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 ?:)
Take him to the range.
Oh, I’ve offered!
I have read that graduate level exams like the LSAT measure intelligence.
Ah!
Take IQ for what it’s worth. A representative indicator of future performance in high level thinking.
What should be of interest is the cause and methods to resolve the lower performance in certain groups. Some is genetic, and some is cultural.
Obviously, parents with a low IQ will not necessarily produce low IQ offspring, but low IQ parents are not able to develop a mind capable of high IQ performance because they are not capable of high level thinking themselves. In places where IQ is dismal, has poor schools and a population that isn’t accustomed to higher order reasoning.
Exposure to higher order reasoning is necessary to create minds that perform higher.
I would suggest an alternative strategy. Suggest donating some time to a group like Special Olympics or other special-needs kids. When you see the problems of others, yours generally seem not so difficult.
I tested and joined Mensa when I was 12.
They sent me a licence plate frame. I still have it and use it. Makes for an interesting story.
“Ah, Mensa, mensa (Italian … get it?)”
You mean “Mangia, mangia!” Capisch?
;^)
Groucho said that too.
I would not recommend to your friend to take an IQ test.
If he is upset, he might not be able to concentrate and may not do well, which may depress him more.
Getting him a cute pet might help, to keep his mind occupied and the attachment and love of the pet might cheer him up.
[Mensa] “it’s a weird nerd prom.”
LOL! And so true. Lapsed Mensan here. At Mensa gatherings I was always the only conservative in the room.
Curiously, the optimal correlation between high income and IQ is about 136, which is obviously “smart,” but is still clearly below “genius.”
As IQ increases over 136, average income actually begins to drop, and the number of entrepreneurial business owners begins to drop.
There is also a tight correlation between IQ and good health and long life.
Many psychologists claim that is because high IQ individuals can afford better health care.
However, the IQ-Health correlation holds up in America and the UK, where large segments of the population have essentially the same access to good health care.
Bottom Line - remind your friend that many, many people with "average" intelligence lead very happy and financially successful lives. Personal habits are just as important as IQ. Without perseverance, focus, resilience, and a strong work ethic, a high IQ is useless.
Edison on genius said, “1% inspiration ,99% perspiration”.
Ok, I double-checked - you’re right ;)
“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.”
Good summary. There are doers and there are thinkers and neither is correlated to IQ.
I imagine the rich people are the doers with high IQ. People like Buffet, Jobs, Gates, Musk, Bezos, Trump...
Last time I was tested I had a 140 IQ. But that was many years and many beers ago. I probably cut that in half lol
When I was in 6th grade (over half a century ago) they administered the IQ test. Some time afterwords my teacher pulled me aside and informed me that I had an IQ of 150+. I since earned a Ph.D, wrote many books, taught on the college level, and had many adventures afound the world. But I’m still poor as a church mouse so it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Jayne Mansfield reportedly had an IQ of 149. I guess it’s what you do with it that’s important.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.