IQ Testing: 400 ways to evaluate your brainpower

Rating:
Summary: IQ Bunk
Review: "IQ Testing" by Philip Carter and Ken Russell does not test IQs. It's basically a book of puzzles, some of them quite challenging. However, as IQ testing goes it's quite useless. Too many of the questions depend upon previous knowledge, often arcane knowledge. There's also a cultural bias toward "English" as opposed to "American" vocabulary. Further, the authors do not translate scores into IQs, but simply tell readers whether their scores are average, good, very good, etc. This is fortunate because the authors do not seem to have any grasp of IQ testing. The book also has a number of serious errors. One question asks the reader for two words with opposite meanings. However, the answer turns out to be two words with the same meaning. The reader is left to waste time over an impossible question in a timed test. Another question lists five possible answers, two of which are identical. In summary, the title of the book is deceptive, and the contents are incompetent. It appears to be a book thrown together to make a quick buck.

Rating:
Summary: IQ Bunk
Review: "IQ Testing" by Philip Carter and Ken Russell does not test IQs. It's basically a book of puzzles, some of them quite challenging. However, as IQ testing goes it's quite useless. Too many of the questions depend upon previous knowledge, often arcane knowledge. There's also a cultural bias toward "English" as opposed to "American" vocabulary. Further, the authors do not translate scores into IQs, but simply tell readers whether their scores are average, good, very good, etc. This is fortunate because the authors do not seem to have any grasp of IQ testing. The book also has a number of serious errors. One question asks the reader for two words with opposite meanings. However, the answer turns out to be two words with the same meaning. The reader is left to waste time over an impossible question in a timed test. Another question lists five possible answers, two of which are identical. In summary, the title of the book is deceptive, and the contents are incompetent. It appears to be a book thrown together to make a quick buck.

Rating:
Summary: Only For the Workaholics
Review: I found UK's Mensa Puzzle Editors Philip Carter & Ken Russell IQ Testing too much work ,not enough entertaining.. It is more for those who are looking for a hobby ,since most of the questions require several seconds to several minutes to figure out (and there are 400 of them)..I found myself looking for more of the "Wheel of Fortune" ones allowing the reader to "rearrange the words to make a trite* saying"(they considered the saying trite*) e.g. Test 2,Ques 32 ,the 16 words rearranged to make the sentence "If computers get too powerful we can organise them into committees,that will do them in ".Word similarities were also a little easier(Test 10,#3: 5 word choices :Cheekbone,thighbone,collarbone,breastbone,anklebone :for similarities of Mandible is to Jawbone as Sternum is to: (Breastbone). There were also a few anagrams e.g. :Adrienne"(Test 7 #15=anagram for "Rain Need").One I questioned is Test 8,#28..If 20=32,then 29 = ?)I thought the difference is 12, so the answer=41 ,but their answer is 45, solved via the concept of "bases".

Rating:
Summary: Only For the Workaholics
Review: These two guys have enough experience to know that the tests aren't all that indicative of the type used on IQ tests and to present this book in that light is a little misleading. It's more akin to the 'iq/puzzle/mismash' genre which means it's not as much fun as a good puzzle book and not as helpful as a good IQ book. If you're desparate to spend a few hours tashing out some of this sort of thing then it's OK - despite a few errors in the book itself.

Rating:
Summary: When is IQ not an IQ?
Review: These two guys have enough experience to know that the tests aren't all that indicative of the type used on IQ tests and to present this book in that light is a little misleading. It's more akin to the 'iq/puzzle/mismash' genre which means it's not as much fun as a good puzzle book and not as helpful as a good IQ book. If you're desparate to spend a few hours tashing out some of this sort of thing then it's OK - despite a few errors in the book itself.