this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Today I Learned

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(a)The number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in any armed force during any fiscal year whose score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test is at or above the tenth percentile and below the thirty-first percentile may not exceed 20 percent of the total number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in such armed force during such fiscal year.

(b)A person who is not a high school graduate may not be accepted for enlistment in the armed forces unless the score of that person on the Armed Forces Qualification Test is at or above the thirty-first percentile; however, a person may not be denied enlistment in the armed forces solely because of his not having a high school diploma if his enlistment is needed to meet established strength requirements.

An AFQT score is derived from the ASVAB(essentially the militaries' IQ test). IQ scores are based on a normal distribution of scores from the general population with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. So the 30th percentile represents an IQ score of 92 while the 10th percentile would correlate with an IQ of 81.

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[–] disasterpiece@lemmy.world 70 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I see you too are a person of taste and watch Veritasium 😛

Guilty as charged. I haven't finished the video just yet though. It took me a while to track down a source for that info.

[–] ExecutiveStapler@kbin.social 18 points 2 years ago (6 children)

God that video annoyed me so much. You aren't supposed to practice for an IQ test. If you practice, whatever result you get is basically invalid as the test presumes you are approaching the problems for the first time. It wouldn't annoy me if it wasn't Veritasium, but he presents himself as a science educator and should know better.

[–] TeamDman@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (3 children)

A generous interpretation could be that it's a bad metric because you can train for it

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[–] jwmgregory@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

the video annoys you because you’re not the target audience. you clearly already see validity in IQ as a metric and have use cases for it. most STEM people (veritasium’s audience writ large) do not traditionally view IQ favorably, and at worst consider it a worthless bunk metric. the video isn’t intended to say “hey! here’s how psychiatrist and psychologist view and use IQ in statistical analysis and their work (bc remember, STEM people know about this legitimate use in these fields, they just typically discount or look down upon it due to IQ’s reputation),” it’s intended to say “hey! i know you don’t think IQ is real/valid, but here is a video essay exploring the concept through a very STEM lense.” of course he talks about taking the test and studying for it. he talks about taking the test blind too. he’s a fucking engineer, physicist, and doctor. the exact kind of person to recognize what tools like IQ metrics actually are, and that there is no single one way to measure, use, or quantify this data that’s more “correct” than others, when divorced from context. veritasium demonstrated a very thorough understanding of the actual concepts and theoretical principles that underlie IQ, and I thought his video was a very fresh perspective. it certainly demonstrated a mastery of the concept that i believe is absent from someone who might hold the opinions you’re espousing here (genuinely don’t mean to come off as rude here sorry for having autism energy)

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

It feels silly to frame it like that. You could consider a general education as practice for an IQ test.

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Stole my comment! We’re really nailing that reddit vibe 😂

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

well, that's better than Jordan Peterson, who likes to mention this topic

[–] WiseThat@lemmy.ca 44 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This is a myth. There IS a test, called the "Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)", which is a competency test to see what jobs you would be suited for, but that is NOT an IQ test.

Sure, if you score badly on that test you will LIKELY have a low score on an IQ test, probably because something like 40% of American adults are illiterate or have low-literacy and that would impact your ability to do any test.

But the military does not IQ test.

[–] Dax87@forum.stellarcastle.net 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It is a percentile-based test against others who've tested on it. So it's similar to an IQ test in that regard.

[–] WiseThat@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

Sure... But it's a DIFFERENT TEST, on a different population of people, with the goal of measuring military-specific factors.

[–] contextual_somebody@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

This is essentially a semantics argument and doesn’t make this post a “myth.” The military aptitude tests are effectively an intelligence quotient, just not a standard “IQ test”

[–] torknorggren@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

And if low iq folks are more likely to seek enlistment, the distribution could be significantly lower than iq/the population at large.

[–] bassomitron@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago (6 children)

Eh, I met plenty of very smart people while serving. I also met plenty of very fucking stupid people. I'd say the ratio is about the same as the general population, since the military offers a lot of very attractive financial incentives to poor and middle class folks alike. Although, free college is the number one reason most enlist, in my experience. I know it was the main reason I did it. Gotta love a society that allows colleges to price gouge tuition so badly in the first place...

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[–] WiseThat@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes, there is absolutely a sampling bias here

[–] mikeyBoy14@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

There are probably ways to correlate the military test with a standardized IQ test, and which point the military test might be a rough proxy for IQ. If that was the case, the 80 IQ rule might be roughly accurate.

I don't know if that's been done though. Just playing devil's advocate.

[–] Dax87@forum.stellarcastle.net 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I think there have been studies on the correlation between ASVAB scores and IQ scores. The correlation is supposedly 0.8.

This stack exchange post has a few sources linked

https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/20220/to-what-extent-does-afqt-correlate-with-iq

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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 35 points 2 years ago

I also just watched a Veritasium video.

[–] spacedancer@lemmy.world 22 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Meanwhile, the police have a maximum IQ limit and anyone above that is not qualified.

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[–] n0cturnali@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This is inaccurate. The military doesn't IQ test. ASVAB is designed to test your proficiency in different career fields.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Done by a test designed to determine relative learning ability and proficiency compared to your age group?

[–] skookumasfrig@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 years ago

While the ASVAB does in many ways serve a similar function to an IQ test, it really isn't the same thing.

[–] mo_ztt@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] reflex@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
[–] Strangle@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago

All the IQ rejected admissions go to the policy academy, I presume?

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Insert Marine Corps joke here

[–] snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Crayon eaters.

[–] zourn@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago

I think a skills-based aptitude test that is honed towards specific occupations and a vague intelligence test that the creators even believe barely gives a tenuous grasp on mental ability is not a good comparison.

[–] ubermeisters@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Unfortunately a lot of recruiters will Coach people in order to make sure they meet the minimums

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If you can be coached to make the standard, then you were already capable of reaching the standard.

Also, the IQ test that the military gives, the ASVAB, is a very long test. The average time to complete it is 90 minutes. The maximum is 154 minutes.

If you can be coached through that, then you've earned your place. And the simple truth is, people can be coached on the test and do better. Which is okay.

[–] ubermeisters@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You're assuming I meant "not cheating", which I didnt.

Source: veteran

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[–] wfm@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

Hello fellow Veritasium enjoyer

[–] MothBookkeeper@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

If only we did the same thing with voters.

Kidding, that wouldn't work. But... sigh.

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