Terry Tate Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 As I sat and pondered my son's recent IQ test results, I began to do a little research on the topic, and came upon some interesting reading regarding presidential IQ's. It would be difficult to overstate the general consensus amongst the left that John Kerry is smarter than George Bush - a view that is perhaps held even among some Bush supporters. Howell Raines, former Executive Editor of the NYT asks "Does anyone in America doubt that Kerry has a higher IQ than Bush? I'm sure the candidates' SATs and college transcripts would put Kerry far ahead." See the story here However, a pretty exhaustive analysis performed by Steve Sailer (conservative columnist) of both candidates' testing throughout their careers reveals that they are relatively equal when it comes to IQ - neither a genius, but well above the average college graduate (114). It appears to place George Bush slightly ahead of John Kerry, but not in such that I believe it would make that much of a difference. It also pokes fun at a couple liberal beliefs about IQ: First, that IQ is a meaningless, utterly discredited concept, and Second, that liberals are better than conservatives because they have much higher IQs. I believe I've noticed a little bit of that type of attitude in one or two posts here. That story can be read here. Sailer followed that with an interesting article about IQ and leadership entitled "Does IQ matter in a president?" which you can read here. His site (link) has quite a few interesting discussions. It's worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Does it say anything about the IQ of people who presume intelligence is best indicated by how one pronounces the word "nuclear"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckner's Glove Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 "Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. You're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign en-ti-ty. (dramatic pause) And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." "We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." Yes, he's brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted October 29, 2004 Author Share Posted October 29, 2004 Yes, he's brilliant. 91074[/snapback] The information available suggests Bush and Kerry are both neither geniuses or simpletons - it's not looking too good for you, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 It also pokes fun at a couple liberal beliefs about IQ: First, that IQ is a meaningless, utterly discredited concept, and Is this in the "liberal manual" somewhere? I think IQ is pretty meaningless. I've known too many shiftless lazy useless good for nothing geniuses to place much stock in IQ. What is it a measure of? Someone's ability to do well on an IQ test... which may correspond to certain talents. Give me a person who has good grades and can write a coherent sentence (sorry Boomer- that leaves you AQ guys out) anyday. Colleges are finally realizing that good SATs do not correlate to success in college. That's one reason that the SAT is changing to be subject based. Students will now have to show their aptitude not just in some general test, but in specific areas like biology, chemistry, history, and... wait for it... writing. All of these will give colleges a better indicator of how hard someone is working combined with how smart they are. It's that combination that colleges, employers, and every mom wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 That's one reason that the SAT is changing to be subject based. Students will now have to show their aptitude not just in some general test, but in specific areas like biology, chemistry, history, and... wait for it... writing. All of these will give colleges a better indicator of how hard someone is working combined with how smart they are. It's that combination that colleges, employers, and every mom wants. 91195[/snapback] That sounds great. It's just too bad we'll have to listen to the PC idiots telling us that a writing test is "culturally biased" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts