Do general IQ and hockey IQ correlate?

[HaNotsri]

Spatial intelligence is one of the things that makes the difference between top-level athletes.

“Hockey IQ” type players typically combine outstanding spatial intelligence with a strong grasp of the theoretical basis of the game (principles like creating odd-man situations, high vs low value areas of the ice, etc) and usually a good dash of peripheral vision.

Beat me to it.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

László Polgár (born 11 May 1946 in Gyöngyös), is a Hungarian chess teacher and educational psychologist. He is the father of the famous "Polgár sisters": Zsuzsa, Zsófia, and Judit, whom he raised to be chess prodigies, with two of them becoming the best and second best women chess players in the world, respectively.

He has written well-known chess books such as Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games and Reform Chess, a survey of chess variants. He is also considered a pioneer theorist in child-rearing, who believes "geniuses are made, not born". Polgár’s experiment with his daughters has been called "one of the most amazing experiments…in the history of human education."[1] He has been "portrayed by his detractors as a Dr. Frankenstein" and viewed by his admirers as "a Houdini", noted Peter Maas in the Washington Post in 1992.[2]

László Polgár - Wikipedia

 

[Cynick]

I'd think that (a) proceeding speed and (b) nonverbal reasoning would both be associated with improved hockey IQ but who knows...

 

[OilCanada92]

not at all. they are different types of intelligence.

Exactly. And IQ tests don't measure what you're capable of knowing. They measure what you already know. Two people with the same intelligence can do different on IQ tests just based on their education and life experiences. So I don't know why that would have a relation to hockey IQ.

 

[Merya]

The human mind, especially at childhood, is almost infinitely malleable. It's entirely possible and probably quite usual, that kids' brains are molded towards some goals, and it maybe might have a toll physically towards other ventures.

 

[Merya]

Exactly. And IQ tests don't measure what you're capable of knowing. They measure what you already know. Two people with the same intelligence can do different on IQ tests just based on their education and life experiences. So I don't know why that would have a relation to hockey IQ.

False! IQ tests are mostly about mathematical and geometric intelligence. Nothing about knowledge!

 

[OilCanada92]

False! IQ tests are mostly about mathematical and geometric intelligence. Nothing about knowledge!

So if you're a person who has never taken a math class, how are you going to do on the IQ test?

 

[Merya]

So if you're a person who has never taken a math class, how are you going to do on the IQ test?

Not very well. They're mostly logic puzzles, but even then mostly into geometrics.

 

[OilCanada92]

Not very well. They're mostly logic puzzles, but even then mostly into geometrics.

So if the person doesn't do very well, are they a dumb person or just a person who has never been taught math?

 

[Paul4587]

Not at all.

 

[Merya]

So if the person doesn't do very well, are they a dumb person or just a person who has never been taught math?

I'd say that culture and education very much influences the results. The results are only accurate for generic westerners.

 

[OilCanada92]

I'd say that culture and education very much influences the results. The results are only accurate for generic westerners.

Then we agree.

 

[Merya]

Then we agree.

I wasnt arguing with you in the first place.

 

[OilCanada92]

I wasnt arguing with you in the first place.

Oh sorry. You said "false" so I thought you were.

 

[glovesave_35]

Obviously not. Even mediocre NHL players have better hockey IQ than 99% of people who play(ed) hockey at a relatively competitive level, but there are plenty of players in the NHL who are as dumb as a sack of excrement.

The better question would be whether NHL players are more intelligent than the average person. I would say yes, since I think that intelligence is a trait that's a huge help in becoming world class in any field. Being good at self-analysis, being smart about habits, time management, who you surround yourself with, and so on and so forth, can all help a player make the NHL.

I also think that NHL players now are much smarter than they were 20 years ago. The game is more competitive now and the league has more talent, teams no longer draft players and promote them to the NHL just because they're big.

They do promote them for being good at hockey though. Being good at hockey is not a measure of one's IQ. That is exactly what we are talking about here.

I have a hard time with the assertion that NHL players are more intelligent than the average person. I would wager the opposite.

Also, regarding the tine management point of your post, maybe I'm wrong but I feel like the hockey stuff is all laid out by the organization. Whatever extra preparation players need to or want to make can be done in their oodles and oodles of free time.

 

[The Panther]

Randy Gregg didn't have a better hockey IQ than Wayne Gretzky.

Probably the lowest-skilled, poor-IQ player I've ever seen in the NHL was Neil Sheehy, who graduated from Harvard.

 

[Oneiro]

Cute that people think that athletes from Ivy League schools have high IQs (Parros, Murray, etc).

I grew up in one of those Ivy League towns, and, when I say that the percentage of legacy/nepotism/non-academic admittance in those places is 30-40%, that is a conservative estimate.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Gretzky certainly is no great genius outside of the hockey rink.

Gretzky seems like a pretty smart guy who is well spoken.

I doubt there is very much correlation to general iq and hockey iq.

 

[McDNicks17]

I don't think so.

I think "hockey IQ" is actually a bit of a misnomer. "Hockey sense" fits a little better since I think it's largely instinctual.

Are players with great hockey sense quickly problem solving and thinking through every little thing or is are they just doing it like they're running on instinct?

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Spatial intelligence is one of the things that makes the difference between top-level athletes.

“Hockey IQ” type players typically combine outstanding spatial intelligence with a strong grasp of the theoretical basis of the game (principles like creating odd-man situations, high vs low value areas of the ice, etc) and usually a good dash of peripheral vision.

This is a great answer.
I think instinct plays a role too. Some players know how to make the perfect move at the right time, or make desperation gambles that pay off.

 

[armyjoe]

Spatial and bodily intelligence - yes. Would be cool to test Gretzkys spatial intelligence, pretty sure it’s of the charts.
Theory of multiple intelligences - Wikipedia

Multiple intelligence theory does not have much supporting research behind it.

Exactly. And IQ tests don't measure what you're capable of knowing. They measure what you already know. Two people with the same intelligence can do different on IQ tests just based on their education and life experiences. So I don't know why that would have a relation to hockey IQ.

Wrong. They do not (atleast the correct ones) measure what you already "know".

I'd say that culture and education very much influences the results. The results are only accurate for generic westerners.

Are east-asians considered generic westerners because they do have the highest average intelligence score?

 

[HugginThePost]

I've always excelled at IQ Tests, ever since I was a kid, my strengths were vocabulary, spatial awareness and pattern recognition. I attribute my high IQ score to traumatic brain injuries I suffered as a child. I can't think of any other reason for what's considered a genius level IQ. Trust me I am no genius, not by a long shot. But IQ tests have always been easy for me. But that IQ has done nothing for me personally or professionally. I had to study hard at school and to this day put in a great deal of effort in my work.

As for Hockey IQ, I have next to none, which is probably the reason I played goal. It's a reactive position.

 

[Dr Robot]

I'd like to point out for anyone drawing parallels to hockey players in the NHL. You are looking at a collection of roughly the top 1000 people IN THE WORLD at their profession. Those 4th line goons who LOL SUCK at hockey are good enough to be 1st/2nd liners in the next best league in the world and are probably way better than you realize.

My theory on hockey IQ is that its hard to define what really is hockey IQ. Are we looking at people who have seen the same situation so many thousands of times that they can unconciously understand what typically happens in that situation and know how to react or are you seeing someone who can predict future events based off past experience and are capable of providing the desired outcome? Basically the same thing but 2 different ways of looking at it.

 

[Atas2000]

It's an interesting question. What do you think?

No. Never heard of a scientist with horrible social skills, driving skills and so on?

 

[Rexor]

No, I don't think there's a correlation. In hockey or in any other sport. Francesco Totti was infamous for his limited intellectual capacity, there were tons of jokes about his stupidity among Italian fans. Yet, on the field, he was one of the most intelligent and creative football players of his generation. There's a tremendous difference between being good at solving logical puzzles when sitting behind a desk, and being good at quick decision-making in an intense physical environment, with a lot of stress involved.

I guess it even applies to coaches. I know of coaches who are definitely more intelligent than some others, yet the latter group is more successful, makes better decisions and is able to react to the game development in a more creative way than the former group. Sport is more about confidence and instincts than pure logic.

I'd like to point out for anyone drawing parallels to hockey players in the NHL. You are looking at a collection of roughly the top 1000 people IN THE WORLD at their profession. Those 4th line goons who LOL SUCK at hockey are good enough to be 1st/2nd liners in the next best league in the world and are probably way better than you realize.

I doubt it. A Top 6 player in the KHL is expected to excel at different things than a 4th liner in the NHL. A big difference between taking a 20 second shift, playing aggresively, throwing the puck away from your own zone and skating back to the bench, and actually having to make plays consistently.