Worth a read for those who don't "get" aptitude tests
Third paragraph particularly...
"Aptitude tests are designed to measure your work-related cognitive capacity. The concept behind these tests is that each test question has only one correct answer, and everyone can correctly solve all the test questions. The only difference between people is in how quickly they can correctly complete the test (i.e. answer all the test questions). That’s why these tests are always timed. The time is defined in such a way that only 1% to 5% of the population can correctly solve all the test questions within the allowed time frame.
What do aptitude tests measure? These tests measure what psychologists refer to as your fluid and crystallised intelligence. The theory of fluid and crystallised intelligence suggests that people’s intelligence is composed of a number of different abilities that interact and work together to produce overall individual intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is the ability to think and reason abstractly and solve problems. It’s more commonly known as ‘street smarts’ or the ability to ‘quickly think on your feet’ . This ability is considered independent of learning, past experience, and education. Examples of the use of fluid intelligence include coming up with problem-solving strategies, ability to quickly learn new skills, ability to quickly integrate new information, strategic thinking, etc. The aptitude test that measures your fluid intelligence is called abstract reasoning.
The second component of intelligence that the aptitude tests measure is crystallised intelligence. Crystallised intelligence is the ability to learn from past experiences and relevant learning, and to apply this learning to a situation. Employers, obviously, will only be interested in your ability to apply your learnings to work-related situations. Work situations that require crystallised intelligence include comprehending written reports and instructions, ability to produce reports, ability to use numbers as a tool to make effective decisions, etc. This type of intelligence is based upon facts and rooted in experiences, and becomes stronger as we age and accumulate new knowledge and understanding. There are many aptitude tests that measure different aspects of crystallised intelligence. The most common are verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning and mechanical reasoning"