
The correlation between IQ and income - amelius
https://pumpkinperson.com/2016/02/11/the-incredible-correlation-between-iq-income/
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closed
This article is built around an error in statistical inference. The author
uses aggregate data to fit a linear model, then erroneously supposes the slope
can be applied to data at the individual level.

It can't.

For example, there are very few megarich people, but the aggregate model gives
them 1 (of the 7) data points. That's a lot of weight for a very small group.

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debatem1
From the article:

"It’s common knowledge in psychometric circles that reading comprehension
tests are statistically equivalent to IQ tests"

I'm not sure why the author throws this out there, then ignores it. English
proficiency is tightly correlated with SES in the US, and one of the
historical criticisms of IQ testing is that it mostly tests your ability to
understand the questions on the test rather than underlying cognitive
capability.

As a result, any conclusions about an IQ gap may be attributable to an
education gap, which I doubt very many people would deny exists.

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jormungandr
So, low IQ people earn less money because they have lower IQ or they have
lower IQ because they earn less money? Higher income implies better lifestyle.

Sorry for bad english.

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herbturbo
Has the author ever visited LA? I'm surrounded by rich idiots here.

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eecc
Ther interwebz says I score 127. Where's my McMansion?

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aerovistae
> One problem with this study is that 81% of the sample was black (much higher
> than the 45% among homeless Americans in general) and these tend to score
> lower on IQ tests, at least in the general population, however a UK sample
> of homeless obtained virtually identical scores on the WASI, despite being
> 96% white.

Uhhh....REALLY not sure what to make of this paragraph. If I'm not missing
something, seems to be implying that there's a correlation between race and
IQ. This is on HN?

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poke111
This is not a controversial opinion. It is a statistical fact of
psychometrics.

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aerovistae
I would be interested to see the results for a comparison of black and white
individuals _with comparable upbringings._

I have a very, _very_ hard time believing this.

Yes, if you compare the cognitive ability of someone in a 3rd world country to
that of someone in a first world country, or someone who grew up in poverty to
someone who grew up comfortably, I would be unsurprised to see a difference.

I would be intrigued to be linked to any peer-reviewed study that is not
colored by those factors.

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poke111
Here is a good start

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence)

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aerovistae
Did you read your own source?

> Currently, there is no non-circumstantial evidence that these differences in
> test scores have a genetic component,

\---

> Soon, other studies appeared, contesting these conclusions and arguing
> instead that the Army tests had not adequately controlled for the
> environmental factors such as socio-economic and educational inequality
> between African-Americans and Whites.

\----

> The majority of anthropologists today consider race to be a sociopolitical
> phenomenon rather than a biological one,[34] a view supported by
> considerable genetics research.

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poke111
I didn't mean to imply that I knew the answer to your question. I meant that
the IQ disparity is a statistical fact, but the cause is a hotly debated area
of research without clear answers, and the Wikipedia page is a good primer on
the various sides of the debate. The point is that in a study like this you
may have to adjust for oversampling by race.

