Anyone here with an extremely high IQ?

[rebat]

IQ tests are only good at scoring how well you are with a very limited amount of subjects and problem solving techniques they test you on.

To make an analogy, I could make an athleticism test based on a persons mile run time and how much they can bench press. If they score high on both, then they have a high athleticism score.

Someone like a football wide receiver would probably score very high, whereas a golfer would score very low. Even most miler runners would score average or low because the bench press score would weigh the overall score down. Its easy to see the test is very flawed.

Needless to say, I care nothing for IQ tests and Mensa for that matter.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I've lived by a quote from someone who's identity I can't remember (likely either one of the classical SF writers or Mark Twain). "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

Hanlon's[/PLAIN] Razor.

 

[DragonPetter]

What do you mean?
How do you know "they" know nothing about it? There's an abundance of studies on IQ tests. Clearly your statement doesn't apply to the non-trivial proper subset of all those that have taken IQ tests who have also read these studies.

First off, what I said was merely an opinion.

The meaning I had is that there is a willingness for people (not everyone, of course) to put more merit into the results from studies like astrology (a study that use no logic or evidence) and IQ tests than the underlying facts/evidence can support. I think it is psychological in nature that people do this because both of these topics attempt to categorize and explain human thought and behavior in large generalizations/simplifications that people can relate to in an anecdotal, subjective, personal experience based perspective.

Notice that I didn't imply that astrology and IQ tests are in the same category, as astrology has no legitimacy while IQ tests can have some kind of evidence/data associated with them in studies. The reality though is that the generalized conclusions that many people try to draw from the facts/evidence associated with IQ tests are questionable, controversial, and unproven. If the conclusions from these IQ test results are as objective and authoritative as some people's beliefs seem to be, then it would imply that we know a lot more about human intelligence than I think the present evidence can suggest. That is why I said "They want to put meaning into arbitrary signs or patterns about something they know nothing about in order to explain something about themselves." When I say "something they know nothing about", that is because even the professionals in the field of psychology and neuroscience don't even have a clear consensus on what extent IQ tests are valid in indicating human intelligence and all of the other characteristics associated with intelligence, like creativity. It is possible to amass a large collection of data (IQ scores) and to try to correlate it to metrics, like income level, education level, original contributions to a field, etc. which one might lump together as indication of intelligence. But it is not valid to then pick one of those data points (an individual's IQ score) and to blindly conclude that the person possesses all of the metrics that are strongly correlated by the total sample and to blindly conclude that they are intelligent, which a lot of people like to do, like Mensa members.

I only commented on the willingness for people to latch on to what these topics can tell them about themselves without grounding the results in reality first.

 

[OmCheeto]

...Richard P Feynamn for example, who was apparently only quite "intelligent", with his mediocre IQ of 122, and yet changed the very nature of how we think about physics.
...

If only half of what wiki claims of Feynman is true, his IQ test was probably put together by someone with a really low IQ:

Feynman later scoffed at psychometric testing. In the year 1933, in which he turned 15, he taught himself trigonometry, advanced algebra, infinite series, analytic geometry, and differential and integral calculus. Before entering college, he was experimenting with and re-creating mathematical topics, such as the half-derivative, using his own notation. In high school, he was developing the mathematical intuition behind his Taylor series of mathematical operators.

How many 15 year olds, in the history of the planet, have done what he did?

I'd scale him around 199.

And his simple analysis of the first shuttle disaster struck me a brilliant. "Snap!"

 

[DragonPetter]

If only half of what wiki claims of Feynman is true, his IQ test was probably put together by someone with a really low IQ:
How many 15 year olds, in the history of the planet, have done what he did?

I know what you're getting at, because it is amazing that he did this. He happened to be born in the right time and place, with the right inputs and outputs of his mind from day to day or even minute to minute. I think other genius minds could create these same ideas, but it is all subject to external conditions and his ideas were building off an already established knowledge base to some extent. I truly doubt any mind could generate all of the knowledge of trigonometry, advanced algebra, infinite series, analytic geometry, and differential and integral calculus without resources, and so I suspect "teaching himself" involved reading books about the subjects which allowed him to independently create new ideas built off of those. But I agree, he clearly showed genius that the IQ test did not find.

 

[zoobyshoe]

If only half of what wiki claims of Feynman is true, his IQ test was probably put together by someone with a really low IQ:

How many 15 year olds, in the history of the planet, have done what he did?

You're missing the whole psychological matrix he found himself in, which worked to get him to voluntarily push himself to achieve. First off, and foremost, his father raised him to believe it was OK to be observant, curious, and analytical. Most parents discourage their kids from examining radios and machines in the belief they'll just wreck them, and they discourage them from asking too many questions. Feynman's dad was completely supportive of any curiosity he showed and encouraged him to think analytically about any problem he encountered (without ever being pushy about it).

With that encouragement at home, in school he got in with the geekier crowd where status could be gained by being the best at solving intellectual puzzles. There's a quote from Feynman in a book called "No Ordinary Genius" where he says that what drives him mostly is intellectual competition, the urge to prove he can figure out a more clever solution than the other guy.

I really think his I.Q. was 125. What set him apart was a unique combination of open mindedness, curiosity, and drive.

And his simple analysis of the first shuttle disaster struck me a brilliant. "Snap!"

The solution to the problem with the shuttle was "fed" to him by the mysterious general who called him up and suggested he poke around into the o-ring situation. He didn't figure it out all by himself. The engineers actually knew all along the o-rings weren't made for these low temperature conditions, but they were over-ridden by management on the go to launch. Management was, in turn, under pressure to perform for the President. Feynman's achievement was mostly in getting them (the engineers) to fess up to him. Feynman explains all this in "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" The General used Feynman as a kind of bloodhound, but he had actually known all along where the body was buried, and he steered Feynman to the gravesite.

 

[micromass]

I really think his I.Q. was 125.

You can't be serious. He's one of the smartest people of the previous century. If his IQ really was 125, then IQ tests are severely flawed.

It is probably true that his intelligence was for a huge part due to his father and his surroundings, but that still doesn't mean he's not an insanely smart guy.

 

[lisab]

You can't be serious. He's one of the smartest people of the previous century. If his IQ really was 125, then IQ tests are severely flawed.

It is probably true that his intelligence was for a huge part due to his father and his surroundings, but that still doesn't mean he's not an insanely smart guy.

Bingo.

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

Feynman's father also read entire encyclopedias to him as a child, and they would often stop and think realistically and observantly, about what they had just read.

Feynman may have been a genius, but I don't see him being nearly as successful as he was without having been raised in an environment like that.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Honestly, who cares? If people with extremely high IQ think they are super geniuses then let them. In the end I'm still worshiping the greats like Newton and Maxwell not, for example, Marilyn vos Savant just because she has a HUGE IQ. I think its pretty clear who the geniuses are out of those three. The only high IQ child prodigy that I've ever seen contribute something amazing was Terrence Tao.

 

[Chi Meson]

Feynman's IQ was self-reportedly 127. His sister tested at 128 and he joked "so I guess she's smarter than me." I think this is something he says somewhere in "No Ordinary Genius," the BBC documentary. It's now on Youtube


EDIT: I can't find that IQ mentioned here, but it's worthwhile watching if you have a spare 90 minutes.

Whatever the number is, the point is clear that an IQ score is neither a barrier nor a gateway to greatness.

 

[OmCheeto]

I'm sitting with a card carrying Mensa member* at the moment.

Ha ha!

*old friend. I was telling him about this thread, and he pulled out his card.

 

[OmCheeto]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHTTr9y9ObE

sorry. just silliness.

send me home.

 

[Aero51]

IQ is not measurable, simple. Success is not an accurate metric nor is introspection. I think intelligence is the culmination of natural abilities, experience, environment and some luck. It cannot be quantified because intelligence is both an emotional and logical quality. The unabomber was a genious, but he decided to kill people and go into hiding, only to ruin his life. He had a high IQ, but was he smart? No.

 

[OmCheeto]

IQ is not measurable, simple.

phht!

3. Is it true Feynman's IQ score was only 125?

Feynman was universally regarded as one of the fastest thinking and most creative theorists in his generation. Yet it has been reported-including by Feynman himself-that he only obtained a score of 125 on a school IQ test. I suspect that this test emphasized verbal, as opposed to mathematical, ability. Feynman received the highest score in the country by a large margin on the notoriously difficult Putnam mathematics competition exam, although he joined the MIT team on short notice and did not prepare for the test. He also reportedly had the highest scores on record on the math/physics graduate admission exams at Princeton. It seems quite possible to me that Feynman's cognitive abilities might have been a bit lopsided-his vocabulary and verbal ability were well above average, but perhaps not as great as his mathematical abilities.

I bounce his score to 200.

I do not know why people can look at Michael Phelps, and say that he is an Olympian, and he should be patted on the back. But someone of a similar mental stature, should have rocks thrown at them, because they are egotistical maniacs.

phhht!

 

[zoobyshoe]

You can't be serious. He's one of the smartest people of the previous century. If his IQ really was 125, then IQ tests are severely flawed.

I'm completely serious and yes, I.Q. tests are flawed in that they only test for certain kinds of intelligence and not at all for other qualities that lead to success. Why isn't Marilyn vos Savant out there revolutionizing physics?

It is probably true that his intelligence was for a huge part due to his father and his surroundings, but that still doesn't mean he's not an insanely smart guy.

His father, unlike most fathers, gave him permission to be clever. That gave him a huge psychological advantage.

I think someone can qualify as "insanely smart" without having an insanely high I.Q. In fact, as people keep pointing out about Mensa members, it seems there's some point after which they make dumber and dumber life decisions.

 

[Jack21222]

So we have, what, 6 different purported IQs for Richard Feynman?

Anybody else care to make a wild guess?

 

[GreenMathlete]

Before I was born, the ultrasound suggested that there might be potential birth defects leading to mental retardation lol... so I was IQ tested at a very young age and they discovered quite the opposite... the result was 176. I do fairly well with my intellectual pursuits, but I don't put much stock into an IQ test result from when I was young. There are plenty of people with IQs 20-30 points lower than mine who have accomplished more than I ever will.

 

[Chi Meson]

So we have, what, 6 different purported IQs for Richard Feynman?

Anybody else care to make a wild guess?

"Wild guess" is more of the significance of an IQ score. But the bona fide test at the time ("Stanford-Binet") really did measure him in the 125-127 range. What is agreed upon, by essentially all of us, is that Feynman was much more than his IQ score, and that traditional IQ tests do not completely/correctly measure a person's capabilities, and essentially anyone can put together a puzzle challenge and call it "an IQ test."

Here's how close I was to meeting him once: in college, I was briefly in a band with the son of Col. Kutyna (the Air Force guy who he worked with on the space shuttle investigation). This guy invited me to a party his dad was having "and this nobel winning physics guy is going to be there." I went rock climbing instead.

 

[Cygnus1027]

I've never taken an IQ test, but according to the ACT test I took in seventh grade it's in the upper 130s. (Composite score of 31.)

 

[Kutt]

I've never taken an IQ test, but according to the ACT test I took in seventh grade it's in the upper 130s. (Composite score of 31.)

The SAT and ACT are very poor at measuring IQ.

 

[Evo]

Here's how close I was to meeting him once: in college, I was briefly in a band with the son of Col. Kutyna (the Air Force guy who he worked with on the space shuttle investigation). This guy invited me to a party his dad was having "and this nobel winning physics guy is going to be there." I went rock climbing instead.

Nooooo.

 

[GreenMathlete]

Nooooo.

Yeah I really hope that was the best rock climbing experience he/she ever had.

 

[Illuminerdi]

I scored very high in some sections and very low in others.
I also took it when I was 11 and had a serious sleep disorder, apart from the diagnosis I got, alongside the test, of high functioning autistic.

But more importantly, though, IQ is a score you get on a test, it's not something you HAVE, and people who are members of MENSA can go eff themselves. I'd rather idolize the great physicists and engineers of the world than test scorers.

 

[Chi Meson]

Is this thread still open?
We have to leave room for the next IQ thread 3 months from now.

We wouldn't want an overlap, would we?

I believe it's time for another "Who's the best physicist" poll pretty soon.

 

[Cygnus1027]

The SAT and ACT are very poor at measuring IQ.

I know, but I haven't actually taken an IQ test. It is true that some people are great test-takers but may or may not have a high IQ.

 

[lisab]

Is this thread still open?
We have to leave room for the next IQ thread 3 months from now.

We wouldn't want an overlap, would we?

I believe it's time for another "Who's the best physicist" poll pretty soon.

No no no, you're skipping the "Who's the best-looking" physicist thread.

 

[Dembadon]

Is this thread still open?
We have to leave room for the next IQ thread 3 months from now.

We wouldn't want an overlap, would we?

I believe it's time for another "Who's the best physicist" poll pretty soon.

 

[RabbitWho]

I have a really low IQ but I find it really easy to learn and understand things so I don't mind.


IQ tests remind me of Richard Feynman talking about this strange habit people have of making clubs to congratulate themselves on how smart they are instead of working on using their brains.

 

[Evo]

I have a really low IQ but I find it really easy to learn and understand things so I don't mind.

Were you professionally tested or did you take an online test?