Three hours to test your IQ against TV teams

By AMANDA CAMERON

One part skill, three parts luck and eight parts Dutch courage.

That's the recipe for a high IQ score says Joel Bryan, winner of last year's interactive TV IQ test, Test the Nation.

Back after its successful debut last year, the three-hour show hosted by Simon Dallow and Stacey Daniels will be beamed live to TV One viewers at 7.30pm on Monday.

Mr Bryan got an IQ score of 127 last year, making him the smartest studio contestant.

The win brought no fame or fortune, said the 19-year-old Victoria University student.

"But now the drunks at the bar on campus occasionally yell, 'There's the tall, smart guy' instead of 'There's the tall guy'."

Mr Bryan competed in a team of students that narrowly missed out on being the top team last year. The celebrities came top with an average IQ of 105, trouncing both the sports stars and the blondes.

Ten celebrities will be vying for first place this year against six new studio groups: models, 60-plus, taxi drivers, cricket supporters, Tolkien fans and real estate agents.

This year's celebrity contestants include Mike King, Tania Dalton, Hamish Carter, Camillia Temple, Jason Gunn and Annie Whittle.

The show's producer, Peter Hallwright, won't be drawn on his pick for the top celebrity, but is not so coy about which studio group he's backing.

"I have heard that there are some very smart people in the cricket supporters group," he said.

Mr Bryan is competing again this year, but this time with the Tolkien fans.

He professes he has no thoughts of winning.

"My failure is inevitable: last year I was guessing," he said.

He says he expects the models will win this year.

"The Tolkein folks were inevitably going to win until I came on board and I'm going to drag the average right down."

Viewers can once again take the test at home by texting their answers via mobile phone or completing a score card online or with pen and paper.

A score between 90 and 110 means you have an average IQ score along with about 50 per cent of the population, says the official Test the Nation website.

But psychological experts are advising people who sit the test not to get too hung up on their score.

The chairman of the industrial and organisational division of the Psychological Society, Frank O'Connor, said IQ scores did not have the same meaning as other numbers.

Paul Barrett, adjunct professor of psychometrics and performance management at Auckland University, agrees.

"It's not like a ruler measurement at all," he says.

"The higher score you get, the more you've got of whatever it is that [IQ] is measuring, but we don't know how much more."

Mr O'Connor says people shouldn't take the results to heart.

"[IQ] is a rather overrated capability in an awful lot of ways," he says. "It's only something about you, it isn't you."

Hallwright agrees that people should not take the show too seriously.

"It's a bit of information and a bit of entertainment, and in between the two, hopefully it's a lot of fun."

Last year's test was devised in Australia, but this year's test has been prepared by two experts in New Zealand.

John Hattie is professor of education at Auckland University and has been in the field of psychological testing for more than 25 years.

Dr Richard Fletcher is a lecturer in psychological research methods at Massey University in Albany, Auckland.

This year's test should please Mensa members as it does not contain any general knowledge questions, which they say don't really test IQ.

And there's good news for people who prefer questions involving shapes and patterns - there are more of these this year, says Dr Fletcher.

"It's really getting to the core of what IQ is."

Test yourself


* Which word means the same as:


1. Timid

a) vain

b) flexible

c) listless

d) shy


2. Mix

a) adhere

b) roll

c) baste

d) blend


3. Prosaic

a) unique

b) intriguing

c) serious

d) ordinary


* Do the maths:


4. John and Diane bought 13 cans of tomato soup altogether. John bought 7 cans. How many did Diane buy?


a) 4

b) 7

c) 6

d) 5


5. A warehouse usually delivers 80 items a week. 15% of the inventory is stolen. How many items are left to be delivered?


a) 68

b) 74

c) 62

d) 76



Answers

1. d) Timid means shy.

2. d) Mix means blend.

3. d) Prosaic means ordinary.

4. c) 13-7 = 6

5. a) 15% of 80 is 12. 80-12 = 68 items.