Psychology has long been a subject of special interest to me, and at the time I was deciding what I wanted to put in my portfolio I was reading Stephen J. Gould’s ‘The Mismeasure of Man.’ I thought race and I.Q. would be a perfect subject for a video essay. What I didn’t know was how dense the subject matter was, and how much it interconnects with a range of other topics. As I read other sources, including Malcom Harris ‘Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World,’ it became clear to me that the scope of my video had to expand. The cultural context that I.Q. emerged from is critically important, especially because so much of it is still reflected in the present day.
I.Q. tests themselves are not as widely used outside of psychological testing. But the core idea that a person’s intelligence can be reduced to a single unchanging number that can be used to objectively rank them, and is tied to their character and success, remains very influential in our society. Standardized testing and ‘gifted child’ programs are also direct descendants of I.Q. tests.
I was 5 when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed and standardized testing was a constant, dreaded presence as I grew up. I was also in gifted and talented programs from the fourth grade, and reflecting on them now I feel that in many ways they did not help me. This personal experience informs why I think this aspect is so important to include. It’s impossible for anyone to be unbiased, and part of being a good communicator is being honest about bias. Including a personal narrative is also a good way to build connection with the audience, and I plan to include aspects of mine in the video essay. And while my exact experience isn’t widely shared, everyone has also been affected in some way by the continuing legacy of the intelligence quotient.
(Above is an early outline I made)
While investigating the connections between I.Q. testing and modern day testing in education did prove fruitful, there were other rabbit holes that I had to avoid during my research process. Intelligence testing is connected to many other equally thorny subjects, and a large part of what I have learned during the course of this project is how to distinguish between what is relevant to my topic and what isn’t. I have also had to think very carefully about my words as I am writing the script. I take the responsibility of educating the general public on serious material like this very seriously. I want to reduce the chance of misinterpretation as much as I can, as well as check my facts to be sure I’m not unintentionally repeating something false.
Although I wasn’t able to complete the video essay on the timeline that I originally planned, this is a continuing project that I will be working on as much as I can while I search for work.