My on going obsession with iq and the value our society places on a test score that tends to unfairly brand some of us has caused myself to purchase the book “The Bell Curve”, I’ve basically have read bits and pieces of the book so far and I wonder if I’m wasting my time.
The only reason that I’m bringing up this topic on this forum is yesterday (5-11-05) the newest registered user was “Herrnstein”, that indicates to me that some of you have possibly read this book and might be able offer your opinion, or it could be that isn’t the case, either way if you’ve read the book please offer me your thoughts.
I have not read the book, but here’s a review by a psychology professor.
www.sfu.ca/~wwwpsyb/issues/1996/winter/keenan.htm
I completed grad school in 1973 and have been working ever since. No one has ever asked for my IQ score. In my work as a rehabilitation counselor and vocational evaluator I see lots of reports containing IQ scores, but to me they are just one little piece of information. They are sometimes useful for establishing eligibility for one program or another, but they do NOT tell me what an individual has done so far in life or what they are capable of accomplishing. An IQ score certainly never gave me any insight into someone’s motivation and desire to succeed.
I had a psychology professor, a successful professor, way back when who always claimed that he’d scored an 80 on an IQ test in high school.
John