Posted on 05/22/2018 1:02:49 PM PDT by fwdude
I know that FReepers tend to be the most intelligent people on the planet, if not the salt-of-the-earth, generous beings in existence. So, does anyone give any veracity to IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test scores? Has anyone had theirs tested?
Any FReepers who are members of Mensa?
Reason I'm asking is that I've never (knowingly) had mine tested. Also, a friend who is really down on himself needs a pick-me-up, and I'm going to mention having his IQ tested as an ego boost, since I know he's at least average.
I know this score is mostly irrelevant as far as competence, but just wanted to pick your brains ?:)
I wouldn’t have Mensa.
I went to a meeting to join a local Mensa organization and discovered that they were all pricks and I knew I didn’t want to be associated with them.
Did the mensa thing back in collage to impress a girl.
They make you pay $$$ to hang with them, ahh, no.
The really smart people I know would not be caught dead on mensa membership rolls.
IQ is kind of meaningless compared to work ethic/motivation.
With all that being said, I've known mensas that couldn't tie their own shoe laces. I've known average backroads people that are smart and clever and would never meet the standards set by the corporate system for a job even though they have the right skills.
IMO, an IQ test is not an ego inflator unless you are like Sheldon on BBT where he uses his IQ as a weapon against those he feels are intellectually inferior.
Why Mensa? Go for the Triple 9 Society. Me? I could never join an organization that would have.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Nine_Society
I qualified to join MENSA. I went to a few meetings. There were some interesting, seemingly humble people there who had successful careers, long marriages, and interesting (though unusual) hobbies.
There was a larger group of rather obnoxious people who lacked social intelligence.
I stopped going. That was 20 years ago.
I did it to show my little sister who was dating this a&&hole, but she was soooo impressed he was a Mensa member. I was like, "big deal, I could be one". She was like "Where is YOUR card?"... so a couple months later, I showed her my card, and the pretty magazine. She ended up dumping the guy, probably for other reasons.
The local monthly flyer was produced/written and/or edited by a flaming liberal. Big time turn off, so I allowed my subscription to lapse. But it did give me bragging rights for a while.
Howdy, I’m a member of Mensa. Originally joined a few decades ago to put on my resume as I don’t have a college degree and am a computer programmer.
Rejoined a few years ago to update my resume and got an invitation to a Bobbie Burns Birthday Bash. It was pretty fun, so I’ve been playing poker with them and hostessed a few new member events.
Some of us are weirder than others, it’s a pretty eclectic group. Their website has a free sample IQ test that I suspect is very valid. I don’t know if it is the full test from which you can apply for membership. I remember taking two different tests, one more language oriented and the other more logic oriented. They used the higher score of the two tests.
Also, if you check out some of Jordan Peterson’s youtube lectures on IQ, he says that is one of the 2 highest and most reliable indicators of success.
However, please note IQ has a little to do with creativity according to Dr. Peterson, but not much to do with personality. I discovered myself that it has nothing to do with character and further that almost anyone with an average IQ can think the same thoughts as a genius, it just might take a little longer and require higher interest level.
I think it was Albert Einstein who said “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”.
Best wishes for your friend.
IQ is valid and an accurate measure of capability.
However, it is all but useless in modern society. It has been effectively banned from a whole host of decision making situations, out of muddle-headed notions of egalitarianism.
That said, IQ societies are largely useless, populated by insufferable egotists. If you are smart, count your blessings and go about your business.
Recommending that he take an IQ test could backfire.
If he’s depressed he may not be thinking as well as he normally would or he could just have a bad day and not do well.
You’re a good friend to stand beside him while he’s going through this difficult time.
I’ll keep your friend in my prayers.
:-)
I belong to Menscha...highly esteemed Jewish geniuses. Great group of guys.
I got into MENSA when I was 14. I thought I was just so cool.
So I went to a meeting. It was all losers who had IQ that G-d gave them, and nothing to show for that raw talent. Lots of unhappy people in dead end jobs complaining they were just “so much smarter” than the next guy. Very insecure.
Mom (who could have been in MENSA, too, but knew better) picked me up after the meeting with a knowing smile.
Never went back.
Take him drinking instead. You kill fewer brain cells that way.
Don’t do IQ tests as pick-me-ups!
The results can be very surprising.
I’ve had multiple IQ tests from Mensa, to State level standard testing, to professional headshrinker types, to military and intelligence tests. The numbers are all over the board.
The fact is, only a personal with superior intelligence can measure those below them, and we have lots of dummy’s trying to measure those above them.
In one of my earlier lives, I administered IQ tests. They are valid within certain parameters, and have their uses.
“I went to a meeting to join a local Mensa organization and discovered that they were all pricks “
Not to mention liberals...meaning really stupid people.
I don’t like them much. I think if a person tests lower than they think they should it messes with their self-confidence and they don’t try to do better because they think they can’t. In my case it made me want to do better but I have seen so many give up after getting a low score.
I tested at only 130 years ago and sometimes I feel like the dumbest person on earth. The only thing it did to me was make me wonder why I was not smart enough to score higher so my score messed with my self esteem a little. I always felt like I had to prove I was better than that score.
Common sense, problem solving ability, and experience mean more to me than a test score does when determining how smart a person is. The only way I think they are somewhat accurate is as a baseline for mental retardation. If a person’s IQ measures below 100 it’s pretty obvious.
OK, so I fail spelling and grammar checking. :)
One other thought. . .Dr. Jordan Peterson has a personality test, on his website. I found that to be the most informative personality test I’ve ever taken. I learned a few things that I hadn’t fully understood before and had a few other thoughts validated.
That might be something that will help your friend. I’ve also seen that a lot of people are really inspired and encouraged by his lectures on youtube.
Einstein probably said that but Edison said it earlier.
John Browning basically said the same thing even earlier. He said genius is “A drop of brains in a barrel of sweat”.
To quote WC Fields, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member!”
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