Eorl, the way you framed the fact that half of the people in the US have an IQ score that's below average, made me wonder if other countries and cultures are routinely subjected to standardized or IQ testing in public schools as the children in the US are. So, because the average IQ score in the US is between 100-110, I'm wondering if it's just an assumption that that is true around the world, and what percentage of the world's population has actually been tested at any time. Is it only from the developed countries that these scores have been taken? And as IQ tests are culturally sensitive - how can we know the results are accurate relative to a particular culture? Even in a developed country like the US a cultural bias within standardized testing is recognized to the point that it almost nullifies the results for some minority populations.
Doktor S. - 119 is really not that bad of a score. If you take into account standard deviation, which you have to do on a test such as this because an individual's score can change (plus or minus) five points from day to day and up to 10 points over the course of years, - a score of 115 would put the person in the high average range and a score of 124 (above 120) would put the person in the superior range.
But it is interesting how IQ and religious beliefs correlate negatively. There've been quite a few studies that have found that the higher the person's IQ is, the less religious they tend to be. And there's also a negative correlation between religious views and beliefs and performance on the SAT in American highschool students. They're not sure why - but I thought this was funny:
Quote:
http://www.answers.com/topic/religiosity-and-intelligence
Second, it's fair to wonder whether the low IQ/faith correlation - if real - is based on direct causation or something else. According to your comments, here are some of the top contenders for the "something else."
1. Smart people tend to have more resources. Therefore, God's quiet whisper to their soul is drowned out by the sound of their home theaters and BMW engines.
2. College professors are a bunch of atheists who consciously or unconsciously brainwash students to disavow their faith. So the more college you get, the more brainwashing you get.
3. Higher education teaches a rational way of looking at the world that is well suited for worldly decision-making but cripples the student for recognizing the subtlety of the divine.
4. And my favorite: People with high IQs are notoriously stupid when it comes to real world questions.
But that sucks that they fired that Sunday School Teacher who served them faithfully for 54 years. What kind of Christian attitude is that?
