The Average

[Julianking93]

This is something that has been bothering me for a while now. Its the "average" of certain things. Some things that claim to be the average of a country (we'll use America for this) just don't seem right at all.

[b/]First Example[/b]: Weight

Average weight- Most people know that America is one of the fattest (if not [i/]the[/i] fattest) country in the world. This is no secret, yet the average weight for a 5'8 male in America (last I checked) was 160lbs and the average for a 5'4 female is 120 lbs.

Needless to say that this is a fairly low weight for a male and female and I find it extremely hard to believe this is the correct average. What's strange about it is that I remember reading a statistic back in 2002 that said the average weight was 140 for females and 190 for males (that seems about right) and I know for a fact that American's aren't getting thinner.

Just look at this random picture of a crowd sitting and try to find anyone who looks to be 120-160.

[spoiler/][img/]http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/recess_03_18/r10_18254641.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

[b/]Second Example: IQ[/b]

Okay, now most people here one the Escapist agree (including myself) that the IQ test for the most part is bullshit, that being said, I'm going to take it as a real test.

According to the statistics, the average IQ for an American is 100, so if I am to believe this is true, why are the majority of Americans absolutely retarded? To do my own experiment, me and my friends took 100 people and gave them a simple quiz/survey. It consisted of general knowledge questions that got progressivly harder. It was 10 questions. 3 easy, 3 medium and 4 difficult.

Here is the quiz:
[spoiler/]1. Where is America on this map? (It had just a blank image of a map) Only 30 of all people got it right.

2. Who painted the Mona Lisa? 16 people got this right.

3. Who won the Super Bowl of 2004? 98 people got this right.

4. What is 8*7? 27 people got this right.

5. Where is the Vatican Located? 43 got this right

6. How many people were killed in the Holocaust? 12 people got this right

7. Who was the first person to land on the moon? 32 got this right.

8. Who discovered the Black Hole? 3 people got this right.

9. What is the Parthenon? 4 people got that right.

10. Where is France on this map? 21 people got this right.[/spoiler]

So, out of the 100 people surveyed, only 12% got a perfect score.

And if I'm to believe that this is an average IQ, I'm a fucking genius compared to these people. There is no way that the average IQ is this high when the majority of people are idiots.

So what does the Escapist think of this? I personally think that the averages are tipped in favor of what the government [i/]wants[/i] people to be and if people see the average IQ/weight, they'd say "I should get smarter" or "I should lose some weight"

What do you think? And sorry for the Wall of Text.

Also, for more discussion, what did you get on the test I made?

 

[quiet_samurai]

The only question I didn't know was the one about the black hole. And I don't think IQ really matters to a certain degree, but a guy with an IQ of 150 sitting next to a guy with an IQ of 80 will be a vast intellectual contast I assure you.

And the weight thing is stupid, your BMI is not always accurate. I'm 6 foot exactly and weigh 200 pounds and my BMI chart says I'm overweight. Looking at me you would be like WTF, overwight?

 

[McHanhan]

The more important question is, is 100 people enough to get an accurate statistical reading?.

The correct answer is no.

 

[Julianking93]

And the weight thing is stupid, your BMI is not always accurate. I'm 6 foot exactly and weigh 200 pounds and my BMI chart says I'm overweight. Looking at me you would be like WTF, overwight?

Same here. I'm 6'1 and 175 and my BMI says i'm "obese". Seriously? Obese at 175?

 

[dmase]

1. i put your average male weight into a bmi and it said that it was barely in the average range... i am 5'8 140 and I am almost exactly in he middle of the healthy range. I think when they say average weight they mean an average of he weights add and divide by number added. That BMI index was from the national heart and lung institute i am gonna go with that meaning only America being the target an 140 at 5'8 being average of the healthy range.

2. thats not an IQ that is a general knowledge test.

 

[StonkThis]

I got them all except 3, 6 and 8. I have a guess for the last two but not the third. Why the hell would that be on an IQ test? My guesses are (2 million, Einstein?) message me back, I just want to know.

Anyway, I would say the results don't seem very accurate... That's all I have to add.

 

[delet]

I'm fairly certain I did pretty well on that test, though I don't know who won the Superbowl ever or who discovered the Black Hole...

I love the average for weight, though. I still can't donate blood because I don't weigh enough. I'm an underachiever, yea!

 

[quiet_samurai]

And the weight thing is stupid, your BMI is not always accurate. I'm 6 foot exactly and weigh 200 pounds and my BMI chart says I'm overweight. Looking at me you would be like WTF, overwight?

Same here. I'm 6'1 and 175 and my BMI says i'm "obese". Seriously? Obese at 175?

What? no.

 

[Omikron009]

A series of general questions is not an IQ test.

 

[dmase]

And the weight thing is stupid, your BMI is not always accurate. I'm 6 foot exactly and weigh 200 pounds and my BMI chart says I'm overweight. Looking at me you would be like WTF, overwight?

Same here. I'm 6'1 and 175 and my BMI says i'm "obese". Seriously? Obese at 175?

The one i found from the American heart association said you were in the upper healthy range, maybe its wrong i don't know but that seems trustworthy.

Plus if your 5'8, 180lbs it doesn't necessarily mean your nothing but fat your could have a lot of muscle on you. Its just a BMI you'd probably need a fat percent test to get an accurate reading.

 

[Carbonic Penguin]

The averages were probably made with a sample, not a census. Or if it was, then the results have been changed, or they counted small children to lower the count for the weight...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Is random trivia really an applicable basis for an I.Q. test?

I thought I.Q. was derived through a series of comprehension tests, mathematics, and logic puzzles.

 

[Slayer_2]

I'm 6'2 and 155 pounds. I don't see how these averages are so off. Sure my arms may be skinny, but my thighs are packed with muscle due to me biking a LOT, and my stomach has a bit of blubber.

As for IQ, I only knew the answer to 7 of those questions. The Superbowl? Really? The Black hole and Parthenon (some kind of building, probably Roman?) got me as well.

 

[Julianking93]

I'm 6'2 and 155 pounds. I don't see how these averages are so off. Sure my arms may be skinny, but my thighs are packed with muscle due to me biking a LOT, and my stomach has a bit of blubber.

As for IQ, I only knew the answer to 7 of those questions. The Superbowl? Really? The Black hole and Parthenon (some kind of building, probably Roman?) got me as well.

good guess on the Parthenon but its Greek.

 

[Julianking93]

Is random trivia really an applicable basis for an I.Q. test?

I thought I.Q. was derived through a series of comprehension tests, mathematics, and logic puzzles.

I never said it was an IQ test. Just a quick survey/quiz thing of random knowledge. It was inspired by this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcDtNmXebKM

 

[crudus]

Those are not good representative samples. The survey is more trivia then testing intelligence (I'm not trying to criticize just trying to preserve your faith in humanity). Criticizing: Saying 100 is pointless anyway since the test is scaled too 100 being the average(part of the reason it is bullshit). So chances are all of those idiots in the general population have a 100 IQ.

One thing you need to take note of is the fact that older people tend to retain more fat and in an aging population that can skew the averages.

(some kind of building, probably Roman?)

Greek actually. a Temple to Athena if I remember correctly.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I never said it was an IQ test. Just a quick survey/quiz thing of random knowledge. It was inspired by this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcDtNmXebKM

The wonderful thing about media is the massive array of editing tools at one's disposal. Since most people are going to work to advocate the portrayal of the stereotypical American, they're going to cut out all the knowledgeable people they stumbled upon in their pursuit of idiots. Stupid is funny, and funny draws in more ratings.

I wouldn't be so naive as to base my thoughts about a country on what I witness on television.

 

[Julianking93]

I never said it was an IQ test. Just a quick survey/quiz thing of random knowledge. It was inspired by this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcDtNmXebKM

The wonderful thing about media is the massive array of editing tools at one's disposal. Since most people are going to work to advocate the portrayal of the stereotypical American, they're going to cut out all the knowledgeable people they stumbled upon in their pursuit of idiots. Stupid is funny, and funny draws in more ratings.

I wouldn't be so naive as to base my thoughts about a country on what I witness on television.

I'm not. I know they edit out all the smart people, I just wanted to see real results if I did something like that in my town.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

I didn't know 3, 6, or 8. I'm not really sure anybody cares about the exact number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Most people are genuinely satisfied with the answer "a whole-fucking lot."
I have absolutely no idea who discovered the black hole, nor do I recollect who won the '04 Superbowl (although you must be sampling a rather shocking base for 98% to have answered it correctly off the top of their heads.)
I think you just gathered your data from an unbalanced population. Give them all a bona-fide IQ test, and then see where they fall. My guess is, somewhere below 100.

 

[Thaius]

I do think there's a lot of crap in the idea of the "average person," especially in the school system, where average is simply not good enough. I think it was summed up when someone involved in the California school system said, "Half of our kids are below average, and that's unacceptable." Fail.

That said though, the quiz you gave people proves nothing. I don't know who won the 2004 Superbowl, but that has nothing to do with my intelligence, it's simply due to the fact that I don't give a crap about football.

Beyond that, the IQ test doesn't measure knowledge, it measures one's capacity for logical and creative thought. The questions aren't about random bits of knowledge so much as they're about how quickly and accurately you can figure stuff out. Your test, on the other hand, is on the same level as your average high school exam: a few random questions about a few random things that really doesn't accomplish anything.