# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**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, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/41 "2004-12-05T21:21:47Z")
Sorry, that should be: Thanks, Biffy. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/42 "2004-12-06T00:02:52Z")
Thanks for all of your replies. I, too, gave the following answer for the “board, gaze, fish” question: star Also, I just want to say one thing: Ya’ll are some really smart cookies. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/43 "2004-12-06T01:10:50Z")
Here are my solutions for the culture fair test. I was pretty confident in them all except for those 2 “bottlecap” questions, which I had to just guess on. If anyone knows how to do the bottlecap ones, please tell! 1. The shadowed areas are different on the middle one. 2. Going across, whatever was blue on either of the first two will be blue in the third. 3. Going down, the same number of total sides in each column. 4. Going across, whatever doesn’t match from the first two makes it to the third column. 5. The shape right across the border of each square is the same shape as the central shape of that square but the opposite color. (4th answer across is right) 6. The colored squares travel in a set pattern: top right, top left, bottom right, bottom left, center, top right, etc. 7. All the popsicle sticks except one are both above and below another popsicle stick. 8. Same total number of sides. (12:12 :: 15:15) 9. Take the left 2 columns and push them over to the right, then stack the right 2 columns on top, with the rightmost column now the lower row. 10. Answered F. This one you just have to look at. 11. Orange goes clockwise in a pattern 2, 1, 2, 1, etc. Red goes counterclockwise in a pattern 0, 2, 0, 2, etc. 12. One orange ball is just going around the inner pentagram, the other follows straight lines until it hits a corner, then doesn’t backtrack. (4th answer across) 13. Thinking of the object as 6 triangles, the orange is moving 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5, so the answer is to have it move 6, which since there are six will place it exactly where it started. 14. Guessed. 15. Guessed. 16. Second answer because it had six colored areas, and the number of colored areas never decreased in the series. 17. In a rectangle, no line between = add. In a rectangle, line between = keep only what has a duplicate. In a shaded rectangle, line between = cancel out duplicates. (first answer is correct) 18. Last answer is right, just have to fold it in your mind. 19. Look at the dark arrow over the light arrow in C - that can’t happen. 20. B by process of elimination. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/44 "2004-12-06T01:44:39Z")
Not that I resent these IQ test sites or anything (my score was quite flattering; probably falsely so), but aren’t they mostly just fronts for email address -harvesting operations? ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/45 "2004-12-06T01:57:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Not that I resent these IQ test sites or anything (my score was quite flattering; probably falsely so), but aren’t they mostly just fronts for email address -harvesting operations? Never asked for my addy. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/46 "2004-12-06T01:58:59Z")
Maybe this one is an exception then; I know a few of the others don’t give you the results directly; they insist on mailing you a ‘full report’ ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/47 "2004-12-06T04:13:35Z")
> [@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 > > 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? I took only the Ultimate IQ one so far and got 125. Just missed on it. But the better, I think, answer to the fish board gaze addition is star ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/48 "2004-12-06T04:50:54Z")
> [@Joe Random](#): > > I was only able to answer two of the spatial ones: the one with the lines and circles, and the cube with the patterns on the faces. Having patterns gave me points of reference between the folded and non-folded images, making it fairly easy to compare them. I **might** have been able to do the other ones, too, but I was sick and tired of mental rotation, so I just skipped the hard ones 😉 > > Final score: 146. > Conclusion: I’m good at taking IQ tests. > > Of course, it helps that I’ve seen a couple of the questions before. Specifically, the series of “ **O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, N, ?** ” and “ **2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, ?** ”. Those are both pretty common questions. I consider myself really good at patterns. Like, really really good, generally… Why the hell is the last letter N? Also, what’d everyone put for the cutting a pie with 3 slices? I was annoyed at that question. I put: Infinite Because if your 3rd cut is a continuous spiral going from out to in, everytime it crosses the other 2 lines, you have a slice. And since, in theory, you can get a spiral tighter and tighter infinitely, you will have an answer of infinite. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/49 "2004-12-06T04:59:36Z")
The last letter is N because the first eight letters are the first letters in one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, and N is the first letter of nine. For the circle-cutting one, I put seven, on the assumption that you had to make straight lines. After all, if you could put a spiral on it, you could get an infinite number of sections with only two lines, no? The folded/unfolded pattern questions made me crazy. I could probably do them, but it’d require literally half an hour of work for each, and it just wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049/50 "2004-12-06T05:32:27Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > I know I have problems properly seeing some colors, but those G\_DD\_MN\_D 3D pictures that were popular a few years back drove me nuts. Peoplke would say, "Ain’t that dog cute " and I’d say. “What dog?” :dubious: It’s a sailboat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-see-what-other-people-obviously-see-iq-test-related/278049.md?page=2)