So this is one of the coolest posts I’ve seen in a bit.
In it blogger Ben Fry maps the IQ of football players to their role on the field – apparently, the closer you are to the ball, the higher your IQ. (see below).
Three comments.
1. Who knew the NFL had every player fill out an intelligence test? Glad to see that my New England Patriots are above average in intelligence – no surprises there. Does anyone know if NHL players fill out a similar test? (Willing to make a small wager that defencemen are the smartest – cause they have to read the plays the best)
2. I would LOVE to see similar test results plotted against the org chart of a ministerial offices. Does IQ increase as you get closer to the minister? Or is it by role? (chief of staff vs. policy adviser vs. communications director). They of course may all be the same, but if there was a spread… it be fascinating to figure out why.
3. I hope Audrey M. is reading this post… I’m not sure I’ve ever linked to something he’d appreciate more.
eaves.ca 
I’d love to see this kind of thing done for ministerial offices! Maybe everyone should do a Wonderlic test upon entering the public service? =)
For what it’s worth, this comes as a sweet validation for the many years I played football and people derided me for playing a “brainless” sport. I played right guard (score of 23) — but it’s worth noting that I originally started playing right tackle (26) but was moved because I was too small.
Also, now I can make fun of my running back, who always got all the glory.
I’d love to see this kind of thing done for ministerial offices! Maybe everyone should do a Wonderlic test upon entering the public service? =)For what it’s worth, this comes as a sweet validation for the many years I played football and people derided me for playing a “brainless” sport. I played right guard (score of 23) — but it’s worth noting that I originally started playing right tackle (26) but was moved because I was too small.Also, now I can make fun of my running back, who always got all the glory.
Without being too cynical – I would posit you wouldn’t find a strong correlation between role and intelligence in the governmental field – most of the work focuses on knowledge, education and training rather than raw intelligence (unlike football where everyone has (basically) the same understanding of a highly finite ruleset).
Studies done in hospitals found that there’s a much weaker correlation between IQ scores and position than, say parental income and position.
Also, I feel compelled to point out that the Wonderlic (and any standardized intelligence test) aren’t regarded as much more than novelties within the scientific community. There’s little evidence to suggest these tests measure only a very narrow subset of skills and not what we’d regard as intelligence intuitively.
Without being too cynical – I would posit you wouldn’t find a strong correlation between role and intelligence in the governmental field – most of the work focuses on knowledge, education and training rather than raw intelligence (unlike football where everyone has (basically) the same understanding of a highly finite ruleset). Studies done in hospitals found that there’s a much weaker correlation between IQ scores and position than, say parental income and position.Also, I feel compelled to point out that the Wonderlic (and any standardized intelligence test) aren’t regarded as much more than novelties within the scientific community. There’s little evidence to suggest these tests measure only a very narrow subset of skills and not what we’d regard as intelligence intuitively.