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5 votes
Most people are of above-average intelligence

a) objective claim
b) subjective claim
c) too vague to be a claim
d) not a claim, but not too vague

User Phalgun
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1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

The claim that 'most people are of above-average intelligence' is a subjective claim and is logically incorrect, as it contradicts the statistical definition of an average; roughly 50% of people will naturally fall below and 50% above the average intelligence.

Step-by-step explanation:

The claim that 'most people are of above-average intelligence' is subjective and somewhat paradoxical. By definition, 'above-average' means more than the middle point of a given range, yet it's impossible for 'most' of the population to be above the median as this defies the very concept of an average. In the context of intelligence, this could refer to IQ scores, where the average is set to 100 in most standardised tests. Intelligence can be measured objectively through scores, but the claim as phrased is a subjective interpretation of what constitutes 'most people' and how they relate to the concept of 'above-average'. Intelligence is a complex trait that cannot be easily condensed into a single statement or average, as it includes a variety of aspects including emotional, social, logical, and creative dimensions, among others. The student's statement is a reflection of a common misconception that can be used to discuss the normal distribution of traits like intelligence, where approximately 50% of people fall below the average and 50% above. However, the statement that 'most people are of above-average intelligence' fails logically as it contradicts the principles of statistical averages.

User Mikhail Bolotov
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8.6k points