125 is still in the top 5% of the population. Anyway Feynman gave the results of a childhood IQ test, and one that was taken before IQ tests were standardized. Feynman reported being exceptionally good at puzzle solving and math even at a very young age, so I am very skeptical of that.
IQ definitely matters. The average IQ of physics majors is like 2 standard deviations above average for instance. Suggesting some fields are very selective of IQ and low IQ people are much less likely to be able to do them.
When there's an HN thread on IQ, you can count on two things:
1. There will be a number of comments saying IQ is outright meaningless.
2. There will be a comment saying Feynman only had an IQ of whatever it was.
Never fails.
Anyway, as I've said here before, Feynman's books are primarily collections of stories. What's presented in them was selected to maximize the impact and entertainment value of the story. And Feynman was very, very good at storytelling.
To be perfectly clear, I am not saying IQ scores are completely meaningless. I am saying they probably do not measure some sort of objective, DNA-based trait of "smarts". You cannot separate these scores from a very long list of environmental factors and I am very leery of the mental model we have that people who test well are some sort of innately superior beings rather than people who have benefited more than average from an accumulation of societal and parental investment of various sorts.
I am very leery of the power of IQ tests to justify entrenching The Haves and Have Nots. Our mental models have scary amounts of power to shape outcomes and this mental model seems to justify classism as a kind of manifest destiny.
One of the videos linked here in reply to me has some smart authority figure type asserting that university students all have IQs above average. That seems pretty well tautological to me. One would hope that those getting more schooling would do better on tests. But that fails to genuinely prove that what these tests measure is some fundamental personal trait unrelated to the fabric of your life experience.
I was homeless for nearly six years. A lot of people wanted to see me as stupid and incompetent during that time. Those classist perceptions helped deny me opportunities which helped keep me poor which helped deny me opportunities. I can never seem to get that across to well off people that their tautologies simply entrench class based outcomes and really say nothing about personal competence.
When we design a world that closes doors to people arbitrarily, we design a world that actively wastes human potential. This makes all of us the poorer.
I think you described this well. Doesn't really get brought up enough, perhaps because there is a bit of survivor's bias here and people don't have that perspective. After having failed numerous times at being a professional software developer, I found myself having to abandon my apartment and live out of my car while trying to get by. I've been out of work for a while, in part because of the stigma attached to being out of work a while. Being homeless also has a stigma attached to it that you simply do not see when you're doing well. Having grown up in a culture that actively embraces those stigmas, and now having returned to it — they are family—, I find it quite eye-opening how the people I once considered mentors have really isolated themselves in a bubble of not having to be conscious of these things.
I am trying to do some things to bring down those barriers. I was able to start making some earned income online while homeless. My lack of nice clothes or a recent shower did not matter. I am trying to foster that model as a thing that can help protect against sliding into homelessness, help you scrape by while on the street and be something that can help build a future that won't be taken away because you got better. Plus, it is not a homeless service, is open to anyone interested.
I was one of the top students of my graduating high school class. I got a lot of brainwashing that I was destined for greatness etc. It didn't go down that way. So I think these mental models are mostly propaganda and we need to guard against that.
You're welcome. That looks like a nice resource and I've bookmarked it. I think it'll help going forward as I figure out how to build an income remotely from a variety of sources. Thanks :)
Stop putting moral judgements on scientific facts. Either IQ measures intelligence or it doesn't. And there is an enormous amount of research supporting the former. And very little to support your assertion that it's "just schooling" or whatever. In fact there's mounting evidence that schooling affects outcomes a lot less than most people believe, e.g. http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/05/19/teachers-much-more-than...
Look, no one is saying your individual IQ test is the only thing that matters. There is random error on tests, and it's not like intelligence is the only thing that matters in a person. But if you go around denying that it exists at all, you are just spreading pseudoscience.
IQ definitely matters. The average IQ of physics majors is like 2 standard deviations above average for instance. Suggesting some fields are very selective of IQ and low IQ people are much less likely to be able to do them.