willing to share their IQ's

phion

I too an online IQ test a few years ago that took approximately 5-10 minutes and scored 145.

Jimmy Snyder

Let me add, in defense of my fellow PFffts, that my position as IQ test scorer requires a level of integrity that rises above the ordinary. A person in my position could easily deflate the scores of their enemies or inflate those of their friends. On the positive side, I have taken the liberty of crunching the numbers (I know I shouldn't be doing JackRohr's homework, but I think you'll agree that the results are too important to hold back). The average PFfft scores IQ tests for a living and is Cretan. The average IQ among us is 185 with a standard deviation of 0. This conforms with the 5 sigma criterion. If JackRohr can get his research published in a peer reviewed journal, he is certain to be in contention for this year's Ig Nobel in physics.

BobG

Your first problem is that very few people take a "real" IQ test. A person is more likely to take an IQ test to diagnose problems (i.e. - eliminate low IQ as the cause of learning problems, etc).

They would be much more likely to take some standardized test that can be generally correlated to IQ (SAT, ACT, ASVAB, etc). In other words, most people have a rough estimate of their IQ, with the accuracy of the estimate varying depending on the test/IQ (for example, the ASVAB test would be accurate up to around 120 or 125, but the only accurate statement you could make for higher scores is that their IQ is proabably above 120).

You would probably get better results by asking for results of tests they were likely to take and doing the correlations yourself.

NemoReally

Now you've identified the problem, the next step may be to work on ways of presenting your conclusions in a more "people friendly" fashion. One way, for example, might be (I don't know what you do already) to ask questions that lead to your viewpoint rather than state it. Not only can this soften the impact of a "negative" but it encourages others to think about the problem and be readier for alternative solutions (or even come up with their own). Of course, the way you phrase the questions is important, for example, contrast and compare "What half-witted, moronic imbecile thought up this can of worms? Duh! Can't they see that ...?" versus "OK, I can see the intent here, but I don't quite understand how it does X / what happens if Y occurs?".

Another one is, where feasible, to give the appearance of taking time to consider things before commenting. It turns out that people find it off-putting to struggle over a problem for days, finally summon up the courage to talk to someone and then have the solution presented to them instantly without even the pretence of thinking about it ... apparently, no matter how friendly your smile or demeanour, it can be "intimidating".

Once people get to know you, then you can sometimes "relax".

Surprisingly, a flip-side to having ready answers to tricky problems, is that people can treat you like a performing poodle or precocious child and only "drag you out for special occasions" whilst the "real people" get on with the interesting jobs. In addition, making things look too easy can diminish the perceived validity of your solutions ... anything that involves no effort can't be right, right?

JackRohr

BobG the only problem with that is I have a genius iq (officially tested) yet only scored a 24 on my act.

micromass

OK, we know already that you have a genius IQ. No need to repeat it every post.

FlexGunship

This should help you gauge the efficacy of IQ tests.

Got everything you needed then?

micromass

I think it's time to lock this thread.

Evo

So, you're not a genius.