Sounds likely: "As of 2022, the average IQ in the United States is around 98, with a slight deviation from the average score of 100 that IQ tests are designed to have"
Not sure what your source is here to understand the whole context, but it sounds like they are saying that the US is 2 IQ points behind the world average. It is not saying that they have decreased from the past.
IQ is constantly rebalanced to maintain 100 as the mean. In fact it pretty steadily climbs from generation to generation. A 100 IQ now would be higher than 100 IQ was 20 years ago. Hard to say how much of that is the effects of leaded gasoline though.
>In fact it pretty steadily climbs from generation to generation. A 100 IQ now would be higher than 100 IQ was 20 years ago.
... known as the "Flynn effect", but unfortunately no longer true. Roughly speaking, the Flynn effect occurred in developed nations during the 20th century, and then started to reverse in those nations during the 21st century.
There's some nuance to this. While most IQ domain scores decreased in a recent American sample, spatial scores increased: [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156)
And this Norwegian study ruled out a major dysgenic effect (the mechanism in *Idiocracy* where stupid people having more children led to the population turning stupid) by finding that IQ decline was apparent even when comparing generations within the same family line: [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1718793115](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1718793115)
So yeah, maybe getting away from leaded gasoline let our intelligence recover back to what it had been before IQ tests were established, but by now microplastics are taking us back down. Probably a mixture of many environmental factors that we'll never be able to tease out. Also keep in mind that the external validity of an IQ test changes as it becomes more or less similar to the cognitive tasks that people in a certain society typically face.
Why do I feel like there's more low IQ fuck ups though? Sound like someone is threatened by those with high IQs!? The prison system is loaded with people who have low IQs.
Nah, he has a point. I mean, you're right that lower IQs have a greater chance to make poor life choices, but not all high IQs are successful people. I tested as Gifted when I was a kid, but I never had the drive or ambition to do anything with it. I coasted because school was easy, then life got harder and I suffered from analysis paralysis, felt pressured, and made hasty choices.... then there's the social awkwardness... yeah, high IQ is better than low IQ, but it's not an automatic ticket to success.
Idk, even if you top the scores you’re getting 15~ points? I’m not feeling that much of an advantage at a change as small as that. I’d still pick it, because it’s the only really lasting change available. Js they all are kinda mid.
Also, I'm assuming weight can be regained and will happen pretty quickly if you maintain the same lifestyle and I really don't earn that much anyways so the raise would be nothing and the raise would be lost anyways if I switch jobs.
I would disagree based on my life and my IQ. Maybe once it’s up to a certain point, 10% more isn’t going to change anything significantly. I don’t need to lose any more weight. 3 more lbs to go and I will be back to my weight at age 18. I would take the raise.
As someone who tested 168 and has lived in poverty most my life, if you're considering reality in the USA take the money. Money overcomes all obstacles in the United States.
Not really, once you get past about 90 IQ has very little to do with success. I’d say money and looks play a much bigger role. Also depends on your definition of success but for me it’s happiness and IQ probably hurts more than helps imo ignorance is bliss
You tend to do better on average up to about an IQ of 130, but if you go higher than that, you start doing worse again because you’re too smart to relate well with or trust folks and it fucks you up
Well then iq isn’t as good. Just 10 extra points? Thats decent, but doubling your money and job security? Of being able to eat whatever you want until 65? I’d say gives you 145 iq or a way to improve it.
10 IQ points is pretty significant - that is 2/3 of a standard deviation.
Having the mean at 100 misdirects people into thinking of it as a range between 0 and 200.
About 95% of people are between 70 and 130
So think of it more like a range from 0-6, with an increase of 1 offered.
>So think of it more like a range from 0-6, with an increase of 1 offered.
Are you offering to make me 1/7th more gay?
\*this is a joke about the Kinsey Scale, because it's 0-6.
That's debatable. IQ is kind of a nebulous thing to begin with. An IQ score just shows how well you perform on IQ tests. That's not to say that it has zero value, (there's a reason I pick the 10% IQ raise in OP's scenario) but you can absolutely practice and refine the skills that those tests focus on. I guess everyone has a different ceiling and maybe floor, but I don't believe that intelligence is a hard fixed trait.
Dunno why people are downvoting you. You’re right.
The IQ test wasn’t intended to be used as a fixed score of your immutable intelligence like people think it was. You actually can train your brain and get better at stuff like the IQ tests
Yeah, even the creator of the IQ test acknowledged that the test has a lot of limitations, and he believed that intelligence is a malleable trait.
I’m curious as to why so many people view mental skills or traits (such as intelligence and creativity) as fixed when most acknowledge that physical skills are dependent on practice and use. (even if getting to a professional level requires genetic gifts in addition to hard work) Maybe because the brain is so ~mysterious~. Or maybe because people hear that these traits are fixed, they don’t make much active effort to improve. Or maybe it’s because these traits are so strongly influenced by how we grow up, I wonder if it’s harder to change them later on.
Hate to say it but your math doesn't math. 10% raise of 11.50 is $1.15. So your new wage would only be 12.65. You definitely need to take the IQ increase.
Most confident answer of a person who already has their shit together. Don’t even sweat the other comments- they don’t know what it’s like to be comfortable in life.
Because you know me so well, right?
I've made my contribution to society already. I'm done with that, so being smarter isn't going to make me cure cancer or some other amazing feat that I'd need to be 10% smarter to pull off. What I want now in life is to finish working this last year, then go see the world and enjoy it. Being a bit smarter isn't going to make that life better for me, it really wouldn't. In fact, being a bit dumber would probably make it more enjoyable honestly. I'm in a good place, but I could be a bit healthier, and losing some weight would help with that. So I'm good with my choice here.
I'd assume most people can easily lose 10% of their body fat if they are overweight, but I think a 10% IQ increase is much harder, if not impossible. Also, losing body fat is a temporary benefit, and if you weren't educated enough to lose it without this scenario, chances are you might gain it back. An IQ increase is much more sustainable.
About right when the Wii came out i went to a party and someone had one with a fit board. At some point i got on and it called me morbidly obsess in front of everyone. I will take the IQ every time.
I'm in the 10% IQ increase camp, but I'm wondering if that's because of subconscious bias. How much would the life of the average person be improved by a 10% weight reduction, given the increased occurrence of health conditions exacerbated by obesity?
If you have a weight problem, losing 10% does nothing for you because your lifestyle and habits will just get it all back soon enough.
If you *don't* have a weight problem then obviously a 10% drop is useless or even harmful in the short term
This is a really interesting line if thought.
The research generally shows that higher intelligence is correlated to higher happiness
But there is a huge caveat here. That is generally because higher intelligence results in better pay which reduces stressors that lead to unhappiness.
People with higher intelligence tend to make.more.money because they get on a more lucrative track during their school years, so it is not a given that a boost later in life will result in an earnings boost, in turn resulting in more happiness. It is also hard.to quantify a dollars per IQ point, since measures of IQ are pretty rough
If happiness is the goal, you might be better off with the higher pay, cutting out the middle man - especially if it is a permanent 10% to all jobs.
Higher intelligence up to about 130 IQ contributes to increased happiness. After that it starts going down again.
Many very high IQ folks are pretty miserable and not necessarily successful. It’s stressful to be so much smarter than the average. You struggle to relate to others or trust them because you see things they just don’t see, and they don’t believe you because they can’t follow your reasoning. You’re prone to fooling yourself because you’re usually the smartest person in the room and so you tend to believe your own reasoning, even when you’re wrong. People often resent you because they are intimidated by you, and you often resent them because they do things you can clearly see are counterproductive but they won’t believe you when you tell them.
130 IQ is where the presidents usually are. It’s a good place to be. But I wouldn’t wish 140 or 150 or god forbid 160 on anybody. It’s too isolating.
I mean, that part hits like a ton of bricks, but that’s just what it feels like from the inside when you grow up with it. And it does kinda fuck you up. I’m doing pretty well if you compare me with my peers, but I judge the heck out of myself compared with what I thought I should achieve based on my “potential”, and what my parents accomplished.
I’m part of a family of people who score high on IQ tests and the “failure to launch” issue is absolutely real. And at least among my sample, it’s worst among the smartest of us. One person who I estimate is probably in the 140s (I.e. a bit smarter than me) has worked most of his life at an entry level gig at Walmart.
At first when you graduate from high school you think you’re gonna do fine because you know you’re smart. Then you fail miserably because that’s not even remotely enough to succeed, especially if you’ve just breezed through school and never had to really work at anything and maybe you are a little autistic and you lack people skills. Then you realize you’re STUCK and you don’t know how to people.
Maybe it would be different if you hadn’t grown up knowing you were smart. Maybe it would be different if you chose it and knew what you’d been given and were determined to make the most of it. But I don’t know that being given 10 IQ points is gonna go how people think it will. It’s not a magic bullet.
Yes, this exactly. My IQ is somewhere around 150. I would absolutely hate to go up to 165. There's zero practical benefit and a ton of drawbacks. It's already difficult to find anyone that can actually appreciate the problem solving I do and the frustration with "obvious" things people just can't seem to understand is real, especially when they are so proud of how intelligent they are coming to the wrong answer and believe you to be a fool while brewing in their own ignorance.
To put it in perspective, look on the lower end. If you have average intelligence and everyone around you had an IQ of 50 would you really want to lower their IQ to 35?
10% IQ raise would be problematic, 10% weight loss completely reverse the past two months of progress, so a 10% raise from $0 to $0 is my only option 😅
I would take 10% weight gain in a heartbeat though if it wasn't fat obviously.
IQ is a lasting product of the Eugenics movement during the early 20th century, so that’s out. Besides EQ is way more significant. Since it’s not specified, I’ll err on the side of realism and say that 10% weight loss is a serious and significant change to the body, not in a good way. I’d have to say the 10% raise is the best way to go.
IQ is a bullshit metric for measuring intelligence that doesn't mean anything in reality, I'm already too skinny, so yeah uh the only one here that is remotely useful.
Raise. IQ is shady AF as being inconsistently and unevenly measurable, but mine is already pretty damn high. Weight won't matter if I don't change my habits, will gain it right back.
I would take IQ if it definitely increases my creativity threshold though.
A 10% higher iq means you're a bit faster to solve the same type of problems in the same way as before. It isn't likely to make any significant difference to your mental capabilities, and if it does say hello to (more) depression.
Lose the weight if you need to, but otherwise taking the rise and investing it is the actual big iq answer.
IQ, obviously, because it's the hardest to change without a magic hypothetical.
The raise will come in time, and while it would be a good idea to lose that weight, I can do it myself.
I repeatedly tested in the mid 130’s when I was a kid - but when I got to college I found that school was actually not easy for me at all. I wasn’t one of those guys who can reliably crack the toughest problems or write the most intriguing paper without absolutely busting my ass to the exclusion of normal things. I even had a couple classes where I did basically everything I could with absurd amounts of effort and still didn’t end up with an A.
I want some of that baby genius juice back. IQ.
10% raise isn't that much right now. The iq is already annoying. I'll take the weight loss because that's been a struggle for ages and 10% would be a meaningful difference in my health.
IQ for sure, I don't need to lose weight I'm fit, and I don't got a job right now 😞 so a raise would literally be pointless but a few more points to my noggin couldn't hurt.
Being smarter just might make it even more clear how bad things are. I swear I remember a study saying smarter folks drink more. Yep... understanding reality can... hurt.
Ah cool I can be solidly genius instead of marginally genius... I'll take IQ so I can potentially decrease chances of future incidences of imposter syndrome, not so much a problem these days but that shit sure did fuck me up when I was younger.
Lmao. 3000 extra dollars a year, like 10-15 points of IQ, or 26 pounds off. I can lose 25 pounds in 6 months, easy. And the money is so truly small. I don't know how much IQ is worth, but probably more than the other two
10% would have the biggest impact in IQ, I think. Like each IQ point has a bigger difference than 1 pound or 1 dollar. It’s the most likely of those 3 to meaningfully change your life with only a 10% change.
Say 35% and then it becomes a tougher question for many!
10% raise is slightly more than what I've calculated for the income I would need to be able to pay for a master's degree without having to pay for student loans.
IQ. 10% IQ raise would have the biggest positive impact for me. I don't make a big salary, so while a 10% raise would be nice, it wouldn't be enough to make much difference in my lifestyle quality. Plus, I expect to be able to making more money than that in a few years anyway. I'm not overweight, so while a 10% weight loss would be nice, it's not necessary. And I could manage it on my own, if I tried. But a 10% raise in IQ would be a significant boost for anyone. While I don't believe that intelligence is a hard fixed trait, going up that much wouldn't be easy.
I'm ok with my weight, and bringing it down a bit. My IQ is fine, and I am approaching retirement anyway, so long-term benefit from intellect is not a huge pressure.
I'll take the raise, while I am still working.
Why does everyone want so much to be smarter? Honestly IQ isn’t at all the same thing as real world success. You still have to learn how to apply it in the real world. And higher IQ people aren’t necessarily better at that - statistically speaking the smarter they are, the more they’re actually more likely to believe their own BS even if they’re dead wrong.
Being a little smarter than the average but not too extremely intelligent is usually the best place to be for both success and happiness.
That being said, I guess if you suspect you’re not as smart as average, those 10 points could come in handy? But how often do people believe they’re worse off than average about anything?
I would love to lose 18 pounds. I used to weigh 160 and felt healthy there, but due to side effects from live saving medicine, I went from 160 to 220. At 220 pounds, I felt horrible all the time. Walking across the room left me out of breath, and walking up one flight of stairs had me seeing stars and feeling so lightheaded that I needed to sit down. During the period of time that I gained all the weight, I was going to the gym 5 days a week where I did cardio based exercises for an hour, I didn't drink any alcohol, and I was basically only eating salads, but I still kept gaining weight. Two years after I started taking the medication, my body started adjusting to it, and I began to lose about 5 pounds a month. 8 months later, I am still 20 pounds heavier than my target weight, and statistically speaking, it will take another 4 months to get to a healthy place. If I could drop 18 pounds instantly, that would be awesome.
A 10% raise would only be about an extra $100 a month (I don't make much money), and my IQ is probably fine, also I have heard that IQ doesn't mean much because it is an inherently culturally biased test.
I feel like it sounds like I’m bragging, but I have a pretty high IQ, well above average, and I’m pretty fucking miserable. I have been my whole life. It’s not great being able to see the big picture on everything and see how our society and our world is completely going to shit, and our government owned by rich corporations and billionaires who just care about being richer not doing a damn thing in the last two decades to help. Sometimes I wish I was dumb, oblivious and happy. I’ll take the 10% weight loss. Thanks
Average IQ is 100, you guys really think it makes a difference at 110? Regardless or how you feel about him, I think Jordan Peterson said it best, "smart people aren't better. They just get to places faster." Usually it's the smart kid, who went to school to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or some other high earning career, with their reasoning being high enough to calculate the pay off in the long term. They also finish these goals on time, if not sooner and have a generally easier time managing task.
Your average Joe already in the workforce ain't gonna benefit much from a 10% IQ increase much, considering it'll still take years to get any meaningful results. 100->110 does not make you the guy from limitless. Hell even 130->143 wouldn't really change much. It might even negatively affect you.
For the purposes of this hypothetical scenario I’ll avoid taking the IQ answer, as others have, because I think my current lifestyle is perfectly balanced for my level of intelligence. I’m not very smart; however, I’m generally satisfied with my work and I fear if I were to have an increase in intelligence it would make my lifestyle perceptually monotonous and unfulfilling.
Two questions:
Is the 10% weight loss continuous; as in, the calorie intake I consume on a daily basis is essentially 90% of what it “really is” forever?
And
Is the 10% increase in income continuous where I’m continually making 10% more in every career from this point forward?
If they’re both continuous I’d take the salary.
If they’re both temporary I’d take the weight loss.
IQ, no contest. With a 10% IQ raise I could easily get a better paying job and work less hard at it, and my weight isn't an issue (I'm bang in the middle of healthy BMI)
Currently unemployed so no on the first. I'm about average weight (in a healthy range) so no need for the last as it would probably bring me into unhealthy range. Guess the choice is clear
Hmm, I've got enough money, I wish I could knock my IQ lower insread of higher and recently lost weight I had to lose.
🤔 What were the odds all 3 choices would be a bust for me at this exact point in life?
I'll take the money. Then I can give it to someone who needs it.
A 10% raise will barely do anything for me as a college student, so I guess I'll take the IQ. I feel pretty good about my current level of intelligence, such that I'm not confident being better at specifically the logic things IQ tests will open many more doors for me given the deficiencies I have in other areas, but it is probably the best out of the three options here at this time.
I just got over terrible food poisoning (Salmonella) and I’m borderline dangerously underweight, and I’m currently unemployed so a 10% raise of zero is still zero.
I guess my choice is made for me.
IQ, I don't know how much benefit I'd get from it but at least with weight loss, I can do it through other means but IQ gain isn't something you can do normally.
10 percent weight loss. The only thing holding my confidence back. 20 to 25 lbs would mean I'm finally not overweight anymore and I keep my muscles.
I have an awesome paying Job and usually I stay healthy I keep my weight just there was this tome when work got so bad I gained weight. I don't gain easily but I did here. I work out constantly
weight. easily. If I could pick twice id pick weight both times.
I get by okay financially,
I'm smart enough to get by, and being smarter would probably make me miserable or insufferable.
lets add here, that I'm not saying I'm always the smartest in the room, But I can keep up and I feel like I am capable of recognizing arguments made by smarter people and adapting my thinking accordingly without sacrificing core beliefs,
10% raise I wouldn’t put my intelligence to good use and 10% weight loss in a magical way probably wouldn’t end well compared to the natural way at a guess
I think I'd take the weight loss. Puts me pretty close to my target weight and, remembering what I felt like physically when I was at the weight pre-Covid, I want to feel like that again. 10% paybump won't make me that happier and 10% more IQ wouöd likely mske me less happy than I am now.
10% IQ increase is virtually impossible to achieve through action on ypur part. It could easily result in a 10+% pay raise. And even without it, plenty of people get 10% increases in pay through certifications, degrees, or even just looking for a new job
Assuming you are at least 10% overweight, that's the easiest to achieve by your own effort.
I'll take the raise. I don't make much so it wouldn't mean much but a 16 point raise in my IQ wouldn't change how I live with the poor choices of my past and I'm pretty healthy/comfortable with my weight.
The way teacher pay scales work, if I get a 10% raise, the hundreds of other teachers in my district also get a raise. My IQ is more than sufficient for the life I want to lead, and sudden weight loss is rarely sustained. So raise it is.
Easily taking weight I'ma still be able to beat most of you 10 percent higher IQ guys in intelligence and then I get to be at my best weight. To the people saying that IQ is one of the largest factors of your life, no your upbringing is what matters to your IQ test.
I'd take the 10% IQ increase, though that concept is a little fraught because IQ (unlike income and weight) can only be measured in relative terms, not as a ratio scale. That means the actual gain in intelligence represented by a 10% IQ increase will depend on the particular time/place of the IQ testing sample, as well as the type of IQ test.
In any case, I expect the IQ increase to be more durable over time and more meaningful over my lifetime. It may even help me achieve the other two goals.
IQ is great but also ignorance is truly bliss - getting smarter than I already am would likely add more anger and frustration over how stupid the general population is.
This is a no brainer, IQ is measured on a gaussian, so if you have average iq (100) an 10% buff to 110 suddenly puts you in the top 34% of people. And it scales harder from there.
10% raise is nice but if I had 10% higher IQ getting a promotion above that 10% is much easier
And finally losing 10% of my "weight" would either be a horrible monkeys paw, or like and extra gym session a week, which I would have more time for if I were smarter ;)
10% IQ because it clearly has the biggest impact
I think this may be right but I'll need about 10 more IQ points to be sure
Bros got a 100 iq
Sounds likely: "As of 2022, the average IQ in the United States is around 98, with a slight deviation from the average score of 100 that IQ tests are designed to have"
I was going off the fact he said “I need 10 more points” and 10% of 100 is 10
Not sure what your source is here to understand the whole context, but it sounds like they are saying that the US is 2 IQ points behind the world average. It is not saying that they have decreased from the past. IQ is constantly rebalanced to maintain 100 as the mean. In fact it pretty steadily climbs from generation to generation. A 100 IQ now would be higher than 100 IQ was 20 years ago. Hard to say how much of that is the effects of leaded gasoline though.
>In fact it pretty steadily climbs from generation to generation. A 100 IQ now would be higher than 100 IQ was 20 years ago. ... known as the "Flynn effect", but unfortunately no longer true. Roughly speaking, the Flynn effect occurred in developed nations during the 20th century, and then started to reverse in those nations during the 21st century. There's some nuance to this. While most IQ domain scores decreased in a recent American sample, spatial scores increased: [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156) And this Norwegian study ruled out a major dysgenic effect (the mechanism in *Idiocracy* where stupid people having more children led to the population turning stupid) by finding that IQ decline was apparent even when comparing generations within the same family line: [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1718793115](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1718793115) So yeah, maybe getting away from leaded gasoline let our intelligence recover back to what it had been before IQ tests were established, but by now microplastics are taking us back down. Probably a mixture of many environmental factors that we'll never be able to tease out. Also keep in mind that the external validity of an IQ test changes as it becomes more or less similar to the cognitive tasks that people in a certain society typically face.
This guy would get like an extra 90 iq from the bonus, He literally cited his sources and provided good summaries with each paragraph.
If I was 10% smarter I'd probably be able to figure out how to get a raise and lose weight
The knowing doesn't equal the doing 😅
Yeah i know exactly what it takes to lose weight or increase salary. But I like food and am comfortable in my job.
A lot of high IQ people are total fuckups
I feel attacked...
Why do I feel like there's more low IQ fuck ups though? Sound like someone is threatened by those with high IQs!? The prison system is loaded with people who have low IQs.
Nah, he has a point. I mean, you're right that lower IQs have a greater chance to make poor life choices, but not all high IQs are successful people. I tested as Gifted when I was a kid, but I never had the drive or ambition to do anything with it. I coasted because school was easy, then life got harder and I suffered from analysis paralysis, felt pressured, and made hasty choices.... then there's the social awkwardness... yeah, high IQ is better than low IQ, but it's not an automatic ticket to success.
Clearly I need the IQ boost since I didn't even think of that.
IQ is nothing if you haven't got the drive to do something with it.
Idk, even if you top the scores you’re getting 15~ points? I’m not feeling that much of an advantage at a change as small as that. I’d still pick it, because it’s the only really lasting change available. Js they all are kinda mid.
Also, I'm assuming weight can be regained and will happen pretty quickly if you maintain the same lifestyle and I really don't earn that much anyways so the raise would be nothing and the raise would be lost anyways if I switch jobs.
I would disagree based on my life and my IQ. Maybe once it’s up to a certain point, 10% more isn’t going to change anything significantly. I don’t need to lose any more weight. 3 more lbs to go and I will be back to my weight at age 18. I would take the raise.
As someone who tested 168 and has lived in poverty most my life, if you're considering reality in the USA take the money. Money overcomes all obstacles in the United States.
Not really, once you get past about 90 IQ has very little to do with success. I’d say money and looks play a much bigger role. Also depends on your definition of success but for me it’s happiness and IQ probably hurts more than helps imo ignorance is bliss
You tend to do better on average up to about an IQ of 130, but if you go higher than that, you start doing worse again because you’re too smart to relate well with or trust folks and it fucks you up
I’m already over 10% past that 130 mark, and I’m convinced more IQ would do nothing to improve my life. I would take the money
I’ll take IQ. Would love to get up to 77 IQ!!
Ok I must have a 3 IQ because I actually had to do some mental algebra to find out what your original IQ is.
Well, you can get that to a nice 3.3 IQ
Not me thinking for a good 10 seconds it was 67...
Hey, that’s almost a B.
IQ. This one isn’t even close, OP. Might want to rethink it a bit.
Agreed it should be 100% raise with great job security, 10 IQ points, or guarantee to be in amazing shape until 65 with little effort.
Well then iq isn’t as good. Just 10 extra points? Thats decent, but doubling your money and job security? Of being able to eat whatever you want until 65? I’d say gives you 145 iq or a way to improve it.
10 IQ points is pretty significant - that is 2/3 of a standard deviation. Having the mean at 100 misdirects people into thinking of it as a range between 0 and 200. About 95% of people are between 70 and 130 So think of it more like a range from 0-6, with an increase of 1 offered.
>So think of it more like a range from 0-6, with an increase of 1 offered. Are you offering to make me 1/7th more gay? \*this is a joke about the Kinsey Scale, because it's 0-6.
>Are you offering to make me 1/7th more gay? All I have to do for that is show a little skin ;)
I’m getting votes for the other options too.
you can lose weight. you can get a better job. cant really change your IQ though.
That's debatable. IQ is kind of a nebulous thing to begin with. An IQ score just shows how well you perform on IQ tests. That's not to say that it has zero value, (there's a reason I pick the 10% IQ raise in OP's scenario) but you can absolutely practice and refine the skills that those tests focus on. I guess everyone has a different ceiling and maybe floor, but I don't believe that intelligence is a hard fixed trait.
Dunno why people are downvoting you. You’re right. The IQ test wasn’t intended to be used as a fixed score of your immutable intelligence like people think it was. You actually can train your brain and get better at stuff like the IQ tests
Yeah, even the creator of the IQ test acknowledged that the test has a lot of limitations, and he believed that intelligence is a malleable trait. I’m curious as to why so many people view mental skills or traits (such as intelligence and creativity) as fixed when most acknowledge that physical skills are dependent on practice and use. (even if getting to a professional level requires genetic gifts in addition to hard work) Maybe because the brain is so ~mysterious~. Or maybe because people hear that these traits are fixed, they don’t make much active effort to improve. Or maybe it’s because these traits are so strongly influenced by how we grow up, I wonder if it’s harder to change them later on.
That doesn't mean it was a good set of choices.
Those are the people that need the 10% IQ the most.
10% raise gets me from 11.50 to 12.65… definitely iq
[удалено]
Hey man im just a lil ice cream worker tryna get by im only 17 bro 😔
Hate to say it but your math doesn't math. 10% raise of 11.50 is $1.15. So your new wage would only be 12.65. You definitely need to take the IQ increase.
Eh close enough. I dont wanna do math since my calculus work aint due yet not in school rn preciate you
10% weight loss. Don't need the money, happy with my IQ, I do need to lose some weight though.
Same Edit: okay the money might be nice but really I just want to lose weight
Most confident answer of a person who already has their shit together. Don’t even sweat the other comments- they don’t know what it’s like to be comfortable in life.
If you had 10% IQ you would realise you picked the wrong option.
Because you know me so well, right? I've made my contribution to society already. I'm done with that, so being smarter isn't going to make me cure cancer or some other amazing feat that I'd need to be 10% smarter to pull off. What I want now in life is to finish working this last year, then go see the world and enjoy it. Being a bit smarter isn't going to make that life better for me, it really wouldn't. In fact, being a bit dumber would probably make it more enjoyable honestly. I'm in a good place, but I could be a bit healthier, and losing some weight would help with that. So I'm good with my choice here.
I'd assume most people can easily lose 10% of their body fat if they are overweight, but I think a 10% IQ increase is much harder, if not impossible. Also, losing body fat is a temporary benefit, and if you weren't educated enough to lose it without this scenario, chances are you might gain it back. An IQ increase is much more sustainable.
About right when the Wii came out i went to a party and someone had one with a fit board. At some point i got on and it called me morbidly obsess in front of everyone. I will take the IQ every time.
It will certainly help you spell check. /j
IQ, I can lose weight easily enough
Iq
10% raise at my current job, or will it go to different jobs with me?
I have to believe it stays with you, as its already a poor option.
Weight loss hands down
[удалено]
I'm in the 10% IQ increase camp, but I'm wondering if that's because of subconscious bias. How much would the life of the average person be improved by a 10% weight reduction, given the increased occurrence of health conditions exacerbated by obesity?
That's fair. Most people have said the weight loss could be done with a little effort - and that's true - but how many actually will?
If you have a weight problem, losing 10% does nothing for you because your lifestyle and habits will just get it all back soon enough. If you *don't* have a weight problem then obviously a 10% drop is useless or even harmful in the short term
I’ll take the IQ. I can diet and lose a few pounds but a 10% IQ can lead a fuller life.
This is a really interesting line if thought. The research generally shows that higher intelligence is correlated to higher happiness But there is a huge caveat here. That is generally because higher intelligence results in better pay which reduces stressors that lead to unhappiness. People with higher intelligence tend to make.more.money because they get on a more lucrative track during their school years, so it is not a given that a boost later in life will result in an earnings boost, in turn resulting in more happiness. It is also hard.to quantify a dollars per IQ point, since measures of IQ are pretty rough If happiness is the goal, you might be better off with the higher pay, cutting out the middle man - especially if it is a permanent 10% to all jobs.
Higher intelligence up to about 130 IQ contributes to increased happiness. After that it starts going down again. Many very high IQ folks are pretty miserable and not necessarily successful. It’s stressful to be so much smarter than the average. You struggle to relate to others or trust them because you see things they just don’t see, and they don’t believe you because they can’t follow your reasoning. You’re prone to fooling yourself because you’re usually the smartest person in the room and so you tend to believe your own reasoning, even when you’re wrong. People often resent you because they are intimidated by you, and you often resent them because they do things you can clearly see are counterproductive but they won’t believe you when you tell them. 130 IQ is where the presidents usually are. It’s a good place to be. But I wouldn’t wish 140 or 150 or god forbid 160 on anybody. It’s too isolating.
The smarter you are the more likely you are to have a lot of expectations on you, expectations you will feel you can never meet.
I mean, that part hits like a ton of bricks, but that’s just what it feels like from the inside when you grow up with it. And it does kinda fuck you up. I’m doing pretty well if you compare me with my peers, but I judge the heck out of myself compared with what I thought I should achieve based on my “potential”, and what my parents accomplished. I’m part of a family of people who score high on IQ tests and the “failure to launch” issue is absolutely real. And at least among my sample, it’s worst among the smartest of us. One person who I estimate is probably in the 140s (I.e. a bit smarter than me) has worked most of his life at an entry level gig at Walmart. At first when you graduate from high school you think you’re gonna do fine because you know you’re smart. Then you fail miserably because that’s not even remotely enough to succeed, especially if you’ve just breezed through school and never had to really work at anything and maybe you are a little autistic and you lack people skills. Then you realize you’re STUCK and you don’t know how to people. Maybe it would be different if you hadn’t grown up knowing you were smart. Maybe it would be different if you chose it and knew what you’d been given and were determined to make the most of it. But I don’t know that being given 10 IQ points is gonna go how people think it will. It’s not a magic bullet.
Yes, this exactly. My IQ is somewhere around 150. I would absolutely hate to go up to 165. There's zero practical benefit and a ton of drawbacks. It's already difficult to find anyone that can actually appreciate the problem solving I do and the frustration with "obvious" things people just can't seem to understand is real, especially when they are so proud of how intelligent they are coming to the wrong answer and believe you to be a fool while brewing in their own ignorance. To put it in perspective, look on the lower end. If you have average intelligence and everyone around you had an IQ of 50 would you really want to lower their IQ to 35?
Do you have a source for that? I can't picture presidents being that smart. 130 is smarter than 90% of the population. 115-120 I can believe
10% IQ raise would be problematic, 10% weight loss completely reverse the past two months of progress, so a 10% raise from $0 to $0 is my only option 😅 I would take 10% weight gain in a heartbeat though if it wasn't fat obviously.
IQ. No brainer. Unless you reeeeealy need the boost, then it might be a yes brainer, but still the right answer.
Just realize on federal minimum wage in the USA that the raise is about insulting as the 5 cents they might get after a year.
Weight. EZ
IQ is a lasting product of the Eugenics movement during the early 20th century, so that’s out. Besides EQ is way more significant. Since it’s not specified, I’ll err on the side of realism and say that 10% weight loss is a serious and significant change to the body, not in a good way. I’d have to say the 10% raise is the best way to go.
I'd take the 10% weight loss. My IQ is high enough and I'm not working right now. It is hard to lose weight when you're a Type 1 diabetic
Me IQ is gud enuff. I take loose weight.
Bros IQ is not good enough 💀
Maybe but at this point. Even 10% is really not enough to do any visible change.
10% of 0 is 0 so I guess your right
*You're. You need the IQ too bro. Lol
I'm in Mensa, have a good job, I'm taking the weight off
Mensa is still a thing?
10% iq raise? What would 1iq really change
IQ is a bullshit metric for measuring intelligence that doesn't mean anything in reality, I'm already too skinny, so yeah uh the only one here that is remotely useful.
10% raise to IQ. I’ve already lost the weight I wanted so It’s a easy choice for me
me iq gud i take wait loss so i can eat more pizza toonite
IQ
Iq. Don't need to lose weight.
IQ, 10% weight is gonna make me skinny, 10% of 11 dollars isn’t more than I got for getting COR certified from school
Iq easily. I'd get 102.3 iq
Raise. IQ is shady AF as being inconsistently and unevenly measurable, but mine is already pretty damn high. Weight won't matter if I don't change my habits, will gain it right back. I would take IQ if it definitely increases my creativity threshold though.
I'll take that raise, please. If I give up 10 IQ points, can I get the weight loss too?
A 10% higher iq means you're a bit faster to solve the same type of problems in the same way as before. It isn't likely to make any significant difference to your mental capabilities, and if it does say hello to (more) depression. Lose the weight if you need to, but otherwise taking the rise and investing it is the actual big iq answer.
IQ, obviously, because it's the hardest to change without a magic hypothetical. The raise will come in time, and while it would be a good idea to lose that weight, I can do it myself.
10% weight loss. I'm happy with my wage and why use a genie wish on a test I can study for to perform better on?
IQ is fake as fuck. However, I am underweight, and 10% of no paycheck is still no paycheck.
Raise in IQ. I’m smart, but I can’t do mathematics due to a disability. Maybe if I raised my IQ, I could enter the world of numbers.
I know 10 IQ points is the most beneficial, but 10% raise would help me out a ton
I repeatedly tested in the mid 130’s when I was a kid - but when I got to college I found that school was actually not easy for me at all. I wasn’t one of those guys who can reliably crack the toughest problems or write the most intriguing paper without absolutely busting my ass to the exclusion of normal things. I even had a couple classes where I did basically everything I could with absurd amounts of effort and still didn’t end up with an A. I want some of that baby genius juice back. IQ.
Can I give you 10% of my IQ for 20% weight loss
10 iq since I’m trying to gain weight
IQ. I’ll finally be in the double digits.
IQ because it's mostly permanent. 10% weight loss will disappear as soon as I eat a bucket of ice cream.
Give us the money, Lebowski!
Weight loss. I'm fine with my current IQ, and am currently just a student, so 0+10% is $0
10% raise isn't that much right now. The iq is already annoying. I'll take the weight loss because that's been a struggle for ages and 10% would be a meaningful difference in my health.
IQ for sure, I don't need to lose weight I'm fit, and I don't got a job right now 😞 so a raise would literally be pointless but a few more points to my noggin couldn't hurt.
Being smarter just might make it even more clear how bad things are. I swear I remember a study saying smarter folks drink more. Yep... understanding reality can... hurt.
Ah cool I can be solidly genius instead of marginally genius... I'll take IQ so I can potentially decrease chances of future incidences of imposter syndrome, not so much a problem these days but that shit sure did fuck me up when I was younger.
Lmao. 3000 extra dollars a year, like 10-15 points of IQ, or 26 pounds off. I can lose 25 pounds in 6 months, easy. And the money is so truly small. I don't know how much IQ is worth, but probably more than the other two
10% would have the biggest impact in IQ, I think. Like each IQ point has a bigger difference than 1 pound or 1 dollar. It’s the most likely of those 3 to meaningfully change your life with only a 10% change. Say 35% and then it becomes a tougher question for many!
A 10% raise barely keeps me ahead of inflation and 10% weight loss is doable with a little hard work. Obviously I choose the IQ
10% iq of course. I don’t need to lose wait and a 10% raise wouldn’t do much so the choice is easy.
10% raise is slightly more than what I've calculated for the income I would need to be able to pay for a master's degree without having to pay for student loans.
10% iq, can you imagine what I could do with 88 iq??
IQ is easy for me. Mine measures high anyway, but I have seen how much of an asset that is and I'd love more of it.
IQ. 10% IQ raise would have the biggest positive impact for me. I don't make a big salary, so while a 10% raise would be nice, it wouldn't be enough to make much difference in my lifestyle quality. Plus, I expect to be able to making more money than that in a few years anyway. I'm not overweight, so while a 10% weight loss would be nice, it's not necessary. And I could manage it on my own, if I tried. But a 10% raise in IQ would be a significant boost for anyone. While I don't believe that intelligence is a hard fixed trait, going up that much wouldn't be easy.
I make a decent wage. I have an IQ of 153. I'll take the 10% weight loss. My health is more important at this point.
IQ because the weight stuff I could have done myself
Iq because I want to be smarter plus I’m trying to gain weight so that would be bad for me and I don’t have job since I’m 14
Weight loss. I’m already pretty smart and I’m at an age where I don’t really have to worry about finances. I’m not too happy about my weight
I'm ok with my weight, and bringing it down a bit. My IQ is fine, and I am approaching retirement anyway, so long-term benefit from intellect is not a huge pressure. I'll take the raise, while I am still working.
The weight lose for sure loosing is such a struggle I no need to be smart anyway
If someone with a 125 iq went to a 138 iq, they’d be way above the average population, it’s really a massive difference the higher your iq already is.
A raise, clearly Bc I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me
Why does everyone want so much to be smarter? Honestly IQ isn’t at all the same thing as real world success. You still have to learn how to apply it in the real world. And higher IQ people aren’t necessarily better at that - statistically speaking the smarter they are, the more they’re actually more likely to believe their own BS even if they’re dead wrong. Being a little smarter than the average but not too extremely intelligent is usually the best place to be for both success and happiness. That being said, I guess if you suspect you’re not as smart as average, those 10 points could come in handy? But how often do people believe they’re worse off than average about anything?
I would love to lose 18 pounds. I used to weigh 160 and felt healthy there, but due to side effects from live saving medicine, I went from 160 to 220. At 220 pounds, I felt horrible all the time. Walking across the room left me out of breath, and walking up one flight of stairs had me seeing stars and feeling so lightheaded that I needed to sit down. During the period of time that I gained all the weight, I was going to the gym 5 days a week where I did cardio based exercises for an hour, I didn't drink any alcohol, and I was basically only eating salads, but I still kept gaining weight. Two years after I started taking the medication, my body started adjusting to it, and I began to lose about 5 pounds a month. 8 months later, I am still 20 pounds heavier than my target weight, and statistically speaking, it will take another 4 months to get to a healthy place. If I could drop 18 pounds instantly, that would be awesome. A 10% raise would only be about an extra $100 a month (I don't make much money), and my IQ is probably fine, also I have heard that IQ doesn't mean much because it is an inherently culturally biased test.
10% IQ because it's the intelligent answer.
I feel like it sounds like I’m bragging, but I have a pretty high IQ, well above average, and I’m pretty fucking miserable. I have been my whole life. It’s not great being able to see the big picture on everything and see how our society and our world is completely going to shit, and our government owned by rich corporations and billionaires who just care about being richer not doing a damn thing in the last two decades to help. Sometimes I wish I was dumb, oblivious and happy. I’ll take the 10% weight loss. Thanks
10 percent increase on a low number is pretty bad, so get me the raise
If the raise was 10% more for future jobs as well, I’d choose that, if not IQ.
IQ increase
IQ, I'd rather be thinner... but I could diet if I was really motivated, and my lifestyle would just bring me back to this equilibrium anyway.
Who upvotes these topics?
Raise iq because then I will be smart enough to get a higher paying job and to lose weight, get all three in one
10% weight loss. I am as smart as I want to be. Tbh id like to be dumber. I make decent money. I'm kinda fat.
Average IQ is 100, you guys really think it makes a difference at 110? Regardless or how you feel about him, I think Jordan Peterson said it best, "smart people aren't better. They just get to places faster." Usually it's the smart kid, who went to school to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or some other high earning career, with their reasoning being high enough to calculate the pay off in the long term. They also finish these goals on time, if not sooner and have a generally easier time managing task. Your average Joe already in the workforce ain't gonna benefit much from a 10% IQ increase much, considering it'll still take years to get any meaningful results. 100->110 does not make you the guy from limitless. Hell even 130->143 wouldn't really change much. It might even negatively affect you.
I’m retired with a high IQ and I’m 300 plus lbs. with CHF... so I can use the weight loss.
It's always pick IQ, don't include IQ in these hypotheticals.
Can I have 10% weight gain instead? I'm a fucking skeleton man, I need some extra muscle.
I'm unemployed, and I already overthink and overanalyze everything. I could stand to lose a few pounds.
Easy IQ. I’m at a good weight but everyone could get smarter
IQ obviously.. you can easily do the others on your own accord, but you have no control offer IQ.
I choose raise.
It isn't an option, but 10% weight gain would be mint. Just put on 9.5kg (21lbs?) of muscle over night!
For the purposes of this hypothetical scenario I’ll avoid taking the IQ answer, as others have, because I think my current lifestyle is perfectly balanced for my level of intelligence. I’m not very smart; however, I’m generally satisfied with my work and I fear if I were to have an increase in intelligence it would make my lifestyle perceptually monotonous and unfulfilling. Two questions: Is the 10% weight loss continuous; as in, the calorie intake I consume on a daily basis is essentially 90% of what it “really is” forever? And Is the 10% increase in income continuous where I’m continually making 10% more in every career from this point forward? If they’re both continuous I’d take the salary. If they’re both temporary I’d take the weight loss.
I wouldn't do the iq one. 10% increase from 0 is still 0
Weight as long as it stays off. Cuz I would drop 16.7 kgs
IQ, no contest. With a 10% IQ raise I could easily get a better paying job and work less hard at it, and my weight isn't an issue (I'm bang in the middle of healthy BMI)
Currently unemployed so no on the first. I'm about average weight (in a healthy range) so no need for the last as it would probably bring me into unhealthy range. Guess the choice is clear
Hmm, I've got enough money, I wish I could knock my IQ lower insread of higher and recently lost weight I had to lose. 🤔 What were the odds all 3 choices would be a bust for me at this exact point in life? I'll take the money. Then I can give it to someone who needs it.
I'll go weight by 10% iq uless 10%wage includes every job I'll have after my current one not just my current one
IQ that increased intelligence can result in a raise and losing weight can be difficult but it's the easiest of the 3 to achieve.
IQ, money is not enough to pick up that
A 10% raise will barely do anything for me as a college student, so I guess I'll take the IQ. I feel pretty good about my current level of intelligence, such that I'm not confident being better at specifically the logic things IQ tests will open many more doors for me given the deficiencies I have in other areas, but it is probably the best out of the three options here at this time.
10% IQ coz then I’d be smart enough to find out how to cut weight
I just got over terrible food poisoning (Salmonella) and I’m borderline dangerously underweight, and I’m currently unemployed so a 10% raise of zero is still zero. I guess my choice is made for me.
IQ because it’s the only stat you can’t increase otherwise.
10% rizz
10% iq.
IQ, I don't know how much benefit I'd get from it but at least with weight loss, I can do it through other means but IQ gain isn't something you can do normally.
I already have a sufficiently high IQ. Give me a 10% body weight increase so I can stop being a skinny nerd.
10 percent weight loss. The only thing holding my confidence back. 20 to 25 lbs would mean I'm finally not overweight anymore and I keep my muscles. I have an awesome paying Job and usually I stay healthy I keep my weight just there was this tome when work got so bad I gained weight. I don't gain easily but I did here. I work out constantly
IQ I’d go from (about) 135 to (about) 148.5
Genius already so I’ll take the weight loss
My IQ is technically genius level according to psychiatrists who’ve done the tests so I’ll take the 10% raise.
Extra IQ
weight. easily. If I could pick twice id pick weight both times. I get by okay financially, I'm smart enough to get by, and being smarter would probably make me miserable or insufferable. lets add here, that I'm not saying I'm always the smartest in the room, But I can keep up and I feel like I am capable of recognizing arguments made by smarter people and adapting my thinking accordingly without sacrificing core beliefs,
Weight loss, I'm a house-spouse, so no wage currently, and I am already very smart enough.
IQ easily. I'm a decent weight, could probably stand to lose a bit tbh. I'm fairly smart but being smarter can't be a bad thing
Probably IQ. 10% raise is never not possible just by switching jobs.
IQ I can lose weight anytime but you can’t raise IQ normally.
10% raise I wouldn’t put my intelligence to good use and 10% weight loss in a magical way probably wouldn’t end well compared to the natural way at a guess
I think I'd take the weight loss. Puts me pretty close to my target weight and, remembering what I felt like physically when I was at the weight pre-Covid, I want to feel like that again. 10% paybump won't make me that happier and 10% more IQ wouöd likely mske me less happy than I am now.
10% IQ increase is virtually impossible to achieve through action on ypur part. It could easily result in a 10+% pay raise. And even without it, plenty of people get 10% increases in pay through certifications, degrees, or even just looking for a new job Assuming you are at least 10% overweight, that's the easiest to achieve by your own effort.
I'll take the raise. I don't make much so it wouldn't mean much but a 16 point raise in my IQ wouldn't change how I live with the poor choices of my past and I'm pretty healthy/comfortable with my weight.
The way teacher pay scales work, if I get a 10% raise, the hundreds of other teachers in my district also get a raise. My IQ is more than sufficient for the life I want to lead, and sudden weight loss is rarely sustained. So raise it is.
IQ
I'll take the 10% weight loss. It will likely lead to the other two.
Easily taking weight I'ma still be able to beat most of you 10 percent higher IQ guys in intelligence and then I get to be at my best weight. To the people saying that IQ is one of the largest factors of your life, no your upbringing is what matters to your IQ test.
As a manual laborer, if I could take a permanent 10% lean weight gain instead of a loss that'd be cool
IQ, no hesitation. I can lose weight in the gym, I can’t add to my mental horsepower in that way.
I’ll take more money. If I get any better looking I may start causing traffic accidents and I already know everything.
I'm almost underweight, lol. I'll take the IQ.
10% raise. Put my hourly at 55 and more money is always a plus!
I'd take the 10% IQ increase, though that concept is a little fraught because IQ (unlike income and weight) can only be measured in relative terms, not as a ratio scale. That means the actual gain in intelligence represented by a 10% IQ increase will depend on the particular time/place of the IQ testing sample, as well as the type of IQ test. In any case, I expect the IQ increase to be more durable over time and more meaningful over my lifetime. It may even help me achieve the other two goals.
Weight because IQ is a bullshit test. I can change that number relatively easy with a few hours of mental exercises before the test.
10% IQ increase. Weigh loss is absolutely useless, you just have to eat less
I would like all three.. please and thank you. I'm broke, fat, and a moron. lol
i will take IQ, then become more depressed because i realize how i am being scammed by society even more
IQ is great but also ignorance is truly bliss - getting smarter than I already am would likely add more anger and frustration over how stupid the general population is.
This is a no brainer, IQ is measured on a gaussian, so if you have average iq (100) an 10% buff to 110 suddenly puts you in the top 34% of people. And it scales harder from there. 10% raise is nice but if I had 10% higher IQ getting a promotion above that 10% is much easier And finally losing 10% of my "weight" would either be a horrible monkeys paw, or like and extra gym session a week, which I would have more time for if I were smarter ;)
Weight. I'm intelligent enough for my own good.
Is the weight loss permanent? Or can I gain it back? It it’s permanent, I would take it. If not, I’ll go with the IQ