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’s requirement for membership is a score at or above the 98th percentile on certain standardized IQ or other approved intelligence tests, such as the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales. The minimum accepted score on the Stanford–Binet is 132, while for the Cattell it is 148.
I was a failure like our younger son and younger grandson, we scored in the 92 to 95th percentile.
My wife, oldest son and our oldest grand kid scored in the 98th and up percentile. They were asked to join local Mensas early in about the 6th grade.
The oldest son went to one meeting and dropped out. He was/is a hunter, fisher, and wrestler as well has played top Sax in his high school band. He is very conservative and has been since grade school. He describes the others in his Mensa group as nerds and liberals.
My wife and grand daughter are two of the smartest people I have ever known including a lot of NSG’s, some ASA’s and some NSA’s. They read at about 1200 words a minute and have basically total recall for months or forever. Both made 2 b’s in high school and the rest are A’s and were graduated magna cum laude from their high schools.
A sister in law nicknamed my wife and grand daughter as the two 3 B’s. Beautiful/Brainy/Babes. They both went to one Mensa meeting and said no thank you. My wife is very social, and she said the meeting was like being with cloistered nuns. The grand daughter had the same problem 60 miles away. She is a little shy and so were the other girls. They basically just looked at each other with minimal interchange. She developed long term relation ships with the gals on the same sport teams and academic teams.
I’m retired now but was a guidance counselor in several elementary schools and was trained to give several types of Intelligence scales. The Wechsler scale is long in the tooth at this point and may have, especially now, more cultural bias than in the past (all intelligence tests do) - but it can give some very good information. Just don’t make it, or any other test, the end all be all. It is one and only one source of information. The Wechsler scale is divided up into two main parts; a verbal section and what’s called a performance section. The verbal part basically tests for abstract verbal reasoning skills closely associated with success in our culture. The performance part tests for other areas of intelligence that we know exist and are important but may not correlate as highly with success in our culture. In the hands of a skilled examiner, it can yield some important information about a person. Again, just don’t make it the “gospel” - that’s where people can get into trouble.
I had a psychologist friend give it to my two sons when they were in jr. high. Both came out about where I had thought they were functioning - but there were a few surprises or “greater depth” of understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. My oldest, my wife and I knew, was a hands on type kid. He was fixing things back in 1st and 2nd grade. We knew college would be “an experiment” when we sent him. He eventually dropped out and became a jeweler, then went to watch makers school in St. Paul. He now works for Honeywell in Clearwater, FL, in their precision instruments division. My youngest son, scored a little higher and more so in the abstract verbal part of the test. No surprise there. He was the kid who leaned on his shovel and told us stories and jokes while my oldest and I dug the holes or repaired “whatever”. When our kids were in the primary grades we were very poor. In the summer time our kids would go to all the Vacation Bible Schools in the neighborhood. My youngest knew all the stories so well from our teaching at home and also from going to all these churches that the teachers just let him tell the stories.
One subtest of the Wechsler on the verbal side, tests auditory memory. You give the client digits forward and then they have to give the sequence back to you. The number of digits increases that they must remember. But then, you give a certain number of digits and they have to give the order reversed. That number also increases as well. My youngest, scored the top score on that subtest. What that means in practical terms is that we did not know how much higher he could have gone but… listening was definitely an area of strength. He became a biblical studies major. He is fluent in 3 languages (English of course, Spanish, and Hebrew and also knows a good bit of German). He is in Israel right now working on a masters degree and takes his classes in Hebrew at Hebrew Univ. He’s also had a couple years of Koine Greek but is not fluent in it - yet! His Greek teacher teaches it as a conversational language. While I know it sounds like I’m bragging about my sons - I am of course - I just wanted to show how the Wechsler scale can kind of confirm what a parent or individual might intuitively know or believe. It often gives more in-depth information than you would have had otherwise and may also confirm or deny some of your previous musings. Not all intelligence scales are created equal. Many shorter scales or tests are often weighted more heavily in the verbal areas. If an examiner doesn’t have the time to give the entire Weschsler Scale yet still wants a ball park figure, they will just give the vocabulary section of the test. I know this is a friend and not a child you’re discussing but I hope this helps a little.
They say an IQ difference of more than 30 points makes communication almost impossible...
I don't entirely agree, but I've seen plenty of examples of it...
Couldn’t do a haiku if my life depended upon it so I bow to your greater knowledge.
I don’t know anything about IQ or those tests or any of that stuff - or even what it measures. But... that being said... it would be interesting to know how many Freepers are past/current members.
Define weird nerd. <^..^>
It is one measurement of possible potential.
One isn’t going to be a physicist if the IQ is 80
I wouldn’t recommend it to boost one’s sense of self worth. Best way to do that is to help someone else that needs it
My FRiend, you really need a hobby etc. in your life.. Paraphrasing the Who, ‘I hope I die before I get old - and start charting my bowel movements..’
That's a fairly accurate evaluation. I've met a few Mensa members.
My IQ is 146, but I have no need for Mensa, as I meet plenty of high-IQ people at work and have lots of smart friends. This is the case for most well-rounded high-IQ people.
I agree with he esteem comment, but I'm not entirely sure about the accuracy - or at least what exactly they measure. I think its really hard to develop an IQ test that is not also (or primarily) an aptitude test - like the SAT. At that point it doesn't measure what you ‘can’ know, but what you do know. At any rate, I've done well on standardized tests, and it's helped me in life, but I have lacked the ability to protect myself from malicious and aggressive people - which is also an aptitude/talent. We all have something unique to bring to the dance.
I scored a 99 on the ASVAB over twenty years ago when I was in my early forties. They told me that was a perfect score. I wouldn’t have scored that high without a lot of practical knowledge of tools and solving real world work problems. Kids out of high school would really have to be sharp to know those things.
“Now we tell our friends our cholesterol LDL and HDL numbers for fun..”
I would, but I don’t want to brag. My LDL and HDL are excellent, thanks to Crestor and fish oil.
In the old days (and maybe still) the Army gave an IQ test to inductees. It was used as a guide for entrance into Officers Candidate School. Midway through the test there was a fiendishly difficult run of six or seven questions that dealt with a railroad timetable. The questions were put there to see who was stupid enough to spend precious time trying to figure out the answers. However, one of the smartest men I ever met (and who had worked for the Southern Pacific RR) was up to the challenge and was resolved to answer the questions. He claims that he got them right. He persevered, but in doing so was unable to finish the test. So, would he have made a good officer?
Great suggestion, Twotone! Helping others does make you feel good—whether you are starting out at an emotionally high or emotionally low level.
Preening about one’s intellect, on the other hand, is not usually a good bootstrap approach.
People generally know whether they qualify from the standardized tests taken through school and into college or grad school. However, with many more test-takers below rather than above the cutoff, many of those making the grade only once are twice are actually coasting on outlier scores above their actual level of intellect. Those, additionally, tend to be many of the Mensa members—and often the obese, socially inept ones at that!
Interesting....maybe I’ll purchase for my 24yr old grandson...and...me!
IQ is the X Factor in the X-Y-Z package that it takes to be a genius.
I know a very lot about IQ and testing. Here are some sum ups of my opinions thereon:
1. The tests work better on children, get more of an accurate picture because less brain function then comes from learned info. The goals of these tests are or should be to assess a child’s educational potential and help direct his growth.
2. Both the nonverbal and verbal portions of the test have meaning. There are many kinds of brain damage or dysfunction that can be alternately discovered or considered after results. The young brain is plastic and there are surgeries that can help. Thereafter (surgery, therapies) one might see a different result on the tests. If only one can be given, say to a nonverbal child, the results give you less info.
3. If a child is found to have a very high IQ, over 140, they will benefit from a special education program developed for the highly gifted, for two reasons. They will want to go deeper into each subject of research than their lower IQ peers. The other reason, just as important in my opinion, is to allow these kids to have peers that understand them. Real friends.
4. Lots of children have special needs that are holding them back from learning. Some of these children score pretty darn high on IQ tests. It’s good to know this. To adjust their educational programs accordingly. Maybe just a few aids or therapies will allow these kids to get closer to their potential intellectual achievement.
5. Some kids appear pretty neurotypical in average schools, low income environments. But their grades are bad, maybe their behaviors too. An IQ test might shine a light onto the fact that this child is borderline intellectually impaired and in all ways would benefit from special ed to him at his level. This can save a child: he can look forward to doable goals and jobs, rather than fall into criminality after years of being “the bad kid” in the class.
6. For adults in the middle of the IQ spectrum, from low normal to high normal, rating them by their IQs is almost worthless. It’s useful for organizing very large groups, like the military. You take a certain IQ level to program sniper drones, etc. But in a regular work setting, personality, kindness, morals, and work ethic all turn out to be more important to the company.
I’ve heard it said that an attribute of a good officer is the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, that’s even better.
It was probably a good test for officer material : did he have enough sense to recognize questions that would take a long time to answer, skip over them, and come back if time permits?
Here is the thing about IQ, I’m fairly intelligent, not a genius but above average. Years ago I figured out I was rarely the smartest guy in the room, however I found most people just aren’t very motivated, including geniuses. I found I could out perform the smartest guy in the room if I showed up early, paid attention and tried to improve my performance every day.
An IQ test isn’t going to cheer your friend, finding something to invest himself in might.
I’m too smart to fall for that...
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