Overview

How could IQ testing, which has only ever been a rough guide to ability, through the seductive power of a single, all-explaining number, have come to be seen as an objective and infallible measure of intelligence, even of human merit? In the first popular history of the intelligence test, Stephen Murdoch reveals how universal education, mass immigration into the US, and the demands of mobilisation in WWI, created the need to rank populations by intelligence. IQ tests were used to decide whether people could settle in a new country, whether they could reproduce, even whether they lived or died, but while they do have some predictive power, IQ tests don't explain people's capacity to think and understand the world around them. Could the concept of reshaping society based on exam results alone, ever be a good idea?

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9780715634479

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Reviews

'Well-informed ... undoubtedly powerful' - John Carey, The Sunday Times. 'A page-turner' - The Independent. 'The book's strength lies in its detailed analysis and intriguing historical detail' - Daily Mail. 'A highly readable account' - The Morning Star. 'Compelling from its first pages ... first-rate' - Russell Martin, author of Out of Silence . 'Lucid and engaging' - Dr Paul Lombardo, author of Three Generations, No Imbeciles . 'An up-to-date, reader-friendly account of the continuing saga of the mismeasure of women and men' - Dr Howard Gardner, Harvard University.

Author Information

"Stephen Murdoch is a journalist and writer. He has contributed to ""Newsweek"", ""Marketplace"", ""The Washington Post"", ""The Boston Globe"" and other publications. Previously he was a human rights lawyer in Cambodia and practiced civil litigation in Washington. He lives in California."

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