Smoking Pot Lowers IQ

[Slartibartfast]

Thank you 'Burg, I appreciate it :3

I'll make sure to keep those questions in mind while I'm reviewing the papers.

Slartibartfast, you're right, but have you developed a better scaled measure of intelligence? Sadly, as an inaccessible construct it's very hard to operationalise - simply, it's difficult to define, and even harder to test. You can either use this data which is some of humanity's best efforts at measuring intelligence, or you can just look at the fMRIs of brain activity and I can show you all the unnatural changes in activity. Which one is more useful really depends on what you're after. At the end of the day, IQ tests aren't perfect, but we rely on them for more important things than this already. Question their usage in those things instead, not just when it threatens marijuana.

I question their usage at every chance I get already :P

It's also to do with the very nature of "technology"-based longitudinal research, doesn't it though. 25 years ago, IQ tests'... Legitimacy probably wasn't qustioned as much as it is today, when we know they only measure one kind of... Something. Set of scores that are used as "predictors of educational achievement, special needs, job performance and income" (from Wipedia(yeah, I know)). And I dare say it's not the sole predictor of those things as well.

So whenever you see a minor smoking a joint, feel free to tell him that he might, by some not-quite-there research, be making a small dent in his potential economical value to the society.

quick edit: Though I know that it doesn't make for such a catchy headline.