Summary

If the length of a piece of paper is measured with a ruler, this is literally measuring a quality of something. On the other hand, a score on a pre-constructed test - an IQ test for example s actually generating an estimate based on empirical data of the extent to which someone will develop (ab)normally in the future. Therefore it 's a prediction. But this prediction is calibrated for children and adults) who develop more or less "normally" in a world that develops more or less stably or redictably". Both conditions are not met in the case of the "abnormal" (neurodiverse) child. First, a deviant child sometimes does not fit into the normal distribution at all. Secondly, because of its complexity, the world is increasingly developing in many areas, not linearly and therefore unpredictably. Normal distributions are therefore misleading rather than providing insight.