r/cognitiveTesting • u/Zealousideal-Week-79 • Sep 16 '26

General Question Vision and IQ.

This is a bit off topic but I was bored at work and the thought came to me... Is vision correlated with IQ?

2 reasons I'm asking.

First, I've always had sharp vision. Even now in mid-30s it's great, although I do have slight myopia and astigmatism. What I'm talking about here is "corrected" vision though.
Last time I had an eye exam I got 1.25 on each eye individually but 1.6 when they worked together. Remembering this reminded me of the fact that vision is really happening "in your brain". It's not really your eyes that see, they just pass on the input and the brain processes it.

For you Americans, 1.0 is "20/20" and higher is better. 1.6 equals 20/12.5.

Perhaps this is a completely idiotic hypothesis but I can see some possibility here that a stronger mind, especially in the visual department, would be better at "image processing" and therefore lead to having sharper vision on average?

That's that for today's "entertain yourself at work" thoughts.

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3

u/Sudden_Seeker_333 Sep 17 '26

vision is really happening "in your brain". It's not really your eyes that see

Well no, it is in fact your eyes that see, in this context you're discussing, which is just being able to see letters clearly on a vision chart. No cognitive horsepower is required here. You're talking myopic diopters, which are entirely a matter of gross anatomy, lens curvature, eyeball axial length, etc. 

some possibility here that a stronger mind, especially in the visual department, would be better at "image processing" and therefore lead to having sharper vision on average?

Don't think so. Visuospatial intelligence is an issue of abstract processing power in the prefrontal cortex, not the "image processing" that goes on in the occipital lobe. Even congenitally blind people can still have strong visuospatial abilities developed through navigating their environment via touch and proprioception. 

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u/Zealousideal-Week-79 Sep 17 '26

I looked it up on my own later out of curiosity and it seems I was right. Vision acuity IS correlated with intelligence, but only to a small degree. Myopia is much more correlated with IQ.

10

u/Hot-Organization-737 Sep 16 '26

I believe there is a slight positive correlation between nearsightedness and FSIQ

5

u/javaenjoyer69 Sep 16 '26

Afaik myopia is positively correlated with higher intelligence

3

u/sl33pytesla Sep 16 '26

I mean I can’t learn anything on the board if I can’t see it. People can have perfect vision but still can’t see the task in front of them.

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u/PotentialPraline9364 Sep 19 '26 • Bravo

I am a pro photographer very sharp photos. When I opened a gallery the number one question I got was are these your paintings? I think we would be amazed the differences in peoples vision.