An IQ of 140 is achieved by: A) 1 in every 261 people. B) 1 in every 1024 people. C) 1 in every 5206 people. Answer: A person who registers an IQ of 140 on an IQ series of tests for which the mean is 100 and standard deviation 15, is in the 99.616957th percentile. …
This question is at the root of a “nature vs. nurture debate that has raged for the past three centuries and has now been illuminated by recent research. The intelligence that we develop through adulthood derives from the DNA we inherited from our parents (nature) and the experiences we accumulate in our voyage through life …
The answer to this question depends, to some extent, to your definition of success. If success in life is about the accumulation of wealth and an affluent lifestyle, then this kind of success is more accessible to people of average, or slightly above average intellect, than most people would imagine. In his study of successful …
What’s the best way for a person of average IQ to be successful in life? Read More »
On October 4, 2023, the New York Times published an article by journalist Jessica Grose titled, Teachers Can’t Hold Students Accountable. It’s Making the Job Miserable. In her article, Jessica describes the current crisis in American Education. Her article presents evidence of declining student performance in mathematics and language, grade inflation, increasing student absenteeism and …
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A golf ball is approximately spherical with a radius of about 2 cm. Spaceship Earth is approximately a sphere of radius of 27 m. About how many golf balls would it take to fill Spaceship Earth? A) 20,000,000 B). 200,000,000 C). 2,000,000,0000 Answer: The volume V of a sphere is given by V = (4/3)πR3 …
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Brilliant people are often characterized as socially inept because they often display behaviours that transcend normalcy. The brilliant physicist, John von Neumann, was known for his quirky behaviors, such as standing at the bottom of a staircase and looking up the dresses of woman as they walked upstairs. Yet, in certain social circles, he entertained …
A bank offers a cash advance credit card at an interest rate of 24%, and no payments required for 3 years. What amount is closest to what you will owe if you borrow $3000 now and make no payments? A) $4000 B.) $5000 C). $6000 Answer: The amount owing increases by 24% each year. The …
Two comets, Alpha and Beta have periodic orbits with periods of exactly 76 years and 48 years respectively. When both comets appear in the same year, they are said to be in conjunction. How many years are between successive conjunctions? Answer: Alpha returns in multiples of 76 years and Beta in multiples of 48 years. …
Waxing eloquent on group membership, comedian Julius “Groucho” Marx famously said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.” In spite of his assertion, Groucho belonged to a variety of in-groups. As one of 5 brothers born in Manhattan to Jewish parents of German and French extraction, his …
How important is a person’s biological heritage to their sense of self and Identity? Read More »
Autopsies on prominent humans enabled the investigation of intelligence relative to brain size. Though some highly intelligent people were found to have possessed significantly larger than average brains, there were many who did not. Gauss, regarded by historians of mathematics as one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time, weighed in at what has …
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