Top 5 Clever Facts About Your IQ
Top 5, Top 5 Facts, Facts about IQ, IQ, I.Q., Intelligence, brain, surgery, anesthesia, IQ tests, brain trainers, The Simpsons, The Internship, breast feeding, nursing, Me Myself and Irene,Top 5 Facts About Your IQ
As you’ve probably heard before, Einstein failed math in high school. Well, that’s not true. He was actually a pretty good student. Get your facts straight. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts, the series where we reveal – you guessed it – five random facts about a fascinating topic. Today we’re counting down five things that you would have known about your IQ, if only you were a little bit smarter.
#5: Brain Trainers Boost Your Memory, Not Your IQ
The market is flooded with video games and websites that claim to train your brain. How? This scientific animation explains it all! Actually, experts say that there isn’t any proof that these games actually raise your intelligence. One study in 2013 study found that while brain trainers won’t boost your IQ, they can help you boost your working memory. The authors claimed this is actually significant, as psychologists had always argued that there was actually no way to improve your general memory ability. Don’t go too hard on them though; one 2010 study found that while doing a lot of mentally stimulating activities can keep your brain working better longer, it can also speed up the progress of dementia after it’s diagnosed.
#4: You’d Never Guess What Lowers Your IQ
Ok, top 3 surprising facts. One: anesthesia. Children who received general anesthesia before the age of 4 have a lower IQ. Two: Infections. Not just brain infections, but any kind, and not just temporarily, according to one study of nearly 200,000 Danes . Three: spanking. A 2009 study looked at data from around the world, and concluded that corporal punishment slowed mental development. : Now, this may sound a little conspiratory, but a study from Harvard University said that fluoride in the water supply also can lower your IQ, though other research disputes this. Wait a second, top three facts– three points– like a triangle– or a pyramid – an Illuminati pyramid! Damn you, Illuminati! Get your reptilian claws off my IQ!
#3: Breast Milk Makes You Smarter
A recently published study followed 3500 Brazilian newborns for 30 years and concluded that longer breastfeeding duration is linked with increased intelligence in adulthood, longer schooling, and higher earnings. The authors speculate that the reason for this is probably the fatty acid DHA, which is found in breast milk… I think? DHA is also present in some other foods like flaxseed oil and wild fish, and in organ meats like liver and brain. Yup, feeding your kid brains might make them smarter.
#2: An Extra IQ Point Could Earn You $18,000
Researchers estimate that a difference of 1 IQ point translates to an average of 18,000 USD difference in lifetime earnings. Using this figure, scientists can calculate hidden costs of things like pollution. For instance, the IQ lost to mercury contamination, globally, results in an average lifetime earnings loss of 344 USD, about the cost of these vintage Einstein cufflinks. Remember that study that said anesthesia lowers IQ for toddlers? Well, all that surgery could be costing 540 billion USD in lifetime earnings every year– which is about the GDP of Poland. Granted, not having the surgery may have cost a lot more.
#1: IQ Tests Do Not Reflect Intelligence
More than 100,000 people participated in University of Western Ontario’s online intelligence study, taking a variety of cognitive tests and answering questions about their lifestyle and background. The 2012 study concluded that at least three distinct components are needed to measure overall intelligence, and no single score like IQ could accurately describe a person’s brain power. Well, no duh. They also found that regular brain training had no impact, but people who played video games regularly had significantly better reasoning and short-term memory scores.So, what do you think, Brainiac? Are IQ tests helpful? For more sharpest tool in the shed Top 10s and leg-up program Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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