Morbid Curiosity

[woodwardiocom]

I'd really like for there to be a law saying that any new member of Congress has to have an IQ test, administered by a neutral third party, and have the results published. Non-binding in any way, of course — if the people want to elect the dumb, that's their right. Still, I think "the stupidest people in Congress" might have trouble getting reelected, and that might help with idiots like Rep. Akin.

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

What makes you so sure that Akin has a low IQ? I've met plenty of smart people who have just as many beliefs that are unsupported by science. See your earlier post about Dunning-Kruger effect.

It's easy to write off Akin as being an idiot. Unfortunately, there's lots of people who share his beliefs, and they use pseudo-science to back it up:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/rep-todd-akin-wrong-not-alone

[darxus.livejournal.com]

As a person told in third grade that I'm a great example of what's wrong with those tests (and believing they have not substantially changed), I object.

Also, I don't think intelligence has anything to do with how much I can trust a politician to do what is best for his constituency (instead of what's best for, say, the top 0.1%), which concerns me a lot more.

I think it'd be more interesting to make a law that members of Congress can't be in the financial top N%. But I won't say I'm confident it would actually help.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Some San Francisco newspaper once interviewed all the candidates for a city councilman position by asking the questions from the Voight-Kampff Test from Blade Runner. In the end, they endorsed the one who recognized that it was the Voight-Kampff Test from Blade Runner, concluding that he most definitely wasn't a replicant.

I agree that IQ tests are flawed. It would be nice if we reliable ethics tests.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I like that newspaper already.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

I'd settle for mandatory administration of a test of basic civics.

[fenicedautun.livejournal.com]

I'd actually like a 3 part test. One on US history/civics/law (fairly basic, akin to what you must pass to become a US citizen, in fact, that would be a great test). One on logic (e.g. reading comprehension of bills). And one on math, esp fiscal math (being able to read a simple amendment to a bill and determine the cost/benefit and to who. Being able to tell if a budget is balanced)

[dmmaus.livejournal.com]

What about a science test? If we had some leaders who understood science we might be a bit better off as a species.

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't really do much to avoid bad policy. The eugenics movement, for example, was massively supported by "the best and the brightest" of the early 20th century, who were terrified that people who weren't as smart as they were would outbreed them. Smart people come up with different bad policies than stupid people, some of the time, and with different sorts of justifications for them, much of the time, but they don't fall short on coming up with bad policies.