MTGandP comments on What Is Signaling, Really? - Less Wrong

74 Post author: Yvain 12 July 2012 05:43PM

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Comment author: waveman 10 July 2012 04:36:17AM 12 points [-]

Possibly a side issue, but one motivation for signalling occurs when measurement is difficult for some reason e.g. regulation.

Giving prospective employees an IQ test can be quite hazardous for the employer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_and_public_policy

Spending $50,000 on college - and incurring toxic student debt in the process - to prove something that can be demonstrated by a $500 test seems strange, in the absence of other factors. Particularly when colleges use a near-IQ test (SAT) as one important criterion for admission!

Comment author: MTGandP 08 November 2012 05:12:38AM 1 point [-]

Many people think that if you do poorly on an IQ test, it's because you're stupid. But if you do poorly on the SAT, people doesn't think that says much about your intelligence—perhaps you "don't test well" or you're "smart in a different way."