There is a strange disconnect between the scientific consensus and the public mind on intelligence testing. Just mention IQ testing in polite company, and you'll sternly be informed that IQ tests don't measure anything "real," and only reflect how good you are at doing IQ tests; that they ignore important traits like "emotional intelligence" and "multiple intelligences"; and that those who are interested in IQ testing must be elitists, or maybe something more sinister.

Yet the scientific evidence is clear: IQ tests are extraordinarily useful. IQ scores are related to a huge variety of...

'Required reading for everyone' Adam RutherfordMedicine, education, psychology, economics - wherever it really matters, we look to science for guidance.