IRC, no substantial difference was found in the standard deviations among races
Even a small difference translates into enormous ratio between numbers of people, several standard deviations from the mean...
Isn’t IQ defined to be a Gaussian
Yes, and it is defined to have specific standard deviation as well. That definition makes it unsuitable measure. The Gaussian distribution also arises from sum of multiple independent variables. The statement was about intelligence though, which is different thing from both “what IQ tests measure” and “how IQ is defined”.
Another huge failing of IQ is the non-measure of ability to build and use a huge search-able database of methods and facts. Building such database is a long-term memory task and can not be tested in short time span; the existing knowledge can’t be tested without massive influence by the background. Likewise, the IQ test lacks any problems that are actually difficult enough to have some solution methods that some people would know before the test, and some won’t.
Effectively, the IQ tests do not test for heavily parallel processing capability.
For example, I do believe that it would be possible to build ‘superhuman AI’ that runs on a cellphone and aces IQ tests, and could perhaps deceive a human in brief conversation. The same AI would never be able to invent a stone axe from scratch, let alone anything more complicated; it’d be nothing but a glorified calculator.
I want to use ‘use of “use of skin colour as evidence” as evidence’ as evidence, but I’m not sure what that’s evidence for. :-)
Well, the people who use skin colour as evidence, i would guess, are on average less well behaved than rest of society… so you can use it to guess someone’s criminality or other untrustworthiness.
Likewise, the IQ test lacks any problems that are actually difficult enough to have some solution methods that some people would know before the test, and some won’t.
Indeed, when I last took a few IQ tests I felt like I was being tested tested more for familiarity with concepts such as exclusiveOR, cyclical permutations, and similar basic discrete maths stuff than for processing power. (Of course, it does take insight to realize that such concepts are relevant to the questions and processing power to figure out the answer within the time frame of the test, but I think that if I had never heard about XOR or used Sarrus’ rule I would have scored much worse.)
ETA: This is also why I suspect that the correlations between race and IQ aren’t entirely genetic. If Einstein’s twin brother had grown up in a very poor region with no education...
Even a small difference translates into enormous ratio between numbers of people, several standard deviations from the mean...
A distribution with mean 100 and st. dev. 14 will exceed one with mean 90 and st. dev. 16 for all x between about 93 and about 170, and there aren’t that many people with IQs over 170 anyway.
But can we detect such a tiny difference as between std dev 14 and std dev 16 ? After we have to control for really many factors that are different between groups in question?
Also, that was my point, at the level of very high (one in million) intelligence, i.e. actual geniuses, the people you’d call genius without having to detect them using some test. I have a pet hypothesis about the last biological change which caused our technological progress. Little mixing with Neanderthals, raising the standard deviation somewhat.
The IQ test I think get useless past some point, when the IQ test savants that solve it at such level (but can’t learn very well for example, or can’t do problems well that require more of parallel processing), start to outnumber geniuses.
Well, the people who use skin colour as evidence, i would guess, are on average less well behaved than rest of society… so you can use it to guess someone’s criminality or other untrustworthiness.
You have the neonazis among those who use skin colour as evidence of criminality, but not among those who don’t. I don’t know of other differences that were demonstrated, my expectation for other effects is zero. I should expect the overall effect on order of at least the proportion of race motivated violence to overall violence; my expectation is somewhat higher than this though because I would guess that the near-neonazis are likewise more violent, including within-race crime.
Even a small difference translates into enormous ratio between numbers of people, several standard deviations from the mean...
Yes, and it is defined to have specific standard deviation as well. That definition makes it unsuitable measure. The Gaussian distribution also arises from sum of multiple independent variables. The statement was about intelligence though, which is different thing from both “what IQ tests measure” and “how IQ is defined”.
Another huge failing of IQ is the non-measure of ability to build and use a huge search-able database of methods and facts. Building such database is a long-term memory task and can not be tested in short time span; the existing knowledge can’t be tested without massive influence by the background. Likewise, the IQ test lacks any problems that are actually difficult enough to have some solution methods that some people would know before the test, and some won’t.
Effectively, the IQ tests do not test for heavily parallel processing capability.
For example, I do believe that it would be possible to build ‘superhuman AI’ that runs on a cellphone and aces IQ tests, and could perhaps deceive a human in brief conversation. The same AI would never be able to invent a stone axe from scratch, let alone anything more complicated; it’d be nothing but a glorified calculator.
Well, the people who use skin colour as evidence, i would guess, are on average less well behaved than rest of society… so you can use it to guess someone’s criminality or other untrustworthiness.
Indeed, when I last took a few IQ tests I felt like I was being tested tested more for familiarity with concepts such as exclusiveOR, cyclical permutations, and similar basic discrete maths stuff than for processing power. (Of course, it does take insight to realize that such concepts are relevant to the questions and processing power to figure out the answer within the time frame of the test, but I think that if I had never heard about XOR or used Sarrus’ rule I would have scored much worse.)
ETA: This is also why I suspect that the correlations between race and IQ aren’t entirely genetic. If Einstein’s twin brother had grown up in a very poor region with no education...
A distribution with mean 100 and st. dev. 14 will exceed one with mean 90 and st. dev. 16 for all x between about 93 and about 170, and there aren’t that many people with IQs over 170 anyway.
But can we detect such a tiny difference as between std dev 14 and std dev 16 ? After we have to control for really many factors that are different between groups in question?
Also, that was my point, at the level of very high (one in million) intelligence, i.e. actual geniuses, the people you’d call genius without having to detect them using some test. I have a pet hypothesis about the last biological change which caused our technological progress. Little mixing with Neanderthals, raising the standard deviation somewhat.
The IQ test I think get useless past some point, when the IQ test savants that solve it at such level (but can’t learn very well for example, or can’t do problems well that require more of parallel processing), start to outnumber geniuses.
What sort of effect size do you expect here? Why?
You have the neonazis among those who use skin colour as evidence of criminality, but not among those who don’t. I don’t know of other differences that were demonstrated, my expectation for other effects is zero. I should expect the overall effect on order of at least the proportion of race motivated violence to overall violence; my expectation is somewhat higher than this though because I would guess that the near-neonazis are likewise more violent, including within-race crime.