IQ tests work fine and are self-contained. I don't really get why people say they are very cultural. If the person has taken paper tests in any format and can read, the cultural overlap is sufficient for the person to process the self-contained logic problems. The test can't single out differences in attention span and whatnot (ie a genius warrior athlete might be unable to execute on an IQ test at a genius level), but assuming basic literacy requirements are fulfilled, the IQ test accurately reflects a very broad & relevant part of what intellect is. The ability of a person to abstract and resolve relationships in their head which are in-taken through written language.
I can say anecdotally that many I know with very high IQs I met thru Counter-Strike. At the high end of performance is a lot of crossover with analytical intelligence. So I would expect that warrior type ought to be able to perform well on the IQ test, even if true genius at rapid comprehension and reaction can't be tested very well that way. I guess that's what art, sports, commerce and military are for. But my personal experience comports with my instinct that a strong IQ reading indicates general competency at analytical tasks, which exist in everything to varying degrees, and at least
correlates with speed and "clarity" of thought.
I bet even Mike Tyson is a 120+ IQ, if you could ever get him to sit earnestly for the test. And boxing is so fast and instinctual. You can tell the lights are on in there, tho. He's not just a physical specimen.
The fact that brown people perform poorly as a cohort is a very inconvenient truth. It's no excuse for prejudice, as their distribution overlaps broadly with our own population, but it is definitely there and measurable and could/would/maybe should affect population level policy, which hurts to reckon with. It is too complex for most people to integrate a worldview around, without becoming hateful beings. And thus we move away from the test.
IQ is real, though, even if it is very much imperfect at assessing the
worth, or really any other quality but maybe...
intensity, of an intelligence. The fact that Whites factor in lower than other races is proof enough that IQ discrimination is no good. Heck perhaps a group of people who are too smart tends to fray apart into mutiny.
[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] High IQ doesn't mean "good", and I think this conflation is where the fear of the reading and ultimately its discreditation comes from.
And no, I am not in this camp because my ego is tied up in my IQ reading. Never been tested. I just don't get tying oneself in knots to say that the ability to resolve logic problems from writing is meaningless in assessing cognitive capacity, just because some of the implications don't jive with our sense of fairness in birth. Life ain't fair. That particular continent's situation in all history ain't coincidence. But everyone born any color in the 21st century does have a shot at exceptional contributional genius and life stability, however bad the average immediately around them, so I think it's fair 'nuff. Surprisingly fair, frankly. And so why discount IQ.