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To: JohnHuang2
Any FReepers want to volunteer their IQs? I'm curious as to how many geniuses (IQ over 132) we have on this site. I've always thought that high intelligence and common sense are normally at odds, so I'd be interested to see how many FReepers (who are, by definition, commensensical!) defy my stereotype.

I would offer mine, but sadly, I've never had it reliably tested.
11 posted on 01/20/2004 12:46:58 AM PST by Carthago delenda est (Just say "no" to Democrats.)
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To: Carthago delenda est
An IQ above 132 is hardly a genius. That barely gets you in the door to some Ivy League schools and I can tell you from personal experience that the students there (leastways the ones who were there when I was) are far from geniuses.
13 posted on 01/20/2004 1:22:39 AM PST by Benjo
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To: Carthago delenda est
Any FReepers want to volunteer their IQs? I'm curious as to how many geniuses (IQ over 132) we have on this site. I've always thought that high intelligence and common sense are normally at odds, so I'd be interested to see how many FReepers (who are, by definition, commensensical!) defy my stereotype.

Well, since you asked... *cough*. I've gotten scores indicating around 170-ish. It's hard to pin down precisely because "regular" IQ tests aren't designed to accurately measure that far up and thus even with all questions answered correctly the results "cap out" lower than that. I've taken a few that were designed to cover a higher range, and gotten scores varying from 166 to 175.

And at times I can relate to the problem mentioned in the article about tending to get distracted by "too many options" (either of action, or possibilities). If you can come up with too many "what ifs" it can bog you down trying to take them all into consideration. But it's hardly inevitable, and it's just as possible to see when you're becoming too analytical and "not go there", if you take a moment to monitor your own "performance" and focus on the job requirements.

Like anything, though, some handle it better than others. Jimmy Carter, especially, was a big failure at "cutting to the chase". I forget who it was, but one of Carter's advisors once said that "some people have trouble seeing the forest for the trees -- Jimmy gets sidetracked by the leaves."

But the bright side is that the same active mind that got you into a mire of "what ifs" can also sometimes get you out quickly with an "aha!" solution that might short-circuit the potential problems.

Another common problem with a high IQ (or advanced education) is that it's easier to get overconfident and convince yourself you're capable of more than you really are. First, a high IQ helps in certain ways, but can also be no advantage in other aspects of life. Presuming that it does has gotten a lot of people in trouble (just like those who similarly mistake their money, good looks, or fame for some sort of natural all-encompassing superiority -- Hollywood, anyone?)

It's also too easy to mistake competence in one field for competence in other fields. Too many scientists, doctors, lawyers, etc. can fall prey to con-men and hucksters of various sorts (including ideological ones like Marx and his followers) by thinking that expertise in, say, brain surgery prevents them from being idiots in other fields. A related issue is the number of successful people who become amateur pilots of their own small planes, and then proceed to get themselves killed by overestimating their ability to fly competently as easily as they succeeded at some other endeavor for which they were better suited or prepared. JFK Jr's fatal plane crash seems a good example of this. To quote from a Clint Eastwood movie, "a man's got to know his limitations".

18 posted on 01/20/2004 3:16:06 AM PST by Ichneumon
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To: Carthago delenda est
There are multiple IQ tests available all of which draw the genius line in a different place.
33 posted on 01/20/2004 6:02:16 AM PST by Straight Vermonter (06/07/04 - 1000 days since 09/11/01)
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To: Carthago delenda est
Any FReepers want to volunteer their IQs? I'm curious as to how many geniuses (IQ over 132) we have on this site. I've always thought that high intelligence and common sense are normally at odds, so I'd be interested to see how many FReepers (who are, by definition, commensensical!) defy my stereotype.

I'm not sure what my IQ is exactly, but it was high enough to get me into Mensa when I was nine (and to keep me in ever since). I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . there is a reason those people have their own club.
36 posted on 01/20/2004 6:14:39 AM PST by Xenalyte (I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
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To: Carthago delenda est
" Any FReepers want to volunteer their IQs?

I can max the Hi-Q! (you know, golf-tees-on-the-triangle?)

41 posted on 01/20/2004 6:35:43 AM PST by cookcounty (A "Shaheed" is NOT a "Martyr.")
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To: Carthago delenda est
ping
42 posted on 01/20/2004 6:45:32 AM PST by pointsal
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