[ChrisV]

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Some of the "If 4 workers dig 12 holes in 4 days how long will it take 9 workers to dig 81 holes?" questions. A bit of experience at doing them teaches you the common traps and the key to solving them quickly and accurately.

Another example where mathematical training helps you think about it correctly was "A square with sides of 10cm can completely fit within a regular hexagon with sides of 10cm - true or false?" Surely one can be brilliant without knowing the definition of "regular hexagon"?

Similarly the "Count the four sided figures in this picture" types - combinatorics develops the habit of methodically counting so that you dont miss any and dont double count.

One test I did had a "Which sequence of coin tosses is more likely - HHTHT or TTTT?" question. These are trivial once you know a bit of probability, irrespective of what you would have thought prior to being taught.

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Real IQ tests should not contain questions like most of these.