Test Your IQ: A Detailed Explanation of What IQ Means and How It Is Measured--Including Eight Tests You Can Take

Good IQ introductory material is hard to find, so this is a rare find. If you want to let someone know what type of questions they may face and practice a bit, this is a good source. I still disagree with the growing emphasis on anagrams, but they don't ask me.

Excellent book describing the sorts of things tested and ways of testing 'how you think' rather than 'what you know', per se. I would have liked a bit more rationale on some things and some more 'test questions'.

arrived well and good, interesting read

After doing some researching across various Psychology websites for IQ related information, I stumbled upon one college (Psychology) professor's list of book recommendations. Placed near the top of the list was this book. With much anticipation and eagerness, I ordered this book, "Test Your IQ", written by one of the most quoted and discussed Psychologists of the 20th century, Hans Eysenck. However, after a much awaited period, I was immediately disappointed by both the written content and, more specifically, the tests themselves. Within the first few pages one can immediately see the subjective, non scientific bases to the writing. Eyseneck often addresses many points with nothing other than his personal belief or opinion on the subject at hand. The entirety of the text is not a complete loss though. After wading through trivial information, a few interesting facts are addressed, however, never deeply enough to be properly analyzed or discussed. Nearing the conclusion of the first, written portion of the book, Eyesneck finalizes with the following remark: "The very fact that you bought this book suggests that your IQ is above 100 - few people with low IQs are interested in mental testing or buy books of this kind!" Whether that statement is correct or not, I believe, it is a carelessly written and addressed remark that was merely included in the text to flatter the reader.The biggest issue with this book is the tests themselves. Most of the questions revolve around the usage of numbers, letters, or words, rejecting any concentration on spatial reasoning or true abstract thinking. Accurate IQ test utilize all aspects of thinking and reasoning, not just portions. Also included throughout each of the eight tests are word anagrams (word scrambles), a question type I have hitherto never seen on an IQ test. What's more, these anagrams are topic specific, applying only one topic per test. (Test 2's anagram questions were on dog breeds, test 3's on tree types, etc.) Which is to say: if one were to be unknowledgeable in one topic and quite knowledgeable in the next test's topic, the results would obviously vary from test to test. As such, to use myself as an example, I scored 113.2 on the first test, 126.6 on the second and a solid 140 on the third (results derived from mathematically relating the conversion table). As one can see, these results are nearly laughable when one considers this is supposed to be derived from tried and true scientific tests. These, however, are simply acute examples of the collective failure of this book. To put it quite simply, I saw a stronger resemblance to a Sunday newspaper's game section, than a legitimate IQ test. Save yourself the time, effort and money. Do not buy this book.In concluding one last thought however, what does this say about the professor whom I was originally intrigued by? Interesting...

great reading, test are difficult.

Be sure to brush up on your old dead movie stars and antique cars. How could such an old test be valid for anyone (except maybe your grandparents)?

I never really worked on them, but look like they had cool exercises.

Difficult and thought provoking tests. Helps keeping mind sharp at age 61.

Get this book and then be disappointed with how dumb you are hahah I really enjoyed getting the results and the tests only take 30 minutes each