For those of you away from these shores...

The Beeb took over the Saturday evening schedule to run a Test Your IQ programme. They invited the public to take part online (95,000 managed to test their IQs online - I couldn't get through. Spot the irony anyone). The rest of us wrote our answers on a bit of paper, but couldn't mark our own as our partner - the cow - wouldn't let one. To do with transparency, you understand, no mention of possible cheating of course...

Anyway, althoug it was dressed up as an 'entertainment', with Anne Robinson and Phillip Schofield (sp?)comparing, I have to say the test was bliddy challenging.

There were 70 questions, ranging from language, maths, memory, shapes, so on and so on. There was then a pretty complicated structure to work out your IQ from the number of answers you got correct - it's to do with your age apparently.

Anyway, modesty prevents me from revealing my score. After all, I'm sure most people have an IQ of 135 - oh Buggar!

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Answers

I would have been impressed had my Mum not beaten me... 148 she got.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

I'm just glad I beat wor lass altho we both got the same number of questions right/wrong.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

I caught some of it, but we had had friends round and I'd been drinking solidly since midday, so my answers where a bit befuddled, especially on the maths. I remember the language ones being quite easy though. I'm sure I got them all right. Hic. :-P

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

So where do we (foreigners and exiles) find the questions - any website?

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Results : Men 111 Women 104

Leicester - 119
Liverpool - 114
Southampton - 113
Aberdeen - 111
Plymouth - 110
Leeds - 109
London - 109
Bristol - 108
Manchester - 108
Brighton - 108
Glasgow - 107
Newcastle - 107
Birmingham - 106
Norwich - 104
Aberystwyth - 104
Londonderry - 102


-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Injuns 'n cowboys?

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

http://www.bbc.co.uk/testthenation/ to do this yrself - so far fans of WBA are the most intelligent footie fans!

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Yes...the test remains online at that address for something like the next two weeks. Think it's still a downloadable program which is timed as it was on the night - so you can't cheat!

But not sure having a high, average or low IQ actually means anything at the end of the day.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

.......apart from being able to come on here and boast that you've got an IQ of 135, that is! ;o{)

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

I tried to do the test on-line. With 5 minutes to go on the TV before the start of the quiz my pc was counting down and at 15 minutes. When it got to 0 I was asked 2 questions then it said thanks for doing the quiz and stay online so my answers could be marked. I ran downstairs and joined the rest of the family doing the quiz at Q16. I managed to corectly answer Q's 1 to 14 when they asked them again before giving the answers.

I emailed and complained about the online quiz and got a nice apology. Lots of people had the same problem.

BTW 136!

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

I know that this was meant as a bit of fun, but there are some disturbing issues associated with IQ tests. IQ testing is a primitive, oversimplistic and flawed analysis. IQ gaps exist between dominant and subordinate groups in any society. There is an IQ gap between blacks and whites in America, natives and Koreans in Japan, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in Israel, and Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. When economic conditions improve for the subordinated groups, the gaps close.

It doesn't take much examination of `the concept behind IQ tests ' to conclude that they are merely the latest installment in over a century of prejudice transformed into faulty social science. Unfortunately, all of the academic energy devoted to debunking IQ tests will not reach nearly as many people as the tests themselves do.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

I agree with you Nick. IQ can only measure that part of intelligence which is actually measurable, part of what we call intelligence isn't. Furthermore, there are vast reams of research which show how culturally biased IQ tests are.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

You're right Nick I was 135 as well - it must have been a fix.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

That's right everyone. For the first time in my life I thought I was bright and along you all come and piss on my bonfire.;-)

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Is it the IQ test up on a website anywhere?

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

See earlier up the thread!

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

126, but the 16-19 age group only goes up to 138, so as an index score it's pretty high.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Sorry......came back to this thread without reading the new posts. Hmm....maybe I should just give the IQ test a miss! (;o)

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2002

Times letters page today:

British intelligence

From Mr Antony Wynn Sir, How did the BBC get all the builders to turn up on time for the IQ test?

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2002