Hm. Its still abstract. Without telling me "a face in profile" I could totally misinterpret the blocks. That ear - wow. And the mouth - why isn't the paint reflected in the shape of the block?
And who's to say how many took the test with the paint worn off?
Further, I'd say this has no fewer cultural references than any other IQ test. Doing a block puzzle at all is cultural. Understanding that the ink and the shapes were independent parts of the problem. That a face could be drawn in profile. That a face can be represented just by eyes, lips, ears, and painted mouth. That anybody would draw important conclusions about your future from a child's toy.
If we have a culture where doing block puzzles is a thing, what does a potential immigrant's inability to understand the concept say about his potential to assimilate?
I can't help thinking the adjective "feeble minded" applies more to people that genuinely thought aptitude for solving such a puzzle said much about the employability and mindset required to integrate into early American societies than the immigrants bemused by the request and the puzzle's rather poor design...
Well, the article says they rejected 0.1% of the applicants for "feeble mindedness", and yet the rate of mental retardation in the adult population seems to be about 0.6%
So it really doesn't seem that many people had trouble solving it.
More to the point, I doubt there was much correspondence between the small set of people expelled for not completing the puzzle to the assessor's satisfaction and the (arguably larger) set of people whose presence in the United States was likely to prove problematic.
And who's to say how many took the test with the paint worn off?
Further, I'd say this has no fewer cultural references than any other IQ test. Doing a block puzzle at all is cultural. Understanding that the ink and the shapes were independent parts of the problem. That a face could be drawn in profile. That a face can be represented just by eyes, lips, ears, and painted mouth. That anybody would draw important conclusions about your future from a child's toy.