How smart are you?

August 6, 2002 4:40 PM

How smart are you? Are blondes really as dumb as people say? Does an IQ test administered via television/net/SMS have any validity anyway?
posted by dg (9 comments total)

I was determined not to get sucked into doing this test when I heard the ads on TV, but found myself scrambling for a pen and paper as the first question was being read out. I wish it had been held a week later, as I move into a higher age bracket then and gain another 4 points :-)
posted by dg at 4:45 PM on August 6, 2002

Bald comes up last on that chart. Does that explain the dot-com crash, what with all those shaved-goateed-skinny glasses dudes who were the archetype of that scene?
posted by HTuttle at 5:02 PM on August 6, 2002

I had this on in the background for a very short while last night as I was working on my PC. When they started introducing the groups, they lost all validity. When they introduced "builders", they lost all respect. (Not because of the trade, just because of the arbitrary nature.) When they introduced "blondes" I laughed out loud. At "New Zealanders" I turned it off, then walked up to the other end of the house to mock my mother's choice of programming (She was the one that told me it was on).

It must suck to work at a commercial TV station these days. Just when you thought they were scraping the bottom of the barrel, they find a lower place. At least Australian TV didn't think up the Anna Nicholl "Reality" TV show.
posted by krisjohn at 6:20 PM on August 6, 2002

I think the groups selected reflect the source of a lot of Australian humor and stereotypes (except builders - wtf were they thinking?). Of course, no Australian IQ test would be complete without comparing the average IQ of different football codes. *shudder*.

I tried to ignore the TV when it came on, but couldn't resist the temptation to test myself.
posted by dg at 6:33 PM on August 6, 2002

Smart enough not to waste my time?
posted by Hall at 6:49 PM on August 6, 2002

The point of the show was to make us watch and talk about it. To stimulate the discussion of course they're going to stir up old stereotypes, make crass jokes and generally make three hours of crap cheap TV.

People who work at 9 and any big commercial station, they love this kind of show .. there's new promo's to be made, ad space to be sold, and most importantly the constant babble of information about the NUMBERS.

The numbers are god in commercial TV, stats over which show rated highest .. it's all anyone cares about .. viewers aren't people ... they're a mass .. a big amorphous blob to attract.

ABC and SBS are so good precisely because they don't aim at the big gray blob in all of us.
posted by mrben at 7:03 PM on August 6, 2002

looking at that chart... No group has an average score of less then 107. How the hell does that work out?

And whats a "builder"? is that like a construction worker?
posted by delmoi at 1:03 AM on August 7, 2002

A builder is someone who builds houses. You know, like "Bob the Builder"
posted by dg at 6:28 AM on August 7, 2002

Who says drinking kills brain cells?

Ahh, skewed statistics eases the pain...
posted by psychotic_venom at 6:29 AM on August 7, 2002