Anyone here with an extremely high IQ?

[RabbitWho]

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

Both, as a kid and teenager I always did really badly on them. I think because I'd only have maybe the first 10 questions answered when the time would be up.

 

[Pythagorean]

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

“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.”
― Bruce Lee

 

[Evo]

Both, as a kid and teenager I always did really badly on them. I think because I'd only have maybe the first 10 questions answered when the time would be up.

That could just be a sign that you don't test well.

 

[RabbitWho]

I was reading about IQ tests today (not because I'm worried about it, because it's part of the syllabus)

In the early IQ tests women scored 10 points higher on average than men, so they took out the questions that all the women were excelling at to make the average IQ equal for both genders.

Modern IQ tests are still based on this model and that's why women and men have the same average IQ. I think this is a sort of acknowledgment of the nature of these tests, that they have in built bias, they corrected for the gender bias problem, but they haven't done it for all the other differences that individuals have or that social groups have.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I was reading about IQ tests today (not because I'm worried about it, because it's part of the syllabus)

In the early IQ tests women scored 10 points higher on average than men, so they took out the questions that all the women were excelling at to make the average IQ equal for both genders.

This is interesting, and I've never heard of it. Can you dig up a link?

 

[RabbitWho]

I found something about it on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_psychology#IQ

You can't tell anything about male and female intelligence from this, my point is that the tests are intentionally adapted to make absolutely sure they give the result that our culture expects. It's pretty awesome that even at the turn of the century they decided to keep it so that women would show up as being equal and not try to make it look like we were dumb! Ahead of their time!

 

[zoobyshoe]

I found something about it on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_psychology#IQ

You can't tell anything about male and female intelligence from this, my point is that the tests are intentionally adapted to make absolutely sure they give the result that our culture expects. It's pretty awesome that even at the turn of the century they decided to keep it so that women would show up as being equal and not try to make it look like we were dumb! Ahead of their time!

What I'd like to know, among other things, is the nature of the questions women did so much better on.

 

[Illuminerdi]

What I'd like to know, among other things, is the nature of the questions women did so much better on.

I don't have the answer for you, however, it's well known that, while men have more of the mysterious "gray matter" in the brain (tissue consisting primarily of cell bodies-the "powerhouse" of the neuron), women have more "white matter" (tissue consisting primarily of axons and myelin sheaths, the "connecting" bits of neuron). This said, women tend to greater excel at tasks pertaining to long term memory or other things dependent on intricately relating knowledge, where men tend to excel at brute force mental activities.

 

[RabbitWho]

Ha ha good question. I assume they nature of them couldn't have been that different from the type of questions you see on IQ tests now, they would have been another type of question but in the same topics.

It is a really good question, you often see certain people feeling quite smug because men excel in one subject, but maybe often that subject has been crafted over hundreds of years by men to facilitate the way men think (as though they were removing or remodeling the questions that men do bad at), the more we know the strengths of both genders the more we can get both genders working to their full potential and not have subjects dominated by one gender or another and not have "glass ceilings" because both genders will be able to preform to their best abilities.

 

[RabbitWho]

I don't have the answer for you, however, it's well known that, while men have more of the mysterious "gray matter" in the brain (tissue consisting primarily of cell bodies-the "powerhouse" of the neuron), women have more "white matter" (tissue consisting primarily of axons and myelin sheaths, the "connecting" bits of neuron). This said, women tend to greater excel at tasks pertaining to long term memory or other things dependent on intricately relating knowledge, where men tend to excel at brute force mental activities.

What's a brute force metal activity? Wining a chess game by breaking the opponents arm?

 

[Illuminerdi]

What's a brute force metal activity? Wining a chess game by breaking the opponents arm?

Something like solving a math problem at a really fast speed using only known algorithms.

 

[Dembadon]

What's a brute force metal activity? Wining a chess game by breaking the opponents arm?

In mathematics, I'd define a brute force method of solving a problem as the "long/hard way". Brute force methods usually lack elegance or creativity, but are sometimes more effective than other methods; it really depends on the problem. This is not to say that there exist elegant or creative solutions to all problems, though.

Example: How many 3-digit combinations can one make using 1's and 0's?

Brute Force: (write out all of the combinations and then count them)

000 101
001 011
010 110
100 111

Analytically: 2³ = 8. One chooses between two^* distinguishable "balls" to put into three^** different "bins" for each combination.

^* the base -- representing the number of choices one has for each digit
^** the exponent -- representing the number of digits one must use to form a valid combination

 

[Dembadon]

Something like solving a math problem at a really fast speed using only known algorithms.

Regarding mathematics, I hesitate to assign the speed characteristic to the brute force method. Typically, brute force methods are the "longer" route to a solution.

 

[sixholdens]

From my experience with Mensa members, all that I can see is that it is an elitist club whose members are not actually elite. When I took the test, the cut-off IQ was only 132. In my real life, I know people who would probably score less than 100 and yet can hold a more intelligent, entertaining, and most importantly congenial conversation than the members that I have met.

Ditto! If common sense was part of the IQ score, there would be less MENSA members!

 

[OmCheeto]

Ditto! If common sense was part of the IQ score, there would be less MENSA members!

hmmm...

Does Super-High IQ= Super-Low Common Sense?

How many human brains are there on the planet now?

 

[chiro]

For those of you who have not seen Idiocracy (a movie written by Mike Judge), I recommend people watch it.

If you watch it, take note of how the people will do whatever they can to convince themselves and the people around them that they are not stupid, ignorant, and not smart: it's a very accurate description of people who want to believe they are smart when they are not.

It's kind of like the situation where everyone says they are average. Well unfortunately for a lot of these people not everyone can be average: you have a lot of people below and above but not exactly average.

You also have the other situation where if people don't say they are average, they like to say that they are "above average". Statistically though, the odds are against them since only half of people are "above average" if the distribution is a symmetric one (like a normal distribution). So it means that a lot of people are going to be dissappointed when they find out that they aren't meeting their own criteria.

 

[RabbitWho]

The only people who say "average" are usually depressed people! Most people think they are above average.

This suggests that to be happy we need to be in a certain amount of denial.. but we all knew that already! Ha ha

Freud said if a patient said he was worthless you shouldn't argue with him, as he knew himself better than you did.

I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with thinking that you're intelligent. There is something wrong with thinking that you're right all the time, regardless of whether you're the smartest person on the planet or the dumbest, you can and will be regularly wrong about things (unless you're me).

 

[OmCheeto]

For those of you who have not seen Idiocracy (a movie written by Mike Judge), I recommend people watch it.

If you watch it, take note of how the people will do whatever they can to convince themselves and the people around them that they are not stupid, ignorant, and not smart: it's a very accurate description of people who want to believe they are smart when they are not.

It's kind of like the situation where everyone says they are average. Well unfortunately for a lot of these people not everyone can be average: you have a lot of people below and above but not exactly average.

You also have the other situation where if people don't say they are average, they like to say that they are "above average". Statistically though, the odds are against them since only half of people are "above average" if the distribution is a symmetric one (like a normal distribution). So it means that a lot of people are going to be dissappointed when they find out that they aren't meeting their own criteria.

George said that in way fewer words:

 

[Kutt]

Could someone with an IQ of 80 earn a PhD in physics or mathematics?

Probably not..

 

[OmCheeto]

Could someone with an IQ of 80 earn a PhD in physics or mathematics?

Probably not..

I'm really stupid when it comes to IQ. I've never studied the subject. What does it mean to have an IQ of 80?

 

[sixholdens]

hmmm...

Does Super-High IQ= Super-Low Common Sense?

How many human brains are there on the planet now?

I've been around a few high IQ people and common sense was not something they all seemed to have. Simple things could confuse them. Not saying that all intelligent people don't have it, but in general they ones I've been around could use some help in their day to day lives.

Maybe their brains are working too hard on complex stuff and the simple things are weeded out.

 

[sixholdens]

I'm really stupid when it comes to IQ. I've never studied the subject. What does it mean to have an IQ of 80?

Supposedly it would mean you could hold a job and manage your own checkbook. You could forget higher math or physics because it would be difficult.

Given enough time anyone can earn a PHD.

 

[RabbitWho]

That's what they say it means. Having an IQ of 80 could mean you actually have an IQ of 130 but you also have attention deficit disorder. Also IQ tests don't test all types of intelligence, you could have an IQ of 80 and paint like Caravaggio. There's a new theory that ADHD could actually be a problem with people "thinking too fast" (which might explain why people with Bi Polar and ADHD often display similar symptoms). Thinking faster than everyone else has always been linked with intelligence.

It makes perfect sense to me, I teach one kid who spends the whole class running around and hitting other kids and hanging off the furniture and trying to climb out the window but when you ask him a question he always miraculously knows the answer. How well do you think he'd score on an IQ test?

There's also a problem with levels of "arousal" (physiological, not sexual) affecting performance. So if you care too much, or you don't care at all about an IQ test you could get a lower score than you deserve.

This is a problem with exams and tests in general, I have a friend who spends all his time explaining the classwork to everybody else because he finds it so easy and when he goes to the test he bombs it and they all get As. Honestly the more I read about IQ tests the more I wish they'd never been invented. Kids who find out they have high IQs often think things like "I can get by without working" or "I better not try something and fail at it because then it will mean I'm not intelligent like everyone thinks"

Kids who know the important thing is to work hard... work hard! (Harder to get them to realize that than it might seem though!)Of course I'm biased because my IQ is so horribly low.

I'm really stupid when it comes to IQ. I've never studied the subject. What does it mean to have an IQ of 80?

75 is supposedly the mental retardation line.

 

[chiro]

Don't be too hard on yourself RabbitWho.

You need to remember that intelligence hasn't really been properly defined in a specific non-ambiguous way, because intelligence is such a broad characteristic to begin with. People are colored by their own view of what they consider intelligent: to someone, doing something is as natural as taking a piss (this is what Mozart said when he described how easy it was for him to write music: he compared it to pissing) and for others it can be a struggle.

The other thing is that there are a lot of people who "think" that they are not intelligent when they are and they doubt themselves of ever being considered "smart". They look at what the criteria for smart is as told by everyone else and when judging against that criteria, come to the conclusion that they are stupid.

Later in life though, most people realize that all the BS didn't matter when it came to dealing with people and then realize that all those criteria for being intelligent wasn't really a good indicator at all.

I remember watching a documentary about some high profile prisoners that were locked in maximum security and they were still able to get messages out to the grunts in their respective gangs even though they had maximum security guards and structured surveillence (sp?) watching them all the time.

These guys ended up developing codes (like Morse code) where they would use pipes and other objects to communicate messages. The kind of creativity needed under such a situation like that is pretty big and although it sounds "obvious" when you hear the solution, I'm sure coming up with the solution requires a certain kind of creativity under pressure.

Even one gang used the Enigma code to communicate orders using a form of steganography that the NSA had to personally crack to read the letters.

I'd imagine that in a dangerous environment, you'd get the potential for a lot of people to get really smart really quickly if they kept a clear head.

These kind of people may not know how to calculate an integral, but I'd say they are a lot damn smarter than most of the people out there, especially the ones that organize things and are involved in a really serious business where security, know-how, and the ability to really read-situations and make decisions is critical to staying alive.

The idea that knowing how to solve a few puzzles to show "cognitive superiority" by reflecting intelligence is a joke.

 

[zoobyshoe]

75 is supposedly the mental retardation line.

Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70.[1] Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals' functional skills in their environment. As a result, a person with a below-average intelligence quotient (BAIQ) may not be considered mentally retarded.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I've had various Mensa tests over the years and they always said I had an IQ of 161 and asked me whether I wanted to take a higher level test, which I declined. What I didn't know until much later is that 161 is the highest possible score on their standard test (at least here in the UK) and that they can only refine it further by a different test.

I do think that in most cases in my experience IQ strongly correlates with a general form of intelligence, especially in being able to make sense of complex real-world problems, but it does not necessarily correlate with success. I'm sure that this is partly because more intelligent people are aware of far more potential problems in life than less intelligent ones, and may have less confidence as a result; that certainly applied to me.

 

[Illuminerdi]

Having an IQ of 80 could mean you actually have an IQ of 130...
Kids who find out they have high IQs...
Of course I'm biased because my IQ is so horribly low.

You don't have an IQ, you score it on a test, and it's not a particularly good test, either. It can vary a lot, depending on sleep, physical health, stress, and a multitude of other things.* It's good to find which children need special assistance and which children can be placed into more advanced programs, but, for the majority of people in the middle, it means nothing, and the lives of these people varies such that they can wind up higher than the top and lower than the bottom of child-scorers.

Walter Mischel's marshmallow test worked better.

There's a new theory that ADHD could actually be a problem with people "thinking too fast" (which might explain why people with Bi Polar and ADHD often display similar symptoms). Thinking faster than everyone else has always been linked with intelligence.

It makes perfect sense to me, I teach one kid who spends the whole class running around and hitting other kids and hanging off the furniture and trying to climb out the window but when you ask him a question he always miraculously knows the answer. How well do you think he'd score on an IQ test?

There's a whole spectrum of different cognitive patterns. I found out that I had a learning disability when I was 11, but stubbornly didn't want to have any help for it and thought I would prove myself. I did...okay. But, in college, I gave up that ideal and I've been a straight-A student ever since (but there are some huge gaps I've had in education, as I'm a bit older).

* I had severe night terrors multiple times a week that I never got treated for because I didn't know it was abnormal. I also had serious childhood depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and autistic symptoms.

 

[OmCheeto]

I've had various Mensa tests over the years and they always said I had an IQ of 161 and asked me whether I wanted to take a higher level test, which I declined. What I didn't know until much later is that 161 is the highest possible score on their standard test (at least here in the UK) and that they can only refine it further by a different test.

I do think that in most cases in my experience IQ strongly correlates with a general form of intelligence, especially in being able to make sense of complex real-world problems, but it does not necessarily correlate with success. I'm sure that this is partly because more intelligent people are aware of far more potential problems in life than less intelligent ones, and may have less confidence as a result; that certainly applied to me.

Sounds a lot like me. Sans the kids and the McDonalds of course.



and I'm off to the Thames of the NW!

 

[RabbitWho]

I'm sure that this is partly because more intelligent people are aware of far more potential problems in life than less intelligent ones, and may have less confidence as a result; that certainly applied to me.

I think a lot of people use pessimism and cynicism as a kind of shield for their fear. They think it makes them look smart. It's not very smart to be afraid to take risks or to do anything with your life. I don't think it is a trait unique to smart people.

I think the problem is a lot of people who know they have a high IQ are afraid to be proved that's not the case.They did a test (I can't find the name of it, I heard about it in a social psychology lecture webcast) where they told people they were testing these drugs (in reality they were placebos) but they gave the participants a choice about which drug to test.

One pill was supposed to raise your cognitive skill and allow you to do better in the tasks they were going to give you.
The other pill was supposed to lower your cognitive skill and make it more difficult for you.

A huge number of people chose the second pill. It is assumed that this is because they wanted an excuse for failure. ("It was that damn pill!") Now that seems incredibly dumb to me.If you are afraid of failure you are going to shoot yourself in the foot to make your life easier. You are going to choose tasks that are not challenging for you.

There are soooo many things which are infinitely more important than how well you do in a certain type of test.

I do not accept the definition of intelligence as being "Intelligence is what an IQ test tests for".

 

[JonDE]

I scored in the 99 percentile on the ASVAB (military entrance exam) and though I was a genius. Upon seeing the scores, I realized I scored in the mid 80s on automotive, a subject I knew nothing about (in fact, when I got home I asked my dad if the alternator was what charged the battery, his mouth dropped open).

At this time, I realized I might not be a genius, but I am awesome at taking tests.