i.q.: five things you may not know

What is an IQ?

A person’s I.Q., or intelligence quotient, is determined during the administration of a standardized test. These tests may include a verbal portion (including word definitions and explaining similarities), a nonverbal portion (including recognizing patterns and manipulating geometric forms to make new shapes), a test of memory (which involves remembering and manipulating visual and/or verbal information), and a test of processing speed (which involves rapidly finding and/or writing down symbols).

Some well-known tests include the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, the Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the Differential Ability Scales (DAS), the Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI), the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT), and the Leiter International Performance Scale.

Here are five things you may not know about IQs:

1. The tests are not standardized on all populations. For example, a test with a verbal component may not have bilinguals or speakers of other languages included in their normative samples. A person with vision or motor difficulties may not be able to see or participate in parts of the test. These people cannot take IQ tests and be reasonably expected to obtain a valid score.

2. A person may not do well because they are tired, hungry, distracted, pissed off or otherwise bored. Sometimes, believe it or not, people deliberately answer items incorrectly because it’s fun to mess with the examiner.

3. You can study and train to take IQ tests and inflate your score.

4. If there is a large difference between scores on different sections of the IQ test, you cannot get an accurate overall IQ score.

5. A person’s IQ does not determine their value as a human being. IQ is a measure of discrete cognitive skills (specifically verbal-linguistic and visual-spatial skills) and does not include reference to other types of intelligence, such as interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, or kinesthetic intelligence. It does not measure things like empathy or kindness. It is a way to quantify a small part of what makes a person who they are, assuming you get a number that accurately reflects that part of the person in the first place.

IQs are one of those things that get thrown around a lot in conversation. In case you’ve ever wondered what exactly is being discussed, now you know.

Please treat everyone like a human being and not like a number.

we are apollo 13

I woke up thinking about space flight.

It’s about 1 AM, and rather than sleeping, I am thinking about the Apollo 13 mission. Originally intended to fly to and land on the Moon, it never made it. It’s ancient history at this point—it happened in the last century. Why wake up thinking about it when it’s already over and done with and everyone made it back safely and got to be characters in a Ron Howard film?

Because, my friends, it’s a metaphor, and we are all on that rocket.

Can you imagine if Houston’s response to being told there’s a problem was to say, “Carry on, or we’ll never make it to the Moon”?

Leadership is not just about vision—it’s about responding to conditions as they occur. It’s about seeking feedback from the people who are living the experience of the decisions that are being made; ultimately, those are the people who can tell you whether or not the theoretical calculations and planning can be safely carried out in the real world. They are the ones who will live or die. It is irresponsible, reckless, and otherwise stupid not to seek out input from those on board and to adjust accordingly. Houston’s job is to assist, not to insist. Houston’s job is to listen.

There is a tendency these days, if listening does actually occur, to stick to the input of the engineers and theoreticians only rather than to listen to the astronauts flying the damned thing. God forbid, sometimes we only listen to the “gut” of some guy who insists he has expertise on all of it, despite never having flown or studied spacecraft. It’s easier. It’s autopilot. It’s nice and neat and everyone at Mission Control gets out in time to make it home for supper.

It’s also a recipe for disaster.

Houston, when we have a problem, we here on board need creativity, your ability to think critically, and an understanding of what tools are available to us—it is easier to be clearheaded when you’re not in immediate danger. What we don’t need is distance, detachment, and insistence on an unattainable goal at the cost of human lives.

I’d like for all of us to make it home in one piece.