[lbo-talk] Sam Smith on Doug Henwood

[Miles Jackson]

B. wrote:
> Miles,
> 
> So your reference prevails over other theories that a
> unipolar, numerical score is a great predictor of
> "success" )in what field -- adolescents in academia,
> the white collar world as it's now structured, etc.?)
> Like I said, I've never met anyone personally who
> claims to have any IQ lower than 140. That includes my
> deadbeat dad. Someone's lying somewhere.

It's not one reference; it's a meta-analysis of many studies.  Moreover, 
there are multiple meta-analyses--about 100 studies total--that all lead 
to the same conclusion: the higher your IQ, the better your job 
performance in most "white collar" jobs.  This research is not rocket 
science: you just give a diverse group of people an IQ test, gather 
relevant job evaluation data for the same people, and calculate the 
correlation between IQ and job performance.  For most white-collar jobs, 
the correlation is around r = .50.

Again, this is not evidence that IQ is a measure of general mental 
ability; I'm presenting these data as someone who agrees with Gould's 
critique of intelligence testing.  But they are valid scientific data!

Miles