Any message I get that may be of general interest to visitors to the SQ web site is added to this section, along with my reply. This preserves the dialogue as a sort of FAQ (frequently asked questions). The period covered: below is from Nov. 2004 to March 31, 2006. Click for 1/1/02 to 10/31/04 Q and A or earlier. Click for Q and A from April 1, 2006 and later.

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Comments to: VanSloan@yahoo.com Information on Van Sloan http://SQ.4mg.com/vansloan.htm

Have you accounted for all the statistical variables involved in such an analysis? Your graph works like the electoral college where an entire state is considered either a Kerry state or a Bush state. Within a particular state, how many voters actually voted for each candidate? Does one Kerry state represent twice or half the voters as a Bush state rated at the same IQ? Are all the states equal in the relationship between the IQ of voters and takers of the SAT, or has the relationship between IQs of voters and takers of the SAT even been established in a general sense? I could go on and on of course. This whole exercise seems like nothing more than a silly game that unfortunately will be used by ignorant people as if it really means something.

Dan Billingsley , Director of Software Development, LandArc, Inc.

Sloan replies: Dan, my state IQ estimates are based on real test data, unlike some popular but inaccurate IQ's later shown to be a hoax. To date, my state IQ estimates remain the best available. They offer a much better starting point for discussion than guesses or the hoax data. Among others, the state of South Carolina does not consider this a "silly game." The state now takes very seriously its bottom ranked IQ and test scores, pushing for improvements in public education. Contributors to my website have dealt with a number of the questions you raise, such as Weighting state IQ results by population. It is one of several pages listed under "Real data on states' IQ, income, and voting" in my website's Site Outline.

Hi Van Sloan,

Just a heads up on the origins of American Indians; North East Siberia is out, Central Asia is in. Currently, the scientific mainstream is looking at the Turkic speaking peoples of the Altai Mountains as the nearest relatives of Native Americans (NA) in the Old World. (Zegura et al, 2004) The NA female lineages are mostly East Asian (A, B, C & D). Only one NA founding female lineage (X or Xenia) originated in the Caucus Mountains. Central Eurasia or Turkistan is recognized as the origin of three big migration events. 1. The migration of the male (Y Chromosome) R lineage into Europe. ~80% of European males belong to the R lineage. 2. The migration of male Q lineage to America ~80% of NA males belong to Q lineage. 3. Migration to Indian subcontinent. Anyway, it might make more sense to compare IQ of Native American and Central Asians.

P.S. Genealogicaly, R and Q are close relatives. European and Native American males share the M45 mutation not found in the main East Asian male lineage groups.

Regards

Doug Forbes

source:The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity - R. Spencer Wells

Sloan replies: Doug, thanks for the new information. It is supported by comparing average IQ's of Native Americans and US Latinos (92- 90 IQ) to average IQ in Turkey (90) or Mexico (87). USA average IQ is 98, using a worldwide scale. IQ data for central Asian countries is spotty. In http://rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/t4.asp , Lynn just estimates IQ for countries like Turkmenistan (IQ 87) by averaging IQ in neighboring countries (Turkey 90, Iran 84). Even if we had good central Asian IQ scores, I think using population-adjusted SAT scores is a better basis for estimating Native American IQ's. The small number of Asians who crossed into Alaska and their history means that today's correspondence with Turkish IQ's may be just fortuitous.

Hi, Sloan

I just read through several emails you had posted and found that a few
people had asked about converting  IQ SAT scores for a child to that
of adult and that there is no method to do so.  Tens of thousands of
7th graders take the SAT every year through talent searches, such as
Duke TIP;  they have been doing so since early 80's, I believe.  There
should be plenty of data by now to make some judgments about these
kids' IQs and I am surprised that no one has.  Seems like great
research possibility for someone who's interested in IQ!
My son, who is 13 and in 7th grade, just took the SAT.  He scored
690M, 610CR, and 650W (this is the new writing section as of 2005). 
His combined score using the pre-2005 SAT sections is 1300, which
would give him an IQ of about 130 for an adult.  It would be helpful
if there was a conversion method to convert it for a 13 year-old,
especially since we wouldn't have to pay more money and spend more
time on taking more IQ tests.

Liza

Jill Journey
Resource Room

Sloan replies: Jill, twins who are not identical are only slightly more likely to have similar IQ's than ordinary brothers and sisters. My webpage http://SQ.4mg.com/IQgenetics.htm shows that the IQ's of fraternal twins reared together (like your case) correlate only 55%. Identical twins' IQ correlate 86% while ordinary siblings 47%. Thus it is not surprising that the twins you mention have such different IQ's.

Hi Mr. Sloan,

I read with great interest your material on converting SAT scores to IQ
scores.  I have a question about the way President Bush's IQ score was
determined.  I had read that SAT scores were recentered after 1994. 
Therefore if your chart represents current SAT scores, wouldn't you
convert President Bush's score of 1206 (probably taken in 1963 or
thereabouts) by adding 74 points to make it 1280?  Instead of his 
having an IQ of 124, his would be 129/130 on your chart. I know you are 
probably busy but I would appreciate a response to my query.  
Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,  Anita Sunseri

Sloan replies: Anita, the information on Bush and Gore below the SAT-IQ conversion chart shows that independent IQ results fit with their known SAT scores. These match ups show that the chart is relatively accurate for scores before re-centering. I do not have data to test its accuracy after re-centering. As noted, the chart is taken with permission from another website.

Dear Sir,

Is the Verbal Comprehension Index score the best predictor of IQ of the 4 WAIS-III index scores of SAT score? I ask this because I have a substantial degree of scatter in my WAIS scores, with an overall IQ of 134. Another friend of mine has a very high verbal IQ (>150), but his GRE (1580) is more associated with his verbal IQ than his performance IQ. Of course, the example of 2 data points does not make a thesis by any means, but it seems to me that, at least when comparing the Wechsler (WAIS-III) with the SAT the strongest correlation would be with Verbal IQ or the Verbal Comprehension Index.

Thanks, Justin Loe

WHERE CAN I GO TO HAVE MY DAUGHTER IQ TEST TAKEN?
hOW CAN I MAKE HER I Q HIGHER?

Sloan replies: Libra, you don't indicate the age of your daughter. A counselor or administrator at her school ought to be able to suggest age appropriate IQ tests available locally. If your daughter is over fifteen, she could take one of the three tests recommended in my http://SQ.4mg.com/IQtests.htm webpage. That page opposes relying on Online IQ tests. Unfortunately making your daughter's IQ higher is an unrealistic goal; IQ's are largely fixed after age 5. But with coaching at places like Kaplan and Princeton Review, one can practice how to score higher in IQ type tests.

Sloan replies: You might find my Male and Female popularity tests useful: http://SQ.4mg.com/j_male.htm and http://SQ.4mg.com/j_female.htm They have the disadvantage of all self-administered tests (slanting answers to make oneself look good). But unlike other tests, they do show which traits that others have considered useful in persons with high social skills.

Your finding are very interesting. While the results are disappointing I was wondering if you check all options for your data. Most African American/Black communities are in fact poverty stricken, your correlations could be off, I believe the result of bad parenting skills and self fulfilling prophecies may play a stronger roll. It could also be that many schools in the black community are technology disadvantaged or that the best educators surely won't be found in any inner city of any country, I am a research student and a mother of three black children who are all on the honor roll at predominantly white schools, I could assure you that my nor any of my children's IQ will be an 80. Though I am not offended by your findings, but to make the generalization that all blacks are basically stupid is ignorant. I am top in my class well above many white and Asian students. Tell me sir does environment play a role or are you saying that blacks being so blatantly stupid is 100% genetics? If so what are my and my children's exceptions. I would just like to also point out that I am not defending the whole race of blacks, because the negative image that I am constantly trying to defend upsets me. I also don't want my children looked at as stupid ignorant people as many in my race are in fact viewed, am I wrong to assume that you are of European descent? I believe the world would be much easier if we focused on class rather than race, but then again blacks would still be at the bottom percent, but it would make me feel a lot better, because I wouldn't be at that bottom any more. Please respond.

Sloan replies: Dontre, your email expresses concerns that many people have. The biggest, which I share, is the misperception that "all blacks are basically stupid" just because average black IQ is low compared to other races. But a low average still includes many blacks with high intelligence, like you and your children. Another common point of view, but one which research does not validate, is that if all children had similarly good environments, their average IQ's would be similar. Long term achievement from programs like Head Start have been ephemeral (http://SQ.4mg.com/HeadStart.htm). The several studies of identical twins raised separately show clearly that IQ is mainly genetic (http://SQ.4mg.com/IQgenetics.htm). The only environmental factor that has been proven to harm IQ is very poor nutrition, seen primarily in some African countries. Poverty in places like Vietnam is harsher than in the US, but their children usually do better in school tests than blacks and many whites. In an effort to enhance the self-esteem of Blacks and Latinos, many US officials ignore these research findings. They promote the false hope that minority IQ scores would rise if only they had equivalent environments. As a result, the expectations on urban school district leaders are unrealistic. Superintendents are fired, new programs are tried, but the racial results in scholastic testing remain stubbornly the same. My website presents the generally accepted research about IQ's. It also emphasizes that skills other than IQ (like getting along with others and ambition) are at least as important to success as IQ (http://SQ.4mg.com/r_iq_ei.htm). If schools and employers would focus more on these important non-IQ skills, there would be more Colin Powells in leadership positions.

Dear Mr. Van Sloan:

I have learned that you are an expert on the subject of IQ.

Recently ( few years ), I have begun to think about IQ and read about  
the subject. I have wondered what my IQ was when I was in college.  
Unfortunately, when I was that young, I never had the interest to  
actually discover the answer so today about forty years later I am  
trying to use indirect methods to obtain the answer. What I have  
found is that experts are few and far between and so far seem  
uninterested to help with my query. What would seem to me to be a  
simple matrix solution ( score = IQ matrix ) is met with "don't know"  
or silence.

Here is my questions with some background:

NUMBER 1 GRE Examinations) I took the GRE exams in the Winter of 1963  
when I was 21 years of age. I wonder what my IQ was at that time. My  
recollections show that when I was 7 I was tested during 2nd grade in  
elementary school and on the written IQ short test given to all  
classmates my score was 144. A few weeks later a woman came to the  
school and gave me a quite long examination face to face and the  
score was 163. ( I found the scores hidden in my mother's bureau at  
the time and recall the scores for some reason, probably because  
there was so much excitement and secrecy in my family concerning the  
episode. ) Over the years, I was tested a number of times but never  
was told the scores. I don't recall my SAT scores except they were  
quite high and I got a scholarship to college because of them. (The  
low score was in Physics at 650 which I remember because 1) I had not  
yet taken a course in Physics ( I read Harvey White's Continental  
Classroom Physics text the month or so before taking the SAT exams  
Spring 1958 ); 2) I failed to notice the last section of the exam  
( as did others I found out ) because of a blank page separating the  
last section from the rest; and 3) I needed the physics score to take  
from Carnegie Tech during my senior year in high school the  
Electrical Engineering course Circuits 1.

As to the GRE battery, my scores on the GRE exams were: Verbal 800,  
Math 800 and Biology 960 of 970. I never went to Graduate school but  
instead went to Medical School at an Ivy League University.

Could you estimate my IQ when I was 21 given my GRE exam scores  
Verbal 800, Math 800 and Biology 960 of 970?

If you can not, could you refer me to some one who possibly could?

BTW, the educational testing service has been of no help to me on  
this subject.

NUMBER 2 Navy Pilot Candidate Aptitude Testing) Given that you  
possibly are an expert on Navy Pilot Candidate Aptitude Testing, I  
would like to ask you a question on a Navy Pilot Aptitude test from  
1959-1960 which you may be able to answer.

I was 17 years old at the time I took the test and remember this  
about the test:

There were two tests in the Battery. The first was a test of visual / 
spatial aptitude using views from a cockpit. I don't recall the  
number of questions. I don't recall my score but I was told that I  
did quite well.

The second was, I believe, an IQ test that had no written questions.  
It was entirely visual. An illustration was presented and then four  
or five other illustrations were presented. One had to pick out the  
most closely related one from that group that matched the original  
illustration. There were 116 questions in the test.

My question to you is: can you give me the actual or estimate the IQ  
of me age 17 as I scored a perfect 116 of 116 on that (presumed)  
visual IQ test?

Again, if  you can not, could you refer me to some one who possibly  
could?   Thanks for your help.

Sloan replies: John, check out http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/GREIQ.html Yours is the first case where I have seen independent confirmation of that chart's accuracy on GRE to IQ conversion. Of all the data you present, your one-on-one 163 IQ score when you were seven is likely to be the most accurate. Cc rodrigo_de_la_jara_2002@hotmail.com

As an African American scholar, I find your website offensive. Have you tested every African American in the US, or every African for that matter? What about the argument that the Western tests are written for the caucasian individual? I do not agree with your statistics that Blacks, in general, have a lower IQ than the rest of the world.

Your work only further perpetuates racial prejudice. Good job.

My IQ score, depending on which IQ test I take, ranges from 122 to 127. I scored a 1030 on my SAT's. According to your graphs, my scores are not normal. Why is my SAT score low when my IQ score is pretty high?

Sloan replies: See my webpage http://SQ.4mg.com/IQtests.htm on the unreliability of online IQ tests. SAT scores are more likely to reflect an individual's actual IQ.

Sloan replies: Stelcha, my page on recent US Presidents (http://SQ.4mg.com/Presidents.htm) may help clarify my website's viewpoint on success qualities. Rather than a very high IQ or ambition, it is more important for success that individuals have at least average competence in all areas, including morals. IQ mostly determines the types of careers open to an individual (like getting into medical school). Within a job type, success seems to depend on an individual's social skills and ambition.

Sloan replies: Andy, perhaps you have not seen my webpage where top Stanford and Harvard psychologists state that SAT tests really measure IQ. SAT prep classes focus on test taking skills and motivation, which you say you lacked in high school. A lackadaisical attitude while taking any kind of test can produce a score that is lower than that individual's potential.

A very informative page though! EW, Yale Univerisity

Sloan replies: EW, the differences in IQ among various ethnic groups are well documented. For Malaysia, it would be more useful to compare IQ's of Chinese in Malaysia vs Chinese in Singapore. That would be the closest comparison to the apparent drop in Japanese IQ in the US, where word characters are also not taught. Did you click through to the latest research on IQ and character learning at my http://sq.4mg.com/SpatialIQ.htm ?

Please, critically asses the structure of the Nigerian economy and see which sector of the economy enhances national development and why. I will be happy to hear from you soon. Thanks.

Sloan replies: Matthews, I am not an expert on African economies. But I do think that a chart prepared by a colleague (at http://SQ.4mg.com/corrupt.htm) shows important facts on Nigeria that hurt it's economic potential: (1) one of the most corrupt societies in the world, and (2) an average IQ of 67, low by world standards. These likely depress Nigerian per person income to $875 - very low for a major oil producing nation.

Cc Ted at parhat@yahoo.com See Ted's detailed response at http://SQ.4mg.com/Nigeria.htm

Good afternoon, I accessed this page online today: http://www.sq.4mg.com/corrupt.htm I was quite surprised by the average IQ score in Ireland of 93. We are an average family living in Ireland. We had 4 children, all of whom have IQ scores way above the average IQ score of 93. Best wishes, Imelda

Sloan replies: Imelda, on my same page you cited, you probably aren't complaining about Ireland's personal income of $30,500 vs $25,700 in Britain! Usually higher IQ's go with higher incomes (for nations as well as individuals). Thus the reverse for Ireland-Britain is unusual, especially with Britain's income windfall from North Sea oil. You may want to check the IQ data sources from Professor Lynn (at http://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/7-a1.htm).

Van, I was not aware of the Economist hoax or retraction. I came to your site after doing a search on average SAT scores. I am a mathematician and I suppose you are aware that your simple red/blue charts based on your own numbers still strongly support a "democrats are smarter" assertion. Anyone can see this just by the most casual glance at the chart.

Your whole site is set up to suggest that SAT and ACT scores are near-perfect IQ indicators. But these tests are not IQ tests and are not meant to be. They study math and verbal skills, not raw intelligence. This is one of the big reasons that blacks have always had a problem with them, especially when they are misused as they are here. If they are used to show that blacks are not as prepared for college level work as whites, they make a fairly strong case. If they are used to show that blacks are 15 points stupider than whites, they are misused. You may answer that most blacks never take an IQ test, therefore if we want data we have to use the tests we have. That is true. I have no problem with you running the numbers you run. But you should certainly mention prominently that the SAT is not an IQ test, and that the SAT to IQ translation is very imprecise. It is unscientific in several ways. IQ tests have been scoured since the beginning to remove bias and background differentiation. Even so they are very imperfect in this. Most still have questions that ask the meaning of words--a question of knowledge, not intelligence. But college entrance exams are almost all questions of knowledge. They test what you have been in contact with and how much you remember. Beyond this, they have been scoured for racial and gender bias only recently. They are still changing dramatically, as we have seen with the addition of new sections this year.

As far as the gallup poll is concerned, the first order of business would be to try to understand why there was such huge variation in that poll and the similar CNN poll. The CNN poll strongly suggests that postgraduates (the smartest people) are much more likely to vote Dem. The Gallup poll also suggests this, though less strongly. The Gallup poll appears to have already been finessed by Republicans, since the way it is set up generates a Bush spin. We are asked to concentrate on how Bush improved from 2000 to 2004, which is another question altogether (maybe everyone got stupider in those four years?).

Your website is very hard on blacks, and you will say that it is only because the statistics are hard on them. Maybe. But then I can turn the tables on you and ask for the non-black statistics in each party. I ask the question, "Are white democrats smarter than white republicans?" You know the answer.

Miles (IQ 172)

Sloan replies: Miles, your comments show you did not see my page quoting top Harvard and Stanford professors that SAT tests are indeed "thinly disguised intelligence tests." I have now added such a link. It bothers me that otherwise smart people like yourself tend to ignore or minimize well-documented facts that conflict with their beliefs. That would not be acceptable in mathematics or the hard sciences. But it is all to common a practice in the social "sciences." On the role of IQ, Blacks, and CNN polls in the 2004 elections, I think the truest analysis was done by a viewer, and I added it to this site. That viewer showed not only intelligence in putting facts together, he also showed racial sensitivity and the courage to be politically incorrect while pursuing the issue honestly:

I took an IQ test and scored a 122. The test results stated that I'm an insightful linguist. What percentage, in the american population, do I sit in? I don't know much about these tests and what a good or an average score is. thank you for your time.

Sloan replies: George, be wary of online IQ test results. My http://SQ.4mg.com/IQtests.htm page explains how the average on scores from such tests is above what is realistic.

Hi! I would like to ask you a question. I know that the spatial IQ is something very different from the math IQ. Does the performance test (the visuospatial test) really predict the success in the engineering or in the medical science? There is one reason for me to ask this. There is no relationship as far as I can see between the shapes of the 3 dimensioned objects and chemistry/biology. There is nothing to be visualized. Deniz

Sloan replies: Deniz, spatial skills have a great deal to do with success in science. Let me give two examples from personal experience. The one course I failed at Princeton was Engineering Drawing, largely because I could not easily visualize how objects in blueprint drawings would look in alternate perspectives. At Stanford I attended a lecture by Nobel prize chemist Linus Pauling in which he demonstrated molecular forms by twisting a piece of paper into a spiral. His spatial thinking however was not quite as good as that of Watson and Crick, who conceived of the correct spiral double helix form for DNA. Pauling had been working on an alternate spatial explanation of DNA. Today, understanding the shape of viruses is key to developing drugs that will fit and lock out those harmful viruses. These talents are key in science, and males seem to have an edge with spatial thinking.

Deniz responds: Thanks for your response but I wonder something. Does the spatial test also include science reasoning or is it only about the shapes of the 3-D objects?

Sloan replies again: Deniz, spatial tests would primarily involve 2 and 3 dimensional reasoning, but they are not often given separately. Normally math and spatial abilities are lumped together, as in sections of the SAT or ACT tests. The new SAT, with its emphasis on following school courses, may come to involve some science reasoning questions. On spatial IQ, I came across this recent article which may be of interest. For one thing, it indicates that IQ may develop beyond age 5, contrary to what many researchers had thought.

Hello. I teach emotionally disturbed high school students. I want to 
begin researching job options now so they each have a part time job by 
the day they graduate in 1-2 years. I printed out the surveys and plan 
to give them to the students to complete in May. How do I go about 
assessing the survey's? Thank you for sharing your ideas and materials.

Sloan replies: Melissa, for your type of student I think that my JOBS survey would be most useful as a communication device. First, it would help you explain to them all the fields of work available (side A) and the various skill levels within the fields (side B). Second, their responses, particularly at the bottom of side A, should be useful information to you as you help them find jobs. The survey emphasizes the importance of a student's interest in a field, including the value of volunteer or non-paid work.

Sloan replies: Nazerin, your interest in your students' social skills is commendable. At any age, people can improve their skills in getting along with others. In high school and college, such improvement can be a big help in the job market. To get started, check out the ideas on my webpage http://SQ.4mg.com/SQ_AFTER.HTM .That page also has a number of links you might find useful, like: Ways to improve your people skills in the workplace. Do let me know which ideas your students find most helpful and if you would like to participate on a no-cost research basis with my Social Skills surveys in your classes.

I am writing in reference to the Jobs Survey that I found on the 
internet.  Our school, Cherokee High School, is considering new ways to meet 
our students' needs.  One of the ideas is to have Career Academies.  We 
need to survey our students to learn about job/career interests so that 
we can have an idea about what type of academies to offer.  Our 
committee would not use your survey to obtain the information.  However, I 
feel it would be helpful to look at your example when developing our own 
survey.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kathy Norris
Transition Coordinator
Cherokee Central Schools, North Carolina 

Sloan replies: Kathy, thank you for letting me know how my JOBS survey might be helpful to you. I would welcome learning how your version works and what your form looks like - and consider adding that information to my website. Other organizations would likely be interested in reading about your Careers efforts.

Sloan replies: Alyce, unfortunately there is no published data on how SAT scores typically increase through the teen years. Up to age 18 SAT scores do increase naturally, which is one reason the College Board feels that claims by Kaplan and Princeton Review are overstated. You might get more information about your son's results by contacting the College Board, using http://www.collegeboard.com/about/contact.html?region=NYO

Here is an excerpt from http://www.audiblox.com/iq_scores.htm with regard to the Milwaukee Project, which supposedly proved that IQ (INTELLIGENCE Quotient) is just that, based on academic intelligence.  The study indicates that learning new material DOES increase the IQ: "Remember that many elements besides IQ contribute to success and happiness. Also note that IQ is not a fixed quantity, but can be increased by means of education. This was demonstrated by the Milwaukee project as well as numerous other research studies."

Your interpretation of IQ, verbatim from excerpts found at
http://sq.4mg.com/IQbasics.htm : "Because IQ tests measure your ability to understand ideas and not the quantity of your knowledge, learning new information does not automatically increase your IQ.  So your IQ score is relatively stable, no matter what education you acquire."

Who is right?

Hi Mr. Sloan, 

I am a student at Temple Univ. in Philadelphia and currently 
taking an Introduction to Anthropology course taught from the 
perspective that race is socially constructed. I just came 
across your website while briefly researching twin studies 
and I.Q. differences. I am hoping that you have a moment to 
answer a question about this topic.  

I skipped ahead in my textbook to the section on human 
intelligence and the author, Robert Kottak, uses twin studies 
to discredit the notion that there are differences in 
intelligence between the races. Although I am interested in 
this debate, I am more interested in the evidence he uses to 
substantiate his claim. 

He refers to a study of 19 twins reared apart that shows that 
I.Q. differences correlate highly with differences in levels 
of education, rather than genetic similarity. For example, 
the twins that had similar levels of education differed by 
only about 1.5 points, whereas the twins who had different 
levels differed by 10 points. One pair differed by 24 points! 
This study seems to undermine the conclusions of Thomas 
Bouchard, et.al. 

Do you have any clue as to why the study Kottak refers to 
produced such different results than Bouchard, et.al.? 

Thanks in advance for your time. 
(name deleted by request)
 

Sloan replies: You are wise to check alternative findings. Unfortunately, many social science writers and professors have agendas. They often select isolated studies to "prove" a point of view that is out of the mainstream of social science research findings. After some outcries when The Bell Curve was published, most experts now agree that there continues to be a 15 point difference between average Black and White IQ's. And unfortunately Head Start findings confirm Bouchard's results with twin studies that educational differences do not make much long term difference in IQ.

what's your iq if ur 11 and u have a 117 iq for a 24 yrs old?

Sloan replies: See http://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/7-a1.htm for the IQ data sources on Croatia and 59 other countries Other pages on that author's website give information on how all the data was analyzed.

Why are artists (e.g., writers, painters, etc.) not represented or even mentioned ? Is this due to the fact that in western society these careers are not considered "jobs?" As a professional writer, one who makes their living writing fiction, I find this not only strange but non-inclusive. I do possess an IQ - however relevant that may be to my ability to make a living by being creative.

King responds: Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any IQ tests or studies of "intelligence" done with those in creative fields?
Sloan replies: Sorry, I don't know of any studies on IQ and creativity. My hypothesis is that there is little connection between the two, just as I have found that there is little connection between IQ and social skills. Professor Robert Sternberg at Yale has done some work studying creativity. Perhaps he might have insight into its connection to intelligence, his major interest.

At the top of the page you cite SATs from before the 1995 recentering; the chart is for SAT I scores after 1995. The pre-1995 scores correspond to higher IQs than those you reported (see Delajara's other page, http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/oldSATIQ.html ).

Sloan replies: Maco, technically you are correct. But because the few, reliable data points we have on actual IQ and SAT scores (Gore and GW Bush) match better with the numbers on the "recentered" chart, I decided to use it for all SAT's.

Sloan replies: Kevin, Glad you liked my page on the history of SQ. No, I'm not planning to write a book on it; my SQ website gets many more readers than my book on Economics.. On creativity, we don't know much. It is probably linked more to IQ than are social skills and other success talents. Creative people often read a lot (as you are doing in Psychology). And creativity is fostered in countries where there is a big influx of new people from many cultures, as in the USA. That seems to have been true throughout history, as in my website World Leadership Centers (http://wlc.8m.net) (an analysis of world history, reviewed by the Chairman of Stanford's history department).

Kevin responds: I am not sure if creativity is truly measured via IQ. Not all bright people are creative and not all creative people are bright. I speak from my personal experience. In my opinion it is more about how restrictions are being enforced on society. Singapore has a high IQ ranking on your website but they are widely considered to be less creative than the malaysian, hong kongers, Koreans or Japanese.. Could it be the environment?

Hi, I read about your assumptions that lists down reasons for better IQ among races. But i doubt a few things:(like this point you make): 2. Certain East Asian countries have the highest average IQ scores, particularly in mathematical/ spatial skills. This talent may develop because students in China, Korea, and Japan are required to recognize and utilize thousands of word characters. It's interesting that Japanese living in the US (who are taught in English ) score about 3 IQ.points less than their countrymen in Japan. This IQ difference is the opposite of the Chinese immigrants in point 1, who do learn to write in Chinese characters in Singapore

I am a South East Asian. I think the more accurate reason for this is an Asian learns more LANGUAGES than those in Europe/America. Asians learn 2-3 languages average. This is mostly because of mixed-marriage. Mixed as in ethnic-mix rather than racial mix. For example, in Malaysia, a Chinese Malaysian (second most population) may marry Indians (third highest population), and so the child learns Mandarin and/or Cantonese, Malay (national language), Indian (can be any indian languages depending on the Indian ethnic).

The most important factor that influences a person's IQ is their environment, culture etc. In Eastern countries (East Asia) people are brought up and exposed to different ways of thinking. I personally do not believe in genes or biological inheritances having anything to do with IQ. I hope you would consider putting that as well in your website.

Syaheerah Lutfi 
Felo University Science Malaysia, 
Faculty of Computer Science and IT, 
University Malaya, 
Kualau Lumpur, Malaysia 
+012-5592107

Sloan replies: Syah, it's fortunate for your students that you do not teach in the Social Sciences! But if you did, you would certainly be aware of the many identical twins studies that demonstrate the huge genetic component in IQ. I quote from several reputable sources on twins in my http://sq.4mg.com/IQgenetics.htm webpage. Given such well-known studies (and little opposition data), it is surprising that educated persons (such as yourself, Veet, and others quoted in my usingSQ, an email journal) cling to a mainly environmental explanation of IQ. A major reason for the SQ website to which you responded is to present unvarnished facts on IQ and related matters - irrespective of political correctness or other considerations. Until the field of Social Sciences takes a truly impartial stance on research findings, as you do in Computer Science, it will lag in breakthroughs so needed in this troubled world. (By the way, many Europeans would tell you they are proficient in at least as many foreign languages as is the average Asian.)

The IQ problem may be similar to problem of height. For generations the Indians, with exception of Punjabis, were very short people. However in Bombay and Delhi today, you find boys and girl from the newly rich class easily as toll as North Europeans. It is hard to continue supporting the genetic theory. The nutritional explanation does not hold the water and so far there are no good explanations.

Sloan replies: Veet, height probably helps explain the genetics of IQ. Check out http://www.vdare.com/sailer/lynn_and_flynn.htm That site's graph of 124 IQ studies from 1914 to 1998 indicates that European vs African IQ's have maintained their same relative positions. But the graph also shows that Asian IQ's have been increasing relatively. Better child nutrition in Asia is the most likely cause, and increased height of their children would fit in with the genetic explanation of Asian IQ's (both increasing with food to reach their genetic potential).

Veet responds: My question to you: Are you willing to consider other than genetic causes for IQ? In the Americas Spanish nobles took oven the land of the native people and forced them into slave labor on farms and in silver mines. 96% of Native Mexicans and 94.6% of Incas were exterminated. (Given your theory on Holocaust effects on Jewish IQ) we should think that only the smartest Mexicans and Incas managed to avoid the extermination. We should expect extraordinarily high IQ in these nations, however the IQ of Mexicans, Peruvians and Bolivians is not impressively high.

Veet responds: Perhaps you wonder why it is it so important for me. The genetic view is unacceptable, because it implies that we are limited. That our consciousness, our intelligence is just a mechanical byproduct of evolution. It is my view that we humans are totally free to be anything we chose. The genetic view is that we are pre-determined.

Thank you for sharing your very interesting thoughts related to IQ and intelligence in general. My thoughts are based on my own experience and background a Polish (ethnic) Jew. I would like to suggest same alternative explanations for lower IQ of Ashkenazi Jews in Israel. I consider it most likely that living under different conditions resulted in lower IQ for the children of the emigrants. My hypothesis is that the high IQ of Jews is due to

a) being minority

b) being at the same time cultural outsider and insiders of their host country, thus having a double perspective and ability to free themselves from limiting was of thinking

c) Due to being an oppressed minority, European Jewish parents put a huge emphasis on their children's education. (For example in tsarist Russia only a high school gold medallist were allowed to pursue university education, or to live in Moscow.

d) another thing worth considering is that the none of the Jewish geniuses (such as Einstein, or Bhor, were religious. They were only ethnically and culturally Jewish.

Dear Sloan: Thanks for your interesting website and information therein. I wonder if there is any studies on correlation between the GMAT and IQ? I took the GMAT and got 690, which put me roughly on 98th percentile, and free IQ tests from Tickle.Com and got 135 (recently) and 138 (two years ago), which put me in the 99 percentile.

Also, I am an international, presumably with limited English skills. Does this have any effect on the results of GMAT and IQ, where the tests "play lots of words games"? Thanks for reply! Tuan

Sloan replies: Tuan, the best correlation is the percentile list you mentioned. Your 98% on GMAT translates to a 132 IQ on the SAT-IQ conversion chart. Yes, limited English skills would be a factor. But note in my http://SQ.4mg.com/Iqgap.htm that East Asians, even in their native languages, average only 97 on verbal skills vs 110 on spatial skills.

It appears likely to me that with advancements in human cloning and DNA research, some form of eugenics type program may be implemented, (somewhere), in the decades ahead, to "raise" the average IQ in a group of people. It is likely that research along these lines is already being conducted in secret, probably in countries around the globe.

I imagine a world in the not so distant future where the average IQ is 130 - 150 or better. Or maybe the elite will keep everyone else's IQ's below 100, but secretly advance their own offspring's IQ's significantly. Do you know of any web links to discussions on this topic?

Thanks for a very interesting web site. Sincerely, Scott Selstad

Sloan replies: Scott, did you know that average IQ's have been rising worldwide - about 10-20 points every generation (30 years))? So your imagining is actually happening. But science is a long way from raising IQ's of specific groups.. One way that has worked is to kill off the low IQ members of a group, the net effect of centuries of pogroms and holocausts with European Jews. High verbal IQ skills (117 to 125) are associated with Jewish survivors. Personally, I abhor any eugenics program and hope parents will just continue to wish for healthy children.

It's a very interesting website.  Thank you.  In my opinion anyone who reads it should be given a hug.  Intelligence is a fascinating field, but obsessions over intelligence 
easily lead to coldness of the heart.  Hugs can be very good for restoring 
warmth!

Sloan replies: A big hug to you, Steven, for your warm thoughts. Click on my start page http://SQ.4mg.com and you'll see that the site began as one on social skills. But visitors to my site showed a great interest in IQ; thus the expansion in that direction.

I saw your website and would like to know how much age factors into IQ.  
My 14 year old son, a high school freshmen took the SAT on Dec 4.  He 
scored 1280 (670 math, 610 verbal).  He also took it as a 7th grader and 
had 1000 (550 math; 450 verbal).  Is your chart accurate for young 
teens?  thank you
Susan 

Hello Mr. Sloan, I just found your site while doing some research on the IQ vis-a-vis my daughter.whom we adopted from Bulgaria (an orphanage) at age 3.5. While she is (now) highly verbal, she has significant learning disabilities in reading and increasing difficulties in math....... I may have gone beyond the scope of your quick Q&A. Thank you for any feedback you can give!

Hello, I have a few comments regarding your comments about
SAT and IQ, and the SAT to IQ conversion chart.  I
have serious reservations about using only SAT scores
as a proxy for IQ.  My belief is that there is a
significant practice effect on the SAT.  I have seen
many unexceptional students achieve fairly high SAT
scores (high enough that they would be labelled gifted
by the SAT-IQ conversion chart).  By that chart,
almost everyone I know is gifted!  
The SAT test is not a true measure of intelligence
because through intense preparation (memorizing
vocabulary items and learning some standard, routine
math techniques), one can achieve a very decent score.
The same words repeat themselves over and over again
on the vocabulary portion, and the items on the math
test do not require any ingenuity, for the most part
(contrast these items with those on, for example,
AHSME).  
A good intelligence test should not allow one to boost
one's score significantly through practice.  Yet,
Kaplan claims to raise scores an average of around 200
to 300 points! I believe that someone with high
intelligence will do well on the SAT, but somebody
with less intelligence can also do well (to a certain
extent) by suitable preparation.  If one has access to
training material and has the money to throw on
Kaplan, one's score will likely be inflated, thus
distorting one's IQ level.  

Sloan replies: Robt, you raise a valid concern about one's ability to improve SAT scores. The SAT developers and colleges have a similar concern, but they don't feel that intense preparation has anywhere near the effect Kaplan claims. At http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/cybereng/nyt/sat-educ.html the College Board reports that "the roughly 12 percent who took out-of-school coaching courses raised their scores an average 19 to 38 points more than those who were uncoached." In any case, the SAT or ACT are the only reasonable IQ-type tests that many people ever take. People seem to prefer a flawed way of getting to their IQ score than to have no method at all. (Consider the popularity of unreliable Internet IQ tests.) The SAT conversion chart seems be fairly accurate. When some like Al Gore have also taken IQ tests, the validity of the SAT conversion chart stands up.

ChiTowns analysis has at least two obvious questionable assumptions. Did more intelligent whites vote equally for Bush and Kerry? Looking at states won by Kerry with high participation in SAT testing, it would appear that smarter whites voted disproportionately for Kerry. Also predominately white states with low SAT participation (Idaho, Dakotas, etc.) cause an over-estimation of white IQ in this data. Jim Lowery

Sloan replies: Jim, it happens that the states Kerry won were largely on the coasts, where most students take SAT tests for college. In the middle of the country, won by Bush, most students take the similar ACT tests instead of SAT's. Further evidence on the split in high IQ voting comes in Gallup poll information, showing that Bush won the majority of college grads and those who attended some college, while Kerry got the majority of those with post graduate or only high school educations.

You should take a look at the work of one othe best researchers around
on this subject: Claude Steele, a Stanford psychology professor. He's 
done some very good work on explaining the differences in test scores,
including some very striking experiments in which he was able to get
whites to score as low as blacks, simply by modifiying the
instructions given before the test.

Personally, I find IQ to be a not-very-important measure of something
that doesn't reallly exist (and I say that as someone who scores
fairly reliably at about 3 standard deviations above average on them).
I've studied the work of enough highly intelligent people to know that
their minds are much more varied than can be expressed in a  single
number.

Sloan replies: Mayson, that same Steele writes "The SAT and IQ test correlate very highly." His Stanford psychology colleague Atkinson (now president of the University of California system) has pushed for a SAT revision for UC admissions. Both would likely not agree with you that such testing is not valid.

Hey I found your data very interesting and decided to check the
validity of your data by sampling 100 students for their highschool
SAT scores before entering college and finding out who they voted for.
This is all part of a project I am doing for class. Could you make me
any suggestion on how I can go about doing this? I do intend on citing
your work properly. My project plan is to first test the validity. Do
you think there is more i could look into using the data you have
provided? Thanks for the help. (Maybe it would help in comparing your
results to the hoax website) -this is only a project

I have an IQ of 144 and I am Black (Some college, no
degree). Actually I have tested at different points in
my life with scores between 128-144.  BTW, I am 39 yrs
old.

If the data presented is correct (Avg IQ of Blacks 85)
then where does this leave a person like myself in America? 
Perhaps a man without a country or culture. 

Please do not misunderstand me, I know that there are
many people out there with a higher IQ than mine
within the top 2% that I belong too.

Just interested in your comments if you have any
regarding race and IQ. Personally I do not think that
race itself is a determining factor but ones own
ability to overcome cultural roadblocks.

Check this out: http://www.us.mensa.org/join_mensa/testscores.php3#na Mensa states that SAT tests taken after 1/31/94 "no longer correlate(s) with an IQ test."

Sloan replies: Jeanette, Mensa may have stricter needs than normal for high IQ testing. For general IQ purposes, I believe the Stanford and Harvard professors who feel SAT still correlates well with IQ.

Dear Mr Sloan,

I've looked around your website to a considerable extent tho I haven't read everything there, I'm sure. So apologies if this is covered somewhere, but I have a question.

Where is the influence of culture in all this? Surely it is the one factor that strongly covaries with race? For example, in East Asian societies, there is a strong emphasis on knowledge and learning, and less on interpersonal relations. African child-rearing is probably quite different. (I am white, was born in Hong Kong, and have also lived in Australia, the UK and USA -- just to let you in on my cultural perspective). In fact, the data you use to define race almost certainly reflect culture more than genetics. "Race" is a notoriously poor indicator of genetics; the human tendency to procreate with whomever is available seriously compromises any genetic notion of "race".

So why would culture make such a difference to IQ? For one, babies' brains undergo extensive rewiring during early development. It is unsurprising that a cultural bias towards factual learning and logical reasoning would manifest itself in the brain. For example, a Taiwanese PhD student I work with is an extreme example of a common Asian phenomenon -- she is perfectly capable of learning facts, but useless at anything that you need "a feel for." Knowing her as I do, I can see that her upbringing, like many Asians', involved a strong emphasis on learning. However, stories from her childhood also suggest that her mother's treatment of her during childhood was -- at least, I would characterize it thus -- quite serious emotional neglect. The effects of all this on her abilities as an adult are all too clear. She has the emotional development of a child, but she is doing a PhD!

Have you previously considered the effects of culture, or is your focus primarily race? (If not/so, why?) In any case, best wishes with your studies.

Anthony

Sloan replies: Anthony, I don't think culture has much influence on IQ. For example, race seems to be much more important in Latin American IQ's than the region's fairly similar culture and language. Cultural differences around the world do not seem to affect normal maternal bonding needed for brain development, and I don't consider lack of food in poor countries to be the result of culture. But education and cultural training do affect non-IQ skill development, as socialization, competitiveness, etc. While my research with high school students did not reveal noticeable differences by race in these areas, all the subjects were in the American culture. Recently. some research has documented how cultural differences (as on saving face) make for different group scores between Asians and North Americans on emotional intelligence testing

Dear Mr. Sloan,

I agree with the statement that, "non-IQ talents (like social skills and ambition) have a greater influence on an individual's success," than IQ itself but the point tha the chart on IQ and Politics is essentially looking at is the education level of each individual state (not individual person) and who they voted for in the 2004 election. Now obviously the point of the hoax iq chart was to show that the "smarter" states voted for Kerry and the not so smart states voted for Bush and although you have made the case that this is not so, with regards to IQ, this IS the case when you look at the level of higher education within each state. I have empirical proof that this is true and I will show you exactly how I proved this:

1. I took the data for each state in the U.S. (including D.C.) for the following question: "Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000" from the US Census website (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/).

2. I then matched up the states and their percentages with the person they voted for in the 2004 election.

3. I then proceeded to do a T-Test comparing the two candidates (Bush and Kerry) and the average percent of people 25 years or older with Bachelor's degrees using SAS statistical software.

4.The data came out as follows:

N=51 states - Avg. Pct. for US total = 24.1 +/- 4.7 % (similar to census total - 24.4%)

N=20 states for Kerry - Avg. Pct. for Kerry states = 27.5 +/- 4.2 %

N=31 states for Bush - Avg. Pct. for Bush states = 21.9 +/- 3.7 %

p-value = < 0.0001 (Highly Significant)

What does this data mean? What this data shows is that there is a significant difference between the states that voted for Kerry and the states that voted for Bush with regards to the amount of people with a higher education ie. Bachelors Degrees. Therefore one can state, without error, that the states that voted for Kerry had on average more "smart" people (27.5%) than the states that voted for Bush (21.9%). I realize that my results have some flaws but this is the most up to date public data that I could find and if the percentages for 2004 remain similar to those in2000 then we can assume the data is valid. I am interested in your opinion of my study and also those of your fellow website readers. Therefore if you have any questions or concerns feel free to voice them by e-mailing me at: johnserio@hotmail.com

Sincerely, John Serio

Sloan replies: John, we all need to be cautious about stating anything "without error." Compared to other states, Washington DC and Georgia might have lots of Bachelor's degrees, but they also have many who never attended any college. Is it reasonable to conclude, just from college degrees, that their citizens are smarter than those in a more uniform population state like Nebraska? In comparison, my SAT/ACT state rankings are based on broader population measures.

Van, Great work.  However, I'm surprised you did not carry through decimal
points in your analysis.  The SAT/IQ translator is precise to two
decimal places (.XX).  This may help pull apart states with the same
IQs.  I get the sense that they are ranked correctly, but the final
decimal isn't reported.

Sloan replies: Mike, the creator of the SAT-IQ chart includes this disclaimer: "the decimal places give the impression that the numbers are more precise than they really are." As for the SAT-IQ translator, I have written to its creator (douglas.detterman@ case.edu) that there is doubt about his formula's accuracy - and I'm still waiting for his response. We have much to learn about IQ before we have two decimal accuracy, if ever!

Joe responds: I recommend you don't hold your breath on that because your agenda was "truth" rather than "deception", which generally holds more allure, especially for the gullible. But keep up the good work anyway! Joe

if you are basing your iq's on sat/act scores, that would only count folks who actually went to college. i would assume that some of the folks in the lower iq states would opt not to take any college and i assume would have a disproportionate amount of their folks joining the military. so it seems you are trying to refute bs stats with more bs stats. and we go round and round on our cynical political merry-go-round ...

You say that "the most likely reason for the lower IQ's in southern states is the high proportion of Blacks in those states." If the numbers you are using depend on ACT and SAT info, than it has no real bearing on the actual average IQ's of any of the states. Those tests are not IQ tests. The ability to score well on those tests depends highly on how prepared you are going into them. I'm not convinced that the tests are biased toward race, but I am convinced that there is a major disparity in this country when it comes to quality education. The fact of the matter is that more white people can afford better educations for their children. These children, in turn, do better on standardized tests, get into better schools and land better jobs. There's your IQ-political spin. raul (not a professor, but a concerned citizen)

Raul replies: first thank-you for responding-- I'm sure you have quite a busy schedule. Second, I'm still not buying it. How many people have their IQ tested by age 5? Who's doing the testing? I took a test a few years ago, there is no way I would have done as well as I had, had I not had a decent education. The test I took seemed to be heavy on math skills, so it made me seem much smarter than I think I am. Had it been based on other aspects of intellect (such as language apptitude) I know that I would have been well below the curve. Perhaps IQ should be tested on many different levels with many differnt emphases (or maybe it already is, I don't know) in order to get a composite value for IQ which would be a better measurement. thanks again, raul

Dear VanSloan: Although I disagree with your analysis, there may be some truth to what you write. However, there is some truth to the figures you dispute. Look at the US Census figures for average state income and correlate it to voting in the last election. 20 of the bottom 21 states voted for bush and 11 of the top 15 voted for Kerry.

Without going into all the reasons why, it is commonly held that ones income rises in relation to ones education. And education can be one measure of intelligence; indeed, it may be the only un-biased measure. Using the census reports you will see that intelligence and voting patterns have a pretty good connection.

Thanks. Tom B.

Sloan replies: Tom, I wonder why you think we disagree on voting and income. At the top of my most popular webpage I write: "The income pattern follows the conclusion in IQ and the Wealth of Nations that higher IQ's usually mean higher incomes." I also support similar conclusions in my website's response to Scott Marquardt, who has used income data to create colorful charts on voting,

Your top-to-bottom IQ range is narrower than the "hoax" list. As to who's more accurate, it probably all comes down to methodology. Don't know what the other survey's methods were - just getting into this. But there's a reason why the question was raised in the first place, and it should be noted that whichever list is more accurate, they both are bluer at the top and redder at the bottom.

Have you checked with the US Dept of Education? Seems like they would have data on this. Although, given who's in charge, they might not be willing to release it... -C. Darryl Mattison cdm@borg.com

Sloan replies: Darryl, nobody has been able to find the methodology behind the hoax IQ list. As The Economist magazine found out, no real state IQ data existed before I created it this summer.

Thank you for an excellent and thought-provoking site.  Arthur Jensen 
has written a book, "The G Factor: the Science of Mental Ability, that 
is thought provoking.  I admire it greatly, not less because Dr. Jensen 
wrote it at an age when most researchers are no longer productive.

I admire you because you focus on a topic of lasting importance. 

Steve, Van - I just posted a web page that tries to visualize some of this IQ stuff for states in the 2004 election. Cited you both. I'd appreciate any feedback you might wish to offer. http://marquardts.org/stateiq.htm Thanks, Scott 

Sloan replies: Scott, I enjoyed perusing your colorful charts and analysis, including: "My conclusions? No candidate attracted "smarter" voters...The money definitely follows Kerry, though." Your money finding is mirrored in Tim Bray's analysis, which follows on my http://SQ.4mg.com/usingSQ.htm for 11/10/04, just below your email.

Scott's note to Doug, who takes a different approach at http://SQ.4mg.com/weighting.htm I must be missing something. I'm not a statistician, but please tell where I'm not thinking straight here. On my page http://snurl.com/stateIQ I'm working with the percentages of the votes, whereas both your charts are calling the states completely for the candidates, and crediting each candidate with the state's average for IQ. I realize we elect our presidents by "winner gets all" per state, but this doesn't seem statistically right. I'm going to be doing some edits on the site shortly -- and for the fun of it I'm also going to include this: http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/db/generosity.php?year=2004

Sloan response to both: I'm happy to have fostered this kind of intellectual back-and-forth. Would either of you like to tackle the minorities affecting state IQ's issue, which has raised much interest?

Interesting Web pages you have!  If you sort the State data by income level, you get a pretty clear stratification:  Kerry won nearly all the top income states, Bush won all the low-income states, and they split the middle.  Not sure what, if 
anything, that means - but it looks pretty dramatic.

Cheers, Tim Bray Consulting Hydrogeologist Albion, California USA

Hey there! Here's another reason for IQ differences between developed and developing countries: malnutrition. Check out this press release from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in Geneva: (http://www.gainhealth.org/pressrelease.asp) The report finds that: Iron deficiency impairs mental development in young children and is lowering national IQs.

Sloan replies: Diederick, thanks for the reinforcing information. My page on IQ differences begins with "IQ is primarily inherited from one's parents, and that what a child eats also plays a role." It is possible to fix the nutrition in poor countries, but I haven't heard of a way to fix the genetics, the largest factor in IQ.

Van, if the correlation r between IQ and earnings is .33, then IQ explains only 11% of the variability in earnings, not 1/3. You see, in order to assess variance-accounted-for in the criterion (earnings) you have to square the correlation coefficient (variously called r-square or the coefficient of determination). The correlation coefficient itself does not translate directly into a percentage of anything. So, were Lynn & Vanhanen reporting correlation coefficients or coefficients of determination? As you can see, it makes a big difference. --- Cary Lichtman

Sloan replies: As you can see at http://SQ.4mg.com/r_iq_ei.htm many researchers feel the impact of IQ on success is closer to your 11% rather than 33%. What percentage (not correlation) Lynn & Vanhanen would give, based on their worldwide studies, I cannot say. Vanhanen is receiving the original of this email, and I hope he clarifies your question. Recently he responded to a comment on Serbia forwarded from a viewer of this website.

Dear Mr. Sloan,

As a licensed psychologist familiar with testing, I 
object to your characterizing SAT/ACT data as "IQ" 
data. These tests are not measures of intelligence. I 
also feel that your effort to link test scores to 
voting behavior is a very flawed project. (To take 
only two aspects: using statewide data masks great 
heterogeneity within a given state; and there are 
presumably many intervening variables between SAT/ACT 
score and voting behavior, none of which are even 
identified). 

I do not see how this "analysis" contributes to 
anyone's understanding of why people voted as they did 
in the recent election. What is the point you are 
trying to make, and how do you think this moves us 
forward politically in this country?

David B. Sacks, Psy.D. 

Sloan replies: David, many experts like the chairman of Stanford's psychology department disagree with you on the relationship of SAT/ACT data to IQ. See http://SQ.4mg.com/IQ-SAT.htm for their comments. On state IQ's, I am mainly trying to satisfy the huge demand for information in this area. I do not have a political agenda. My analysis is not perfect, but it is much more accurate than the hoax data which has widely circulated, even making it into The Economist magazine!

i seriously hope this is not a real email address. your racist comments about large numbers of blacks lowering IQ scores is laughable. Minorities represent a very small portion of the population (hence the name) and if you look at the low scores, while a disproportionate number of minorities may test low, you will find that the majority of these low-scoring all stars a your white, low income, trailer park dwellers. if you have the cajones to respond, it's kgesq@hotmail.com

Sloan replies: Surprise, Kara, I'm happy to respond. If you had taken the time to click on state minority percentages in that same paragraph, you would have seen that most southern states have 30-39% minority populations, not the "very small portion" you claim. It is unfortunate that many who don't want to face facts respond by calling names (racist) and sarcasm (laughable). Far from dwelling on the well-documented IQ differences among ethnic groups, my website mostly covers those talents which are more important to success, like social skills. My research with high school students documents that Blacks and other minorities are just as talented in these areas as Whites.

A pleasant surprise. At any rate, tsk, tsk for equating minority with black, as many southern states(such as my native NC) have significant latino and native american populations. Your premise is also flawed in that you have no data on how many "minorities" actually take the test in question. What is unfortunate is that people like you use numbers that don't represent the variables you are claiming to measure and then extrapolate further that this bad data turns your theory into fact. The fact is that a significant minority presence does not decrease test scores, while a significant poverty level (which is disproportionately minority but majority white) has a definitely correlation lower performance on standardized tests. Sorry, Van, there are more white people than black people, and there are more poor whites than poor blacks, and there are more poor whites with bad test scores than poor blacks with test scores. Just go back to the drawing board, there may be something significant there, you just haven't found it yet. KG "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and most beautiful of all."

What struck me as fishy in one of the IQ charts that was circulated,
is that nobody explained where the data came from. Given they wide
disparity in school practices, and the early departure of many 
adolescents from schools, I would question the comparability of most data. 
It may be that No Child Left Behind is compelling some widespread
sampling, but the usual design forces English testing on newcomer
immigrants who don't speak English, damaging the data validity.

Susan M. Ervin-Tripp               tel (510) 642-5292* (msgs)
Professor Emeritus                 FAX (510) 642-5293
Psychology Department         ervintr1@socrates.berkeley.edu
University of California    http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~ervintrp/
Berkeley CA 94720

Sloan replies: Susan, that fishy data was likely based an old Internet hoax, described at http://SQ.4mg.com/Iqstates.htm My state IQ information, reviewed favorably by the major debunker of that hoax, is at http://SQ.4mg.com/Iqpolitics.htm It is based on SAT and ACT test results, which to date have not varied much with differences in K-12 education programs. The recent UC-inspired revision of SAT may show more correlation with K-12 teaching effectiveness.

Susan replies: But remember that the SAT tests only a fraction of 15-17 year olds a selective subset. susan

, in many states a big proportion of high school grads take either the ACT or SAT test. (See http://SQ.4mg.com/IQstates and a similar linked page on SAT percent.) In my state calculations, I subtract 7-10 IQ points to adjust for high school dropouts and those not applying for college. In Alabama, for example, only 9 IQ points were deducted because a high 68% of grads took the ACT test. The net is an expected 100 average IQ for all states. The details may not be exact. But there are no other even mildly reliable state IQ numbers available - and a great deal of interest in state IQ differences, as the 40,000+ hits per day on my website indicate.

How can you expect to extrapolate a state's average IQ based on SAT 
scores?  First of all, the SAT is not an IQ test.  Second, particularly 
relevant in DC, SAT scores relate to kids in high school, not the working 
and voting population.  People move to DC from all over the country to 
work in the government.  Think before you post something.

Sloan replies: Thomas, a number of leading educators (like the chairman of Stanford's psychology department) find that SAT does correlate quite highly with IQ. See http://SQ.4mg.com/IQ-SAT.htm In DC and elsewhere, many students taking SAT tests are children of high IQ professionals who have moved there from other states.

Hi,  Are you really to suggest that blacks are of lower intelligence and 
that's why the southern states have an average lower IQ? I think you 
need your IQ checked.  Shame on you!  This is 2004 and archaic ideas 
like your are dangerous to society and are FALSE!
Samantha Ciccone

Sloan replies: Samantha, I strongly believe that ideas should be tested by data, not by angry language. Do you have any data (not arguments) that would refute the SAT scores of African-Americans and the opinions of 52 internationally known scholars, as presented at http://SQ.4mg.com/IQblacks.htm ?

Sloan replies: Steven, thanks for your compliments. Unfortunately, the hoax IQ data is still getting great play, most prominently at http://attenuation.net/files/iq.htm That site begins stating it got 540,000+ hits on one recent day! I have congratulated that webpage's creator and thanked him for including a link on it to my similar webpage. Although my page has non-hoax state IQ data, it generated just 63,000 hits during the same 24 hours.

Thank you. Alan Campbell, abcampbell@cs.com

Sloan replies: Alan, the original Economist chart showing the hoax data was in their 5/15/04 issue. Their retraction was published 5/20/04 at http://www.economist.com/World/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2692859 You can see data they used in one of their substitute charts (on Bachelor Degree percentages by state) at http://www.ginandtacos.com/education.jpg

From: "Alicia Barr" <abarr@spc.cc.tx.us

To: vansloan@yahoo.com

Subject: IQ and voting patterns

Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 12:11:06 -0600

Dr. Alicia Barr South Plains College, Reese Center Department of Behavioral Science 528 Gilbert Dr. Lubbock, TX 79416 (806)885-3048, Ext. 4641 (806)885-1979, facsimile abarr@southplainscollege.edu

Sloan replies: Alicia, your calculations are interesting, but may not go far enough to explain voter IQ's. We still don't have information on whether the IQ of a white voter in Bush states is significantly different from a white voter in a Kerry state. I have seen math like yours interpreted by average Yankee citizens in chat rooms with comments like "That data shows that Texans are dumb bunnies." Perhaps you could refine your calculations, with some analysis of minority voters by state. In a response to Professor William Corrado on this topic (at http://SQ.4mg.com/usingSQ.htm - see October 2, 2004), I included a chart of minority percentages by state. If you incorporated an average 85 IQ for Blacks and 91 for Latinos, it should be possible to calculate the average IQ of white voters in Texas and other southern states. I will add such calculations to my website. Perhaps together we can provide meaningful data for chat rooms and other venues where interest in state IQ's seems to be skyrocketing. (See my new statement at the top of the usingSQ.htm page, where our current email exchange is also printed.)

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