Here is the really important thing to remember about Binet and his 1905 test: He saw it as a snapshot in time. The test would reveal where a child stood on the scale of mental capability relative to that child’s peers—at a moment in time. Nowhere did Binet write or imply that his IQ test, given once to a child between three and thirteen, would project that child’s intelligence over his or her entire lifetime. It was an American who made that unfortunate leap.
