Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 May 30

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May 30

mRNA vaccine after Johnson and Johnson vaccine

Are there any safety risks associated with receiving an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) after already having received the J and J vaccine? I ask because I know they use different platforms ( mRNA vs adenovirus vector) Signed by 67.253.78.55 talk at 00:51, 30 May 2021‎.

See Covid-19 vaccine mixing: the good, the bad and the uncertain (April 2021). Alansplodge (talk) 10:15, 30 May 2021 (UTC)

The J&J vaccine is an efficacious single-dose vaccine, so why take a second jab with whatever vaccine?  --Lambiam 18:57, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Boosters after a certain amount of time? --OuroborosCobra (talk) 18:58, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

IQ tests for infants and toddlers

I was reading in the news a few days ago that a young girl (I believe, age 2) was admitted as a member of Mensa, due to having an IQ of 146 (or so). I was wondering: how do "they" (the scientists, the test examiners, etc.) go about determining the IQ of children so young? And do these methods/scores have any merit or validity? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 03:37, 30 May 2021 (UTC)

Here is the story: A 2-year-old from California is the youngest American to become a member of Mensa. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 03:40, 30 May 2021 (UTC)

I saw a report on the evening news tonight. It seems she can read pretty well, and knows the chemical elements by their 1 or 2 letter codes. If Mensa thinks she belongs to them, she must be something. Maybe she'll be the next host of "Jeopardy!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:56, 30 May 2021 (UTC)

As in our article on IQ, Historically, IQ was a score obtained by dividing a person's mental age score, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person's chronological age. The implication (roughly, given that modern definitions differ), is that a two-year-old would get a score of 150 by having the mental abilities of a three-year-old. So not so impressive, perhaps. According to Mensa's website To become a Mensan, all you need to do is demonstrate you have an IQ in the top two per cent (presumably of your age cohort), so that at any age it is possible to join them. Mike Turnbull (talk) 15:56, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. I am not really asking about the numerical quotients and ratios, etc. I guess I was getting at something like this: what types of substantive questions would they ask of infants and toddlers, who have little/no life experience ... and probably can't even read? I think that was my underlying curiosity. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:08, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

The article Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children describes some of the tests specifically designed for children from age six upwards. I guess that something similar could be done for a two-year-old but clearly that depends on the infant: this specific one could read, apparently. Mike Turnbull (talk) 16:56, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. Yes, but there is quite a difference between a 6-year-old and an infant/toddler. The former has school experiences, socialization, life experiences, etc. The infant/toddler really has none of that. So, I can see that it would be easy to "pick the brain" of a six-year-old kid in first grade or so. I just don't quite understand how they can "pick the brain" of the young infants and toddlers. That's my curiosity. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:10, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

Read that CNN article you linked and you'll get some information that at least partially answers your question. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:24, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

I re-read the CNN article a few times. What section are you referring to? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 20:05, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

Where it talks about stuff she can do. Here's an ABC News report on this young'un.[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:39, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

They made me take the WISC test as a kid several times, due to trouble at school. I don't remember it having reading questions, though it might have had some. It had dexterity tests (arrange wooden blocks with triangles on top so they show specific geometric shapes), a digit span test (they read you digit strings of increasing lengths to see how many you can remember, which was very easy during my era, in which kids were used to remembering phone numbers because they didn't have cell phones with speed dialers), and ISTR some math related tests ("what do the numbers 36 and 49 have in common?" (both are squares)). The last one might not have made sense for really little kids. The main thing I remember is that the dexterity puzzles became a lot easier once you figured out the trick of ignoring the shapes and just figuring out how to place each block separately. So the second time I took the test, I already knew the trick and did a lot better than the first time. I have no idea whether that got me out of trouble in school, or into more trouble. 2601:648:8200:970:0:0:0:752 (talk) 20:43, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

IQ tests are a load of rubbish IMO. The I stands for Intelligence but really it's a very specific kind of problem solving. When I was a kid we all took the national IQ test, and they told my mother that I achieved the second-highest score in the northwest of England. That would imply that I am (or was) one of the most intelligent people in the country! Well, I'm clever enough to know that that simply isn't true. Sure, I was precocious - I enjoyed reading encyclopedias and even managed teach myself to programme a computer when I was 7 - but I'd argue that it was having access to books and a computer that prepared me for the test. A lot more kids might have scored more highly than me given the same opportunities. I'm arguably highly intelligent but I'm no genius! nagualdesign 19:02, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

The only thing IQ tests measure are your ability to take IQ tests. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:04, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

Exactly. But organizations like Mensa like to perpetuate the idea that they measure intelligence because (without wishing to sound like a tinfoil hat type) it suits their agenda. nagualdesign 19:22, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

I think a lot of it is the ability to give the answer the test takers want to hear – and getting what it is they are seeking is an indication of intelligence. A toddler may not get that they should match shapes into fitting slots in the least possible time – while they may well understand that the round peg will not fit into the square hole, they may want to consider the artistic quality of the combination of a round peg placed on a square hole, oblivious to the ticking of the clock.  --Lambiam 21:41, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

Is there an equivalent organization for low-IQ individuals? (Besides the government, that is.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:57, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Of course; Densa. nagualdesign 03:12, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Perfect! I'll put in my application ASAP. I already have one of their mugs.[2] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:36, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Now we are on to anecdotes, in my case I'm old enough to have taken the Eleven-plus exam in the UK. As the article says the eleven-plus was redesigned during the 1960s to be more like an IQ test. That meant that, as commented by 2601:648:8200:970:0:0:0:752 it became much easier to do well by rote: practising on the types of question asked. To my surprise, this way of getting good grades in exams: by doing homework mostly consisting of answering earlier year exam questions, still worked right through a university degree. Mike Turnbull (talk) 09:13, 2 June 2021 (UTC)