IQ of 50, what can be done?

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There seems to be a weird misconception about what constitutes difficulty here.

Because something is subjective that does not mean it is difficult. If something is difficult, it is difficult; the process of getting to an answer/conclusion is what makes the subject not the nature of the answer.

Reply 81

username878045

Original post by CodeJack

Low IQ doesn't mean they do horrible in education. There have been amazing programmers and mathematicians who have a low IQ. They're good at what they do, but not in the areas in which are tested for IQ tests.

Yes, but an IQ of 50 places you in the bottom 0.1% (assuming the average is 100 and sd is 15. In reality, IQs have risen since first developed, so it's probably even lower than 0.1%).

Reply 82

John Stuart Mill

IQ is a silly measurement, if someone has an IQ of 50 they should practice doing IQ tests and studying european culture for bias++

Reply 83

John Stuart Mill

Original post by Ggmu!

I'm history at school level, the conclusion from your work is often looking at you right in the face, they make it so obvious. There is little to no complicated analysis required.

If you were to sample 10000 random people and asked them to sit an A Level History and A Level Physics/Chemistry/Maths paper, I'd bet a majority would find the science/maths paper more difficult

Posted from TSR Mobile

duh derp brain to quote David Hilbert
"We are not speaking here of arbitrariness in any sense. Mathematics is not like a game whose tasks are determined by arbitrarily stipulated rules. Rather, it is a conceptual system possessing internal necessity that can only be so and by no means otherwise."

Obviously if you've never studied mathematics it will be difficult because you're not familar with the notion, if you've never studied a language you won't be able to write an adequate analysis in history either.

+ logical fallacy ad populum, just because 10,000 people think something doesn't make it so.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 84

Tochai

Original post by Darth Stewie

As for higher education it would depend on what they were looking to pursue, subjects such as maths and physics would be out of the question however humanities and arts may still be an option. You would need to talk to a specialist who could give you a better idea of exactly what the person in question is capable of.

I would hazard a guess that there are more maths savants than humanities ones.

Reply 85

cl_steele

Original post by DickDastardly

which wikipedia page did you get that from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Real-life_accomplishments

Reply 86

cl_steele

Original post by james22

I was only really refering to gcse's, someone with an iq of 50 could probably not do a levels. I'm not arguing that science is harder than humanities normally, just that humanities are easier for someone with iq 50.

Well its doubtful theyd be able to do GCSE's either but regardless since an IQ score is at best a dubious indication of someones intelligence its a purely academic arguement, no?

Reply 87

Tronick

Original post by Olympiad

"someone" i.e you.

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Doubt anyone with an iq of 50 would be able to use this site, let alone think of such an eloquent question (regardless of minor grammar mistakes made by op)

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Reply 88

Stevo112

Original post by PythianLegume

Yes, but an IQ of 50 places you in the bottom 0.1% (assuming the average is 100 and sd is 15. In reality, IQs have risen since first developed, so it's probably even lower than 0.1%).

Well no because IQ is a measure of distribution of the entire population, whereby we classify people in terms of a normal two tailed distribution curve using 100 as the mean/median value.

Theoretically the IQ values do not rise for each person, but they might appear to rise where tests are used which are out of date. To get a true reflection of IQ distribution the test would have to be constructed to account for recent trends.

So in essence IQ values do not rise, but because they are based around a hugely subjective measurement tool they are in effect consistently inaccurate.

Reply 89

ZionCrimeFactory

No way the poster has an IQ of 50 I doubt he would even be smart enough to register on this forum.

Reply 90

CodeJack

Original post by PythianLegume

Yes, but an IQ of 50 places you in the bottom 0.1% (assuming the average is 100 and sd is 15. In reality, IQs have risen since first developed, so it's probably even lower than 0.1%).

You've totally missed the point I was making.

Reply 91

username878045

Original post by CodeJack

You've totally missed the point I was making.

I understand that IQ is not a perfect measure of intelligence and that low IQ does not necessarily make you stupid or an academic failure, but an IQ of 50 is a very extreme score.

Reply 92

james22

Original post by cl_steele

Well its doubtful theyd be able to do GCSE's either but regardless since an IQ score is at best a dubious indication of someones intelligence its a purely academic arguement, no?

IQ is very innaccurate, but unless someone had a specific learning difficulty that made them stuggle with just the specific things an iq test asks then an iq of 50 is very bad in any case, it's just too extreme for any alternative other than stupidity,

Reply 93

Futility

Original post by joseon

My parents had my IQ measured when I was 13 and I only scored 83. I still managed to get into university to study my chosen subject, so that proves it's not impossible to get a decent education with a low IQ. Having said that, I do struggle to understand some concepts and it takes me longer to get to grips with new material than most of my fellow students. Based on this I'd have to say that somebody with an IQ of 50 will struggle even more and will probably require a lot extra tutoring.

I note from your other posts that you are originally from South Korea, I therefore presume that English is your second language? May I ask did you take your IQ test in English? If so, your score may well not have been accurate. Certainly, from the way that you write and reason, as well your vocabulary and sentence structure etc, I would speculate that your IQ is probably much higher than 83.

In any case, an IQ of 83, whilst quite low, is a long way from the moderate mental retardation an IQ of 50 suggests. Somebody with that level of mental handicap would require a great deal of learning support just to complete high school; going to university would simply be completely out of the question.

Reply 94

flying plum

Just to be a bore, could I again quietly mention that the terms 'retardation' and 'handicap' are outdated, and quite offensive to people with intellectual disabilities. Could we try to use accepted terminology...

Reply 95

Futility

Original post by flying plum

So far as I was aware, mental retardation is the accepted terminology used by psychologists to refer to people with an IQ of <70, but by all means, update me as appropriate. Which terminology would your prefer I use?

Edit: I just read your initial post; the term 'intellectual disability' is not synonymous with mental retardation, but is actually a broad umbrella term which encompasses a range of different types of learning difficulties from dyslexia and dyscalculia to profound mental retardation. Therefore, in order to avoid ambiguity, I don't think it's inappropriate to use the term mental retardation when specifically discussing individuals with low IQs, as we are in this thread.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 96

DickDastardly

Original post by cl_steele

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Real-life_accomplishments

thanks homie

Reply 97

carlos10000

Ok, let's suppose this person with an IQ of 50 begins brain training to raise their IQ. How high could it become? Could they develop their mind to have an average IQ?

Reply 98

cl_steele

Original post by carlos10000

Ok, let's suppose this person with an IQ of 50 begins brain training to raise their IQ. How high could it become? Could they develop their mind to have an average IQ?

doubtful, if its that low its generally a sign of mental retardation which isnt especially 'fixable'

Reply 99

PatrickB

Original post by james22

Yes but in almost every question 9at least the ones I did) they tested the knowledge of that formula by making you do a (basic) calculation with it.

You don't just remember facts and dates for history at A Level or degree level. If you think you do you have created your own idea of what history is (a misconception)

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iP