2.3 Measures of Human Intelligence

Intelligence Quotient - IQ

The most commonly accepted and generally standardized measure of Human Intelligence is the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and is a measure of cognitive ability that is typically assessed through a series of standardized tests. IQ tests are designed to measure a range of cognitive abilities, including language comprehension, logical reasoning, problem-solving, spatial awareness, and other factors that are thought to contribute to overall Human Intelligence.

The most commonly accepted IQ test is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) for Humans aged 16 years or older, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for Humans aged 6 to 16 years. These tests are widely used by psychologists and other mental health professionals to measure cognitive abilities, including verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. However, it's important to note that IQ tests are just one measure of Human Intelligence, and should be used in combination with other forms of assessment to get a more comprehensive understanding of an individual Human's cognitive abilities.

While IQ tests can provide a general measure of cognitive ability, they really are an imperfect measure of Intelligence. There are many factors that can influence the performance of a Human in an IQ test including variations in cultural and educational backgrounds, personal motivation, psychological and neurological bias, environmental conditions, and specific IQ testing conditions.

IQ tests only measure very a limited number of the Human Brain’s cognitive Capabilities and do not take into account other important dimensions of Human Intelligence, such as Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence, Creative Intelligence, Music Intelligence, Political Intelligence, and Moral Intelligence, to name just a few. It is important to recognize the specific limitations of IQ tests and consider there are many other measures of Human Intelligence that can be applied to each individual Human's Capabilities and potential.

Measuring the Value of dimensions of Intelligence

More generally, across the many different dimensions of Intelligence, it is possible to generally to grade and quantify the Value of each of these different Intelligence abilities, albeit with subjective tests and quantized ranges, using a number of specifically different dimensional measures as follows:

1. Clarity – the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, elaborate, and provide examples to illustrate.

2. Accuracy – the ability to produce correct and error-free work, can it be tested, and checked for truth.

3. Precision – the ability to be exact and specific in one's work, and are there more specific details.

4. Relevance – the ability to identify and address related information and issues, how close is the concept to the task, issue, problem, or question.

5. Depth – the ability to analyze and understand complex information and ideas, at different levels of complexity and difficulty.

6. Breadth – the ability to see connections and relationships across multiple domains or areas, and does it cover the issues and different perspectives. 

7. Logic – the ability to think critically and logically, does it make sense, and is there evidence.

8. Significance – the ability to understand the importance and implications of information and ideas, is it important, focused, and address the issues and facts.

9. Fairness – the ability to consider and address diverse perspectives and opinions, and does it consider all perspectives in a balanced way.

10. Consistency  - the ability to maintain a consistent level of quality in one's work over time.

11. Adaptability - the ability to adjust to changing circumstances and situations.

12. Persistence - the ability to persevere in the face of challenges and obstacles, and does it show goal directed determination.

13. Curiosity - the desire to learn and explore new ideas and information, and does it show an ability and interest to learn.

14. Introspective - the ability to reflect on one's own thinking, experience, and learning processes, and optimise the outcomes.

15. Resilience - the ability to bounce back from setbacks and failures, and keep going.

It is critical to realize that Human Intelligence has a very large number of different dimensions and that each and every one of these can in some way be graded across a number of different dimensional measures. Today’s currently accepted standardized IQ test and ranking is in reality, only a very rudimentary and narrow measure of the vast diversity of Human Intelligence and associated Capabilities.