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 ?:)
Mensa wouldn’t have me................
My wife and I are both qualified to join MENSA but we’ve heard it’s a weird nerd prom.
Be wary of the online IQ Tests. Some are just trivia quizzes that keep you occupied while they ransack your computer for info...............
Probably not me either. Only requirement is being in the top 2% of intelligence. I would think that's a moving bar.
One needs to be in the top 2%.
LOL! Then here’s your chance to make it less weird.
There are a few who SAY they qualify for MENSA, but
if you have to tell people how smart you are... you ain’t.
That’s my suspicion as well.
There isn’t that high of a correlation between intelligence and ego.
I’ve never trusted any of them.
They are not testing if you are intelligent, just if you can look at goofy patterns and pick which one comes next. Stuff that you use to do in elementary as “fun assignments” you would get at the end of the school year.
Have to take it with a grain of salt, but if the people I’ve met who say they’re in Mensa are representative, then Mensa is basically a club for high functioning autistics.
I was a member for 15 years. It's a nice social organization constructed around SIGs, "Special Interest Groups". Leftwing activists took over my local branch for a time and so I left. Please believe me, from long personal experience, it is not an organization of geniuses. Some nice people, though.
I belong to Densa.
LOL!
I believe that IQ tests measure something. Probably something more akin to the ability to solve logic problems rather than intelligence in general.
I took the Mensa test and joined Mensa. I was an active member for a few years and attended mostly social and gaming events.
The people are generally geeky but nice. There are some big egos but every group has them. Political views fall all over the map from monarchists to socialists with a larger than average number of libertarians.
My general take was that these are people (like me) who are intelligent but not particularly ambitious. Ambitious people wouldn’t be wasting their time socializing with people just because they have similarly high IQs. They would be out in the world using their superior intelligence to make scads of money, acquire loads of power, or cure some disease or another.
Instead the members of Mensa exert their gray matter on solving puzzles, advancing game strategies, arguing about what the future will be like, arguing Star Wars vs Star Trek, arguing about what theoretical political or economic system is the best, practicing for Jeopardy, etc.
So if you have a high IQ and you want to goof off with other high IQ people then it might be fun to try Mensa out for a while. You’ll have more luck in bigger cities as far as the number of events to attend. They also have big regional and national meetings which I’ve never attended. They’re supposed to get a bit wild ... or as wild as nerds can get. Probably similar to what happens at a Star Trek convention.
Anyone who is truly intelligent wouldn’t feel a need to join groups like MENSA.
I took a college course on testing back in 1967.
A lot of interesting things that I did not know.
First, multiple choice and true false are actually the most reliable means of testing. The least reliable is essay.
IQ tests have the highest reliability of any type in that whatever they test, the person will usually get the same or similar results from another test.
Essay type tests are extremely unreliable. They basically give the scorer carte blanch to give whatever score they want to.
IQ tests along with achievement tests are excellent predictors of academic success despite so many educators denying it.
I don’t........................
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