Reasons not to spread test answers
Reasons not to spread test answers |
(A spoken version of this article in this video.)
One of the problems in high-range mental testing concerns the illegal unauthorized spreading (publishing, sharing) of test answers by dishonest individuals. This may for instance take the form of underhand sharing, or of discussion of test items on a public web forum, typically using false names. In the rare cases where one succeeds in disclosing an offender's identity and contact information, the culprit almost invariably refuses to take responsibility for one's actions, or even denies having done wrong. A typical reaction that has been observed is making one's electronic mail address go defunct immediately after the first contact, to avoid being called to account. Such reactions, and the use of false identities, betray bad intentions and the being well aware of having done or doing wrong.
For the possible subset of (potential) offenders, however small, who are educable, here follows a list of reasons why not to spread (publish, share) test answers or discuss test items with others. If you are an offender, hand-copy this page forty (40) times on paper and send to I.Q. Test for the High Range with your signed confession and full contact information. You will then be informed of your sentence. If you are a potential offender, we are hopeful that reading the below reasons will keep you from actually going on to spread (publish, share, discuss) test answers or items.
Publication of answers deprives test candidates (who inevitably stumble upon the answers through search engines) of that thoroughly ecstatic, divinely satisfying sensation of solving the problems by themselves, thus defeating the problems' purpose. It therefore takes away an immaterial good — the "aha!" experience — that can not possibly be bought, borrowed, or bestowed on one, but only obtained through one's own achievement. And that is the worst kind of theft.
Publication of answers robs bona fide candidates of the credit for having obtained their scores honestly; in fact, answer publication makes all following scores suspect, burdens honest high-scoring candidates forever with the suspicion of fraud. After all, they can not prove that they have not made use of the illegally published answers. This, too, is theft of an immaterial good as meant under 1. It amounts to character assassination.
As some candidates use the fraudulently obtained (published, spread) answers, their scores are too high, and norms based on (partly) too high scores are logically too low for honest candidates. Honest candidates thus receive I.Q.'s that understate their ability level.
Candidates who use fraudulently obtained answers obtain too high scores and I.Q.'s that overstate their ability level, assuming that the norms are based on a mixture of honest scores and cheat scores. The latter is inevitable because the normer can not know which scores are fraudulent.
Validity, reliability, and other test parameters suffer from answer leakage. Tests are invalidated and destroyed, and the effort put into them wasted. Sublimely beautiful test items become unusable thanks to these regrettable specimens, that are like museum visitors cutting up invaluable paintings.
Publication of our test items and answers constitutes copyright violation, since no permission has ever been given to publish such. Offenders are well aware of this fact, seeing their sneakiness, their lies, their anonymity or pseudonymity, and their cramped reactions when caught (it has actually been observed that one offender kept denying after its accomplice had already confessed, for instance). Item discussions on web forums tend to start with lies like "A friend showed me this nice puzzle…", and then comes a problem from a test that expressly forbids exactly that sharing and discussing of its contents. Penalties for copyright violation are in the order of several years imprisonment and a fine around 100 000 euros. Be assured that we at I.Q. Tests for the High Range will not settle for such softness on crime though; once our excutators get their hands on an offender, things look considerably more grim than that.
Finally, consider yourself, your good health, and your life. As an offender in high-range mental testing, once discovered, you will enjoy the deepest possible comtempt of all the good honest people among test takers and I.Q. society members. Underestimate not the effects of that. Think of the group voodoo, the subtle paranormal phenomena, compatible with the laws of quantum physics, that will make the remainder of your life less than pleasant. I personally still become cold to the bone when I ponder that international telephone call that woke me up some years ago in the death of a cold, dark, rainy night, from a young Finn in obvious state of desperation. I remember with shivers down my spine how he begged me to "make it stop" and to "call back the bloodhounds". But I could not, I had no idea what he meant. Then he confessed, crying, that he had been discussing my and other test items on the Internet, and had utilized thus obtained solutions to dishonestly score above his proper level when taking tests. A number of I.Q. society members had tracked him down, and ever since his existence had been a living hell. He assumed I was sending those people after him, but I knew nothing of it. While I tried to explain that to him, he interrupted: "Help me please! They are at my door now… I can hear them. I know only you can call them back…" But sadly, there was absolutely nothing I could do but listen to the banging, to the breaking of glass, and to the seemingly endless bloodcurdling screams that followed; with horror, I realized I was witnessing the inescapable slow and painful demise that awaits anyone who opts to publish, spread, discuss, or otherwise share answers to high-range I.Q. tests. Oh, how terrible it felt to hear something so awful happen and not be able to do anything about it. The details are almost too horrific to speak of, although one can obtain a fairly good impression by reading the novel Field of eternal integrity.
Would you really want such a thing happening to you? Would you really want to have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life? — which, admittedly, may not be all that long to begin with, once you embark upon a career as an offender in high-range mental testing.