a standard (or develop two tests). As for the measuring, we already do it.

If you’ve ever said about a person, “He doesn’t use what he’s got,” or “She’s so smart, but she doesn’t do anything with it,” you were measuring. You can’t say such things without having some idea of what a person could be doing better. These kinds of comments are a measuring of performance against that idea or standard. Granted it isn’t precise, but it acknowledges that such things are measured.

The IA test would simply make it more precise. A statistician will tell you that when things are difficult to measure, you don’t give up: You just measure more. For example, if all you have is flawed rulers to measure a door with, you don’t use one once. You can get closer to a true measurement by using them all several times and taking the average. If you are measuring the relative happiness of people in various groups, whether the groups are determined by country of residence or IQ level, you can to some extent overcome the flaws in measurement by making enough of them. When a group consistently scores higher after thousands are tested using many methods, the data becomes more accurate and useful.

At the level of the individual, then, we would also want to measure many things in many ways, because of the uncertainty of any one measurement. We might measure income, as noted, but then measure again according to what income the person thinks would be ideal. We could also adjust this for age. We might measure success in relationships in six different ways, and the application of intelligence to household chores in several ways. Using all of these various measures, we might arrive at a IA test which can assign a score that actually means something. Or maybe not.

Perhaps the idea of “intelligence application” is most useful not for developing a new test, but for pointing out how flawed some kinds of tests can be. I’ve seen the same man score 70 on one IQ test and 140 on another, and I know of a millionaire who can’t read. If after generations of these tests being used they cannot be more accurate or predictive than that, there may not be too much hope for an IA test either. Life itself is the real “IA test,” and perhaps for a long time to come the closest measurements we’ll get will be the intuitive ones that lead to the comments, “He sure knows how to use what he’s got,” or “She just isn’t living up to her potential.”



Rodney