Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by DarkWiiPlayer 2031 days ago
> Though I find that many Raven's progressive matrices-type questions are a lot easier if you know about symmetry groups and XOR.

Yes, at that point people who have already developed certain mindware have an advantage, but arguably that's the point of an IQ test. You're not testing the potential of a person to eventually be really smart, you're testing for the current problem-solving potential.
1 comments
sudosysgen 2031 days ago
Well, it is problem, because the assumption is that you're measuring a proxy for g that supposedly doesn't change. So if it can change, by something as simple as learning some boolean algebra, the IQ test isn't measuring what it is assumed to be measuring.

That being said, you're right that it would still be useful for measuring problem solving potential, but that's explicitly not what IQ tests are supposed to measure.

link
andromeduck 2031 days ago
??? who assumes g can't change?
link
sudosysgen 2031 days ago
It's generally accepted in psychometrics that general intelligence does not change in adulthood : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3950413/

I personally think it's not something that's really true, but it's how I learned it in university and seems to be the default position of experts in the field.

This is of course assuming no traumatic brain injuries or the use of psychoactive substances.

link