# Why Can't I See What Other People Obviously See? \[IQ Test Related\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049 "2004-12-04T10:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/21 "2004-12-05T07:04:49Z")
This is simply a difference in learning styles. Some folks prefer concrete, some prefer abstract. I myself don’t see anything there unless I strain (e.g. _alright_ guys, i know i’m supposed to see something here so i’ll find it, but isn’t this kinda boring?). Frankly IMO, _there is nothing to see_. But most folks on this board prefer abstractions (many threads on the subject), whereas I prefer concrete. [This paper](http://www.nc.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwmbti.html) will dive into it from a learning perspective. The most relevant section to IQ tests will be sensing/intuition. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/22 "2004-12-05T07:22:01Z")
In case anyone is interested in the studies on typology and IQ tests, those with a preference for INTJ score the highest by far. The saying goes that “The IQ test was written by INTJs for INTJs.” It measures 2-3 types of intelligence, but, there are many more! (at least 8 according to [multiple intelligences theory)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences). Also: [http://www.pz.harvard.edu/ami/mibasics.htm](http://www.pz.harvard.edu/ami/mibasics.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/23 "2004-12-05T09:28:37Z")
I scored a 153 on the culture fair test. It’s definitely harder than most online IQ tests, but I think having taken other ones made this one easier. I knew what types of patterns to look for. > [@](#): > > This paper will dive into it from a learning perspective. The most relevant section to IQ tests will be sensing/intuition. That is very interesting. I am an INTP, and I can see from that web page why I have been frustrated with my professors. I want to know _why_ things work, but most professors concentrate on just telling you what works. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/24 "2004-12-05T12:05:01Z")
Has anyone tried the verbal IQ test on that site? What kind of verbal intelligence is being tested here? 1. Bloody sock is to \_\_\_\_ as festering ankle sore is to Winston Smith. 2. Borglum : Founding Fathers :: Roebling : \_\_\_\_ ? Q8 belongs in a game of Trivial Pursuit! ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/25 "2004-12-05T12:15:53Z")
There are also some gender-specific differences in how we approach some of these problems. Can’t find a cite, but I recall a study done many years ago in which children were given the classic “which solid does this flat pattern produce, when folded” type questions. IIRC, the girls and boys scored roughly the same. The interesting part came when they asked the kids how they had solved the problems. Almost every one of the little girls launched into a lengthly verbal description: “Well, I looked at the right side, and saw how that would touch the second edge of the top, and then I saw how the wide part below that would end up being on the side, and …” Almost every one of the little boys responded, “I just sort of folded it up in my head.” Full stop. End of explanation. Similar results, but clearly a different mental process at work! ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/26 "2004-12-05T16:40:19Z")
> [@Nightime](#): > > I want to know _why_ things work, but most professors concentrate on just telling you what works. Yes, this is, in my opinion, one of the most useful aspects of type. Not knowing type at all, that is, and just knowing one key thing: Sensing prefers to learn in the order of application → theory → application Intuition prefers to learn in the order of theory → application → theory If you know what you prefer, and you see your professor doing something along other lines, you can make sure that you balance out the material and how you study towards your own preferences. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/27 "2004-12-05T17:29:02Z")
> [@chatelaine](#): > > Or, as I fear, am I just rather dull and slow? I don’t know, but if you are, so am I, 'cause I have no clue how to even begin figuring out the corrent answer to those questions. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/28 "2004-12-05T17:55:42Z")
> [@hammos1](#): > > Has anyone tried the verbal IQ test on that site? > > What kind of verbal intelligence is being tested here? > > 1. Bloody sock is to \_\_\_\_ as festering ankle sore is to Winston Smith. > > 2. Borglum : Founding Fathers :: Roebling : \_\_\_\_ ? > > Q8 belongs in a game of Trivial Pursuit! I thought those questions were ridiculous too! Especially the one that deals with a “festering ankle sore.” Funny, because I just picked up _1984_ to read for the first time and didn’t know the answer to the question yet. So, if _1984_ had been required reading in my school instead of _Animal Farm_ my IQ would be a couple points higher? I studied a lot of Latin American literature in college, but I guess that didn’t make me any smarter. Should have focused on European literature and history. :rolleyes: Still, I won’t dismiss the validity of the test, because I scored very high. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/29 "2004-12-05T18:27:50Z")
I took the verbal test and scored exactly what I’ve scored on every IQ test I’ve ever taken. One of the questions is driving me nuts, and I’d like to know what answer others came up with. I’m going to post both the question and my answer (which I wasn’t thrilled with) as spoilers. The question: What word can be added to each of these three words to make three new words? fish board gaze My answer: able Also, I took the timed test, but when I clicked “okay” to score, it took me back to the home page and didn’t give me a score. Has anyone taken the timed test and successfully received a score? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/30 "2004-12-05T18:36:44Z")
Count me as one of the people who have trouble with the “what comes next” questions. The simpler mathematical ones are usually obvious–I took one of the tests on the OP’s link and was able to recognize the pattern in 1,3,6,10,… as triangular numbers. But I’m never sure about the shape questions. For example, there was one that had four three-dimensional stacks of blocks in various arrangements, and then a series below from which you were supposed to pick the one that was like the first four. I can usually rule out the obvious wrong answers, but then there usually remain two or three correct possibilities. I just squeaked in at 126. I might have done better if I’d been able to use a paper and pencil; I didn’t study the rules that closely. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/31 "2004-12-05T18:52:44Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > I took the verbal test and scored exactly what I’ve scored on every IQ test I’ve ever taken. One of the questions is driving me nuts, and I’d like to know what answer others came up with. I’m going to post both the question and my answer (which I wasn’t thrilled with) as spoilers. > The question: > > What word can be added to each of these three words to make three new words? fish board gaze > > My answer: > > able I answered “star.” I started by focusing on “gaze” because that one seemed to have the smallest number of possibilities. I’m surprised I came up with it very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/32 "2004-12-05T18:54:11Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > My answer: > > able star I kept taking that test trying to figure out what the op was talking about and it kept crashing. I thought maybe at the end I would find out the answer to the question with the letter sequence with the diagram of the bottlecappy looking circles all connected by lines in sort of a pentagon? But every time I paused for too long my browser froze. I stared at that stupid thing for a long time. Usually that’s my method for solving the pattern ones, is to stare. I started to daydream that I could print out that bottle cap one and look at it every day til I’m old and one day I would be 85 shaking my fist “damn you puzzle” and then keel over dead. The puzzle has one, the secret wisdom remains hidden for future generations. So I guessed. Normally when I had IQ tests in school I did well on the ones where you have to put jigsaw puzzles together in your head or imagine what an object will look like after you shift it all around according to a verbal explanation but some of those made me dizzy to contemplate. The ones with the flattened out origami shapes really annoyed me. I didn’t read the rules and wouldn’t let myself use a pencil either, but I don’t think it would be allowed. A lot of them would have been very easy with a pencil. Also how much does the chocolate cost? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/33 "2004-12-05T19:02:07Z")
> [@pokey](#): > > Also how much does the chocolate cost? Thanks for the answer to the word problem–that was driving me nuts. And I couldn’t figure out the bottlecappy one either. The chocolate question: Add 5 cents for each consonant and 3 cents for each vowel in the item’s name. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/34 "2004-12-05T19:20:02Z")
> [@chatelaine](#): > > Or, as I fear, am I just rather dull and slow? You could be in that particular area. IQ tests simply measure a set of quantifyable skills. Recognizing patterns, memory, spatial relationships, etc. While you might struggle in that particular section, other people have no problem with it. It’s like, if I tested how fast you can run the 100 yd dash or how much you can bench press. They are just several measurements that might help me figure out if someone is a good athlete. Take the law school LSAT exam for example (I just took it this weekend). A 10 year old can complete the test perfectly if given all the time in the world. But the test measures who can complete it taking about a minute a question. That’s what makes it tough. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/35 "2004-12-05T19:20:16Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > The chocolate question: Oh the sweet sweet light of understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/36 "2004-12-05T19:34:38Z")
Anyone worked out the numbers on the red star? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/37 "2004-12-05T20:15:27Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Anyone worked out the numbers on the red star? IIRC, numbers opposite each other added up to 13. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/38 "2004-12-05T20:37:31Z")
The score I got is within the margin of error indicated by my standard IQ score. I must admit I took my sweet time completing it. Interesting test, but as I got to the end, I just felt tired out. I think there’s a definite attention span penalty built into this, and it was all I could do to even care toward the end. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/39 "2004-12-05T21:20:34Z")
Red star - yes I see. thanks, Shrew. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/40 "2004-12-05T21:20:36Z")
I was zooming along on the culture fair test, until I hit two in row with a pentagon inside another pentagon, with all points connected by lines. I guess those are the “bottlecappy things” ones. I got frustrated by those and gave up. I definitely don’t have the attention span for that nonsense. I’m thinking that people who play chess would be good at a lot of these. Anyone think that makes sense? Personally. I don’t have the concentration required for chess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049.md?page=3)