They say that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Too many decisions are often made without any trace of awareness or understanding of the matters at hand. So, what we don’t know can and does hurt us (An example of this could be, living in a country which invades another under the assumption that it is withholding weapons of mass destruction there, only to find out that there aren’t any.)

But, “ignorance is bliss” must have become the mantra that it is for a reason. Maybe what we don’t know can hurt us, but do any scenarios exist in which what we do know can have an equally discouraging effect?

No one can deny the benefit of truly knowing oneself. However, there are certain aspects of a person’s personality that may be best left to the imagination.

I am talking about a person’s IQ or “intelligence quotient” as it is more formally referred to. For many years, IQ tests have been the source of debate amongst psychologists. No one seems to agree upon what exactly “intelligence” is or what skills and talents it actually encompasses.

The fact that it is disputed is comforting. We all like to think that intelligence is relative; that everyone is blessed with some kind of aptitude for something in life that sets him or her apart. This makes me wonder why we cannot let our curiosity rest here. If people are gifted in such a wide variety of ways, why must we compare who is “brighter” than whom at all?

A lot of us would probably be better off if we had no idea where we stood on the smarty-pants scale. I don’t know my IQ and I have no desire to know. I do wonder from time to time where I might rank, but not enough to actually seek out that knowledge.

To me, finding out my IQ would be like being sentenced to live out the rest of my life in accordance to how intelligent I was. Basing your entire life around a test might seem a bit extreme, but consider for a moment what a profound effect it could actually have if you allowed it to.

Say I did sit down and take an IQ test, or any similar kind of standardized test. The results could prove to be very destructive to my self-esteem if they turn out even slightly lower than I had anticipated. If I read into those results too much, I could easily find myself discouraged.

I’m not implying that everyone who has taken an IQ test and scored poorly has immediately lost all aspiration to do anything significant with their lives. However, a person might be inclined to second-guess themselves every once in awhile based on such a discovery.

These are not the type of thoughts we want hovering over the minds of young people, who often times do not realize what they are capable of until they try.

Are they going to try if they aren’t feeling confident about their intelligence?

Probably not.

It’s doubtful that most people go into an IQ test saying, “I know I’m a genius. I just know it!” But what if your results showed that you actually were one?

You could spend the rest of your life reveling in the fact that the vast majority is a lot dumber than you and deserves to be pumping your gas. However, the confirmation that you have an advanced brain could actually limit the possibilities of your life.

If you know you are so much sharper than everybody else, what’s going to make you listen to what any of those minions?

Unfortunately, in discovering the awesomeness of your intellect you might not value the ideas and opinions of your peers as much as you would have, had you thought that you were all in the same ballpark —- intellectually-speaking.

There’s a plethora of reasons to never take IQ test results seriously including the fact that their cultural bias has been proven (Caucasians score higher because questions are asked in ways that are best understood by whites or have to do with white middle-class culture).

Studies also show that when young children are tested for their IQs, “teacher expectancies” are often created in which children who are labeled as “bright” receive more encouragement from their instructors, whereas children deemed less intelligent ultimately receive less attention and guidance in their studies. A good teacher can plainly see which student is talented in different subjects, and anyone who spends time with another person will realize what his or her strengths and weaknesses are. These talents shine through without the aid of a Scantron sheet. Think you’ve got the gift?

Well then a standardized test is probably not going to tell anyone anything about you that they don’t already know.

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