All IQ researchers (and most psychologists) should read this article (many nits to be picked in the details): we must be honest about our work, just as we ask others to be honest about our work Erik Hoel : theintrinsicperspective.com/p/iq-discourse…

1. In the IQ discourse, you've probably seen a graph similar to this one.

Such results are used to support claims like 'there's no plateau of ability.' As if there are outcome differences between 13-year-olds who get 1/1,000 scores vs. 1/10,000 scores.

'Just as the 20th century required extensive interventions to protect the...environment, the 21st century is going to require extensive interventions to protect a different, but equally critical, common resource ...our shared human culture' Erik Hoel 👏 nytimes.com/2024/03/29/opi…

What if we were normal about IQ

There is something to IQ, but often less than is claimed, by Erik Hoel theintrinsicperspective.com/p/iq-discourse…

Will Long Erik Hoel The correlation between SAT & IQ scores is almost as high as the correlation between two tests of the same sort.

This sums up pretty well how most interactions go with the crowd I'm critiquing here

Erik Hoel I always found it funny that in one of the longest running IQ studies: from Age 11 to Age 90 by Deary et al. the lowest scoring person at Age 11 was basically in the middle at age 90.

The people who apply these tests for a living often have a clearer picture of their limitations than those who make hay of them for political purposes (from a comment)

It’s cumulative advantage all the way down

Charles Murray I happen to have your book next to me, so I’ll point out two things.

(A) a Lotka curve is actually good evidence against pure genetic determinism for outcomes. As you yourself write, we’d naturally expect accomplishment and eminence to be distributed along a bell curve, but it’s…

Erik Hoel Yes. There exists an incredibly useful and under-emphasized synthesis, in my estimation—understanding both the extent to which the innate matters and the extent to which deliberate shaping can build expertise. It’s frustrating how few land there.

The owl of Minerva flies only at dusk - amazing art by Alexander Naughton for this piece on the perils of taking IQ research too seriously

Many more people should take this attitude towards IQ research. It's social science! Useful, but social science will always be squishy and confounded. Serious critical engagement rather than outright dismissal is incredibly useful.

x.com/erikphoel/stat…

Hoel is always worth reading on this topic.

I've referenced charts like this often and continue to believe they are useful, but Hoel's emphasis that the SMPY was not just passive observation, but a concerted project to improve outcomes is critical to understand.

I predict this view will offend no one