[Beskargam]

I don't think GPA an accurate measure of intelligence. Im in high school and it GPA seems to be more about regurgitating facts and formulas for tests and quizzes. Iv got a friend who is quite frankly not all the bright and has no common sense and yet she has a high GPA. the opposite is true to. I don tthink GPA shows problem solving ability or creativity

[General Battuta]

I think it's definitely possible for fairly dumb people to have a good GPA. On the other hand it's rare for smart people to have a low GPA unless they're mad depressed or something. Therefore GPA is at least a decent cutoff.

[Topgun]

I don't think GPA an accurate measure of intelligence. Im in high school and it GPA seems to be more about regurgitating facts and formulas for tests and quizzes. Iv got a friend who is quite frankly not all the bright and has no common sense and yet she has a high GPA. the opposite is true to. I don tthink GPA shows problem solving ability or creativity

GPA is more about motivation than anything.

[Beskargam]

I think it's definitely possible for fairly dumb people to have a good GPA. On the other hand it's rare for smart people to have a low GPA unless they're mad depressed or something. Therefore GPA is at least a decent cutoff.

ok yeah i can agree with that. other factors can make a smart person have a low GPA tho. TG stole my point. . . 

[Mustang19]

And that's it for the evening edition of Race, Politics and Stupidity Started by Mustang19.

[Unknown Target]

UT, in your case I assume your professor had plenty of previous graded work from you an already had an idea what he could expect from your paper. So in that case if he believed that you were turning in the paper to make a statement and not because of any lack of ability it would be reasonable for him to suppose that your ability and understanding of the material were unchanged from past assignments. He might as well just drop the grade and let your average stay the same.

*She. My professor was a she.

As for you Battuta...congrats on missing my point.

[General Battuta]

Make your point better, maybe I'll get it. Or maybe you are going through a pretty misguided Gandhi phase which disposes you to acts that fail to make the points you want, I dunno.

[Kosh]

I think it's definitely possible for fairly dumb people to have a good GPA. On the other hand it's rare for smart people to have a low GPA unless they're mad depressed or something. Therefore GPA is at least a decent cutoff.

K through 12 in America is setup so that almost anyone can pass, so I second this sentiment.

[StarSlayer]

I think it's definitely possible for fairly dumb people to have a good GPA. On the other hand it's rare for smart people to have a low GPA unless they're mad depressed or something. Therefore GPA is at least a decent cutoff.

I'd point out that GPA doesn't necessarily need to be a measure of potential intelligence, and that factoring in how people apply themselves is arguably an important component.  If somebody is wicked smart but can't be arsed to actually accomplish anything, then even with their potential intelligence they are still useless.  You take somebody who might be not quite as bright but is willing to bust their ass to reach an objective then their value to schools or employers is much greater.  At the end of the day if a dumb person has a good GPA and a smart person doesn't it still measuring something

[General Battuta]

Quite so.

[Kolgena]

At least where I come from, a GPA is far from a perfect indicator. It's quite easy to take a bunch of junk classes and get a perfect GPA at one institution, yet someone smarter may have to scrape by with a B in one of the top universities. Toughness of grading/curriculum is a huge variable in this. That's why for lots of the most competitive secondary entry or professional programs, GPA matters, but not that much.

Spoiler:

Are we still on the subject of race here? I was reading through, and it almost felt like it was "which race has the biggest dick". I mean, penis length describes sexual prowess as much as an intelligence label describes mental ability

[Mars]

I think it's definitely possible for fairly dumb people to have a good GPA. On the other hand it's rare for smart people to have a low GPA unless they're mad depressed or something. Therefore GPA is at least a decent cutoff.

I speak purely through personal experience, but I know that my GPA went up 1.5 points from High School to college, once I was out of an abusive family.

I also know that abusive families are very common.

Therefore, I would suggest that GPAs are a better measure of family situation than intelligence.

[Grizzly]

I wouldn't say "incredibly" doubtful. There are already correlations between race and observable characteristics like skull size (which has a small IQ correlation) as mentioned in my sources, above and beyond SES and nutrition effects.

So what, exactly, is the correlation between IQ and skull size?

[Mustang19]

I wouldn't say "incredibly" doubtful. There are already correlations between race and observable characteristics like skull size (which has a small IQ correlation) as mentioned in my sources, above and beyond SES and nutrition effects.

So what, exactly, is the correlation between IQ and skull size?

.25 in this study. You can Google it too.

[Spicious]

But that future is not that far off from today, I would say. If you wanted to stretch it, look at our education system; everyone wants to get good numbers (GPA score) because it proves that they're smart, so that they can go to a good university to get a good GPA to prove that they're smart, so when employers look at you they only want to see that you went to a good university, and some even want to see your GPA (I actually had an employer ask me for mine after I sent them an application and I told them that I refused to give it).

You were offended that an employer would discriminate on academic performance?

[Mustang19]

We seem to be running out of entertaining discussion. While we're in this thread let's get on the topic of eugenics and the repugnant idea of preventing people with genetic predispositions toward schizophrenia or Down syndrome from having children. inb4 slippery slope & hitler

[The E]

genetic predispositions toward schizophrenia or Down syndrome

Is there one? I mean, is there a clinically proven, 99.99% accurate test to determine whether a) such symptoms will manifest in any children and, b) an accurate test to determine whether you are predisposed to pass them on, even if you yourself do not exhibit any symptoms?

inb4 slippery slope & hitler

Go ahead. Tell us what you really feel. And then find arguments just why you should be spared, if all the idiocy you advocate really should be enforced.

[Dilmah G]

We seem to be running out of entertaining discussion.

You appear to have a rather interesting definition of this, brother. 

[General Battuta]

Less than half of individuals genetically identical to schizophrenia victims ever develop the disease.

[StarSlayer]

But that future is not that far off from today, I would say. If you wanted to stretch it, look at our education system; everyone wants to get good numbers (GPA score) because it proves that they're smart, so that they can go to a good university to get a good GPA to prove that they're smart, so when employers look at you they only want to see that you went to a good university, and some even want to see your GPA (I actually had an employer ask me for mine after I sent them an application and I told them that I refused to give it).

You were offended that an employer would discriminate on academic performance?

If you are straight out of college, an employer has to look at that type of information because you have no previous work experience.  Your college performance is essentially the majority of your resume criteria, unless you have significant intern expierance in the field.  If you have a stick up your ass about them asking your GPA you better disabuse yourself of those notions pdq.