Nepal, Feb. 11 -- A peculiar trope pops up on some random corner of the internet now and then. This particular one involves a list of countries and their average IQs, and it even cites a research study as its provenance. According to that list, Nepal ranks lowest in average IQ, with a score of 42. In comparison, the average IQ for individuals from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka is 74, 76, 80, and 86, respectively. Japan, Taiwan and Singapore top the list with the highest average IQ score of 106.

This factoid seems a little hard to believe for anyone with even an iota of knowledge of psychometrics and statistics. However, the trope continues to proliferate across social media platforms like X and TikTok. These have even made i...