Friday, August 18, 2006

The Sincerest Form of IQ Test

Shannon and I took IQ tests this week and I was skeptical of the results. I've taken IQ tests and psychological evaluations administered by phychologists with stop watches, puzzles, charts, ink blots, and square pegs and round holes with hundreds of questions. This puny online test was only 40 questions, none were timed and all were multiple choice. I doubted the test's abilities.

Shannon's score was very impressive, placing her well ahead of the pack as I had already expected, but the attached personality evalutation had an odd slant to it. It said she would be happiest as a mathematician or a physicist! What? She hates math; she's a people person and very relational. And the only questions she got wrong were the advanced math ones. Flattering but not too accurate.

Likewise, the test put my IQ just one notch above average even though I got all 40 questions correct. What more can you do? I didn't expect an Einstein-like 200 but I know I've scored higher than this in real life. So c'mon, I aced your little test! Give me some love!

My ego bruised slightly, I thought all of this confirmed the flaws in this puny test and so I was eager to see what my personality results would be! Afterall, what can they say about my strengths and weaknesses when I did equally well in all four categories of questions?!

What can they do? They can flatter.

Your mind's strengths allow you to think ahead of the game — to imagine or anticipate what should come next in just about any situation. … The timelessness of your vision and the balance between your various skills are what make you a Visionary Philosopher.

Uh, ok, that's more like it!
Great Jobs For You: Archaeologist, Detective, Psychologist, Sculptor, Architect, City planner, and Chief executive.
Some of Your Greatest Talents: You've got tons of strengths. It wouldn't surprise us if you: Think of the "big picture," Can anticipate and predict patterns, Are good at context clues, Can see similarities in seemingly disparate things.

And this went on and on for pages.

So like I was saying, this IQ test is a reliable and trustworthy evaluation of the finer points of one's intellect and…

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sure, when I'm smart it's a stupid test, BUT when you're smart it's as golden as scripture. NICE!