The largest study to date on human intelligence demonstrates that intelligence can not be measured accurately by IQ tests alone. The test involved 100,000 people from around the world and 12 different mental tests.
Critics of IQ testing have long claimed that the tests are seriously flawed and fail to consider various components of human brain function and its distinct mental traits. For example, IQ testing attempts to measure intelligence quotient but does not take into account short term memory, reasoning ability and verbal ability – all of which are important aspects of intelligence.
Roger Highfield, director of external affairs at the Science Museum in London and co-author of the study published in the journal Neuron, was quoted in UK’s Independent News, “The results disprove once and for all the idea that a single measure of intelligence, such as IQ, is enough to capture all of the differences in cognitive ability that we see between people. Instead, several different circuits contribute to intelligence, each with its own unique capacity.”
Dr. Highfield added: “It has always seemed to be odd that we like to call the human brain the most complex known object in the Universe, yet many of us are still prepared to accept that we can measure brain function by doing a few so-called IQ tests.” The study appears to clearly debunk that generally held position. It is simply wrong.
Virginia Buchanan is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio. She has served on the Board of Directions of the Florida Bar Foundation and has been Treasurer of ABOTA, Chairperson of the Civil Process Server Grievance Committee and has been a member of the Chief Judge’s Council on Children. She currently is a member of the Women’s Caucus of the Florida Justice Association.
