From: Mike Lorrey <mlorrey@datamann.com>
Subject: Re: Mensa, was Re: IQ tests
Yes, and apparently their primary real distinction in the world was an
ability to devise IQ tests to test very high intelligence..... talk
about self selection...>>
Mike,
Promethus and Mega do attempt to devise tests to quantify genius.
This is very much a good thing. But implying self-selection is a prime
motivating factor...well maybe you should read Gift of Fire...Prom/Mega
are trying to "Reach" as many people as they can.
Promethus and Mega have a big problem..there is very little interest
in the psychometric community in differentiating between the ultra-
high fractions of the top percentile on standard IQ tests. They are
trying to do an end run around this... but there is still difficulties.
Once you've hit the apex of standard crystal g (or something
very very close to it) where do you work to grow next? This
is the sort of question the ultra-high IQ folks seem to be looking at.
AMong other things. Promethus and Mega are solidly on
the right team ideologically. Transhumanist technology implies
trying to get smarter (I would say "quantifiably smarter"). But
to quantify we have to have testing with predictive power.
A question for the list..
Leaving aside the question of AI, what's the list impression
of what a superhuman mind might be like (yes I know this
is asking the gorillas about a super-silverback :).
I tend to think that superhuman intelligence might be best
classified as levels of intelligence quantifiably different from our own.
An individual with a 4 sigma IQ and a PerfectRecall chip in their
cortex is smarter. But their baseline intel is the same just more
effeciently harnessed. What is everyone's favorites for a cohesive
theory of general intelligence? I dislike Multiple Intelligences/Gardner
because it lacks any evidence. Triarchic Intelligence/Sternburg is
proposed in a much more scientific fashion (and it's author is actually
attempting to prove/disprove his hypothesis, unlike Gardner).
In a nutshell, I can see giving everyone in the human race a 140 IQ,
perfect recall, and a turbocharged cognition system. But what ELSE
can we try to do?
regards,
Brian
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:07 MDT