this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
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I question how you can even design a test such that the result has a normal distribution around a specific score without testing everyone and applying some kind of bell curve to the overall results. Especially when you want to boil intelligence down to a single dimension. Even if that one number is based on a composite of others, that complicates the turning it into a bell curve, which makes designing a test to target a specific average even harder.
And add to that average intelligence itself being a moving target. Someone of above average intelligence in the middle ages might be considered below average today.
as far as I know, yep fitting the "raw score" of a test to a bell curve is exactly how it's done. And often the score is sort of "localized", for example only other scores from the same country and done in the same year are compared.
(one related example is the flynn effect)
IQ is in reality a very rough metric, I think the only widely accepted practical use is to detect developmental or mental issues (often associated with an IQ below 70), and even then you need to consider that eg. someone who never received adequate education may score lower than what they "should"