High IQ members and the nature of intelligence

personally...............i'd rather have an average iq and a LOAD of common sense.........wisdom,EQ.............all that stuff for the day in and day out of living your life is in MY OPINION........much more important than having a high score on an IQ test which ................a high score on an IQ test and a buck will get you a cup of coffee and that's about it.

life experiences...........gaining wisdom and insight...........empathy for the humans around you............caring for the creatures on the earth ..........

that's the good stuff..............stuff that can take you on to a higher place in life.........that's what's important to me.

i know lots of folks that are "book smart/very high iq's" but the majority of those folks don't have the sense to get in out of the rain...........

but that's just my life experiences speaking.




angie

I'm not going to state my tested/confirmed IQ. I suppose many like the feeling of feeling "superior" to others, etc. and love to flaunt it, but I guess I just never bought into that scene.

The few times I've done so (stated a number), I end up with cries of BS, etc. and I really don't see the need to defend it. Let's just say I can qualify for Mensa membership, almost even joined (until I went to one of their "dos" as Off the Street mentioned I believe), hehe....

Personally, for me, it's a personal blessing, but socially a curse. Take most of my friends for example. For the most part, they are a pretty bright group...a couple maybe even in the Mensa range of IQ. However, my wife and I (she also could be a Mensa member) end up trying NOT to win at board games, etc. when we all get together...(well, at least sometimes we try not to win, hehe....) Same goes for conversation. We try and talk about the things we have in common, as well as fun things, etc. and not so much on philosophy, religion, etc. (which is why I come here I guess)

When I talk to my mother, I'm constantly "dumbing down" my speech, as I really hate making her feel bad. She's a bright woman, but simply never had the best education, etc. The few times I slip up and use some obscure words, she thinks I learned a new word or something! Still cracks my wife and I up when it happens...

I sometimes think that ignorance is often bliss. I'd much rather just enjoy a nice day in a forest for example, then sit there analyzing every little thing, from the vein pattern of a leaf, to why a bug would chew the tips of many leaves versus eat one whole leaf, etc. (just as an example). It's just the way my head works. I find that I spend more time analyzing and thinking about life (hence my time here while at work breaks), versus concentrating on LIVING it...

Don't get me wrong...I'm glad I'm not "dumb", but from what I've seen, one doesn't necessarily need to be smart to be highly successful (just look at most in Hollywood). I'd much rather be dumb and drop dead hunky, than smart and average appearance, hehe... Maybe if so, I'd spend more time enjoying life than thinking about it...

EDIT: Just re-read some of your other questions...

Emotionally, I was pretty much "Spock-like" before getting involved with my wife. Then I dound myself leaking at sappy commercials, etc. What gives???

Morally, I think morals derive more from common sense and life experience than IQ. I've got pretty solid morals I like to think...with just a few sprinkles of debauchery...

Just saw this...

special mental abilities? I read really fast, I remember most of what I read, I can tell you about books I read when I was 5, I really good at copying artwork, see a picture and draw it type thing. nothing really special unless you count my "paranormal" experiences but that I don't necessarily believe is directly a special mental ability, perhaps a combination of spiritual and mental, but definitely not all mental.

That's me too...exactly... I won't go into any metaphysical stuff, but I've proven to myself at least, that mind over matter at least has some kind of basis in truth.

As for school...graduated with a 3.85, Honor Society, Who's Who list, you know, all the usual crap that makes mom and dad happy, hehe... Would have been in all AP classes but I was lazy, and preferred to go into an art program instead (which I'm glad I did), and I'm one of the laziest students on the planet, hehe.... School always bored the hell out of me...and correcting teachers was only a novelty most of the time... I used to get with teachers and figure out ways to avoid homework and just take a test or something. Even got to avoid a whole 6 weeks of work in one class. Man I loved that teacher's class, hehe... Because he had so many flunking, he made everyone a deal...if they got an A on the final, they'd automatically get an A for the last six weeks. What a deal! So, I did NOTHING for the entire six weeks, then got 120% (got the 20 point bonus question right too, hehe...) on his test...

I can say this IC....being smart as a kid is much more beneficial than being smart as an adult, hehe....

[edit on 18-1-2005 by Gazrok]

Titian, you sound EXACTLY like me.

GATE, Honors, AP the whole nine, hardly ever studied but managed A's on almost all test, while turning in about 60% of homework.

Graduated with a 3.18, Honors etc. Could have been one of those over acheivers. Went to college part time but dropped out.

Now from a high of 138-142 I test regularlly at 130-132.

I will be turning 33 in March.

Seems a bit as if this thread has turned into bragging rights....LOL

... and it may not be much, I have been tested several times. Let's just say that the score has been pretty consistent over 6 tests during different stages of my life with it varying by only 2 points either way. The median score was a 149.

But, for the record... The History of IQ testing in a nutshell...

The Intelligence Quotient test began in the early nineteenth century by a Brit named Sir Francis Galton. Galton actually set out to disprove much of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" which argued that heredity governed our intelligence. Galton hypothesized that intelligence was "Distributed" throughout the masses and that there were very few geniuses and very few idiots with the majority falling into an "Average"; much like a bell curve. He concluded that Darwin was correct and that intelligence is hereditary.

Meanwhile, in France, a psychologist by the name of Alfred Binet was busy testing children, both normal and those with disabilities, to determine their threasholds for problem solving, namely by employing logic. He believed that intelligence was an indicator of our "mental advancement" over our current chronological age.

Later a German psychologist by the name of Wilhelm Stern set to perfect the Binet test by readjusting the Binet results into ratios of Chronological age versus mental age and aptitude. This was the precursor to todays modern measurement of IQ. Shortly thereafter, an American by the name of Lewis Terman coined the test the Intelligence Quotient and developed the standard 100 IQ as the average baseline for human intelligence at any chronological age.

By 1917 the test entered the mainstream as the Binet test was used on American soldiers to determine their intelligence. This testing continued on school children, applicants and military personnell until the mid 60s when they were largely discredited due to significant cultural and racial questions were proven to be skewing results.

In 1983 Howard Gardner delivered another blow tot he concept of IQ testing by setting out to prove that logic, reasoning, wisdom, intelligence and knowledge were completely different and that people could have many different types of "Intelligences". GArdner then sought to direct testing into seven distinct categgories that he believed identified our multiple intelligences: logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. This gave rise to the much more popular and currently used testing methods such as the SAT.

Today's modern IQ tests still rely on Binet's original principles and focus much more agressively on Logical-mathmetical, linguistic and spacial testing. In short, scoring high on an IQ test simply means that you have a "Faster" ability to apply logic and reason to solve a problem, nothing more and nothing less. In fact, the IQ test has been largely proven to be neither valid nor reliable in measuring the true INtelligence of an individual.

sorry to barge in, I've never had my IQ tested, but I know some people who are poor "test takers" (get nervous, doubt their answers, change their answers a lot) and they don't really get a true representation of their abilities, and I am an pretty good test taker, I probably score better than I should. For whatever reason I don't get nervous, trust my first instinct, can follow what th equestion is really asking, sort through the fluff...

I believe intelligence is mostly genetic, but if you are raised to trust yourself, and to have the courage to use your brian, you'll probably use your grey matter more effectively.

imo

I have been officially recognized as having an intelligence quotient of 172, but I have real difficulty in mathematical sciences.

Additionally, I have been varyingly diagnosed as manic depressive, major depressive, obsessive compulsive, social anxiety disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder at various times throughout my life, although I've never been diagnosed with more than two at a time (thank God).

At times, I can be mean, vindictive, arrogant, stupid, obstinate, power-hungry, and cruel.

I know many other very intelligent people with the same qualities.

A person with a high IQ isn't really so different from a person with a very low IQ... they simply happen to have a quality with surprisingly limited application in day-to-day life.

Seems a bit as if this thread has turned into bragging rights....LOL

I don't think so...though this kind of question is certainly asking for it. I certainly hope I didn't come off that way, and that I gave honest answers to the questions posed in the initial post of the thread. Most others also point out a declining of IQ score as they age...more of a reliving of glory past, than bragging of today.... Myself, it's been years since I've been "officially" tested, so I'm actually kind of curious now... I've learned more, certainly, but I wonder if my ability to think outside the box has waned a bit because of it?

To be honest, I think any school performance (at least for myself) was due more to a good memory than anything else. I wish I could remember people's names as well as facts, figures or diagrams... I certainly would have been better off I'd imagine, at least in the business world. I wished I would have tried out for HS football, as I realized I was pretty decent at it, but only later in life. I bet I would have been a lot happier in HS as a football jock with a cheerleader on my arm, than as an art geek, hehe....

Originally posted by kozmo
for the record... The History of IQ testing in a nutshell...

The Intelligence Quotient test began in the early nineteenth century by a Brit named Sir Francis Galton. ... He concluded that Darwin was correct and that intelligence is hereditary.

Meanwhile, in France, a psychologist by the name of Alfred Binet was busy....
...In 1983 Howard Gardner delivered another blow tot he concept of IQ testing by setting out to prove that logic, reasoning, wisdom, intelligence and knowledge were completely different and that people could have many different types of "Intelligences". GArdner then sought to direct testing into seven distinct categgories that he believed identified our multiple intelligences: logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences.

... In fact, the IQ test has been largely proven to be neither valid nor reliable in measuring the true INtelligence of an individual.

Thanks kozmo - was about to provide same info. ...My take on the history is a tad different than yours tho - ie., Galton specifically set out to prove the superiority of the ruling classes - and is the 'father' of Eugenics and quantitative genetics. ...Efforts in France were specifically developed to identify officer potential for the military (and slanted to favor ruling class).

...IMO - The theory of 'multiple intelligences' is most legitimate - and respectful of human difference and value.

Me - won't share numbers but test high on standard IQ tests - greatest strengths = language, abstract, creative. Can go up and down noticeably, depending on health.

As far as real life - grew up on farm, did not fit - blossomed socially when went to university. ...Studied philosophy, took years to lose 'special language' and 'rarified air' and communicate again with mainstream.

...Work hard on communication skills - at my best, am a translator between disciplines, from specialized areas to mainstream. ...Yes, have written ad copy.

... Just read an interesting op/ed in the scientist - about bridging the gaps between academic research and 'the community.'

Citizen Scholars
www.the-scientist.com...


.

Well in my case I have been lucky but I have come to realize that sometimes having a fast and working brain have downparts...

I am the sixth of a seven sons family, all my brothers are quite bright and always were the top student in theyr class, my kid brother and I were average students and I was a quiet boy, always reading, always asking things and making a lot of asumplions that in time they came true, most people would freak out, thinking I had psychic abilities, but no it was a gift on getting facts together and drawing conclusions. In tiem most of thing were quite obvious to me and I could not relate very well to others at school. I spent my 10 to 16 years depressed, I learned English very fast and the same as my father I could understand a lot of languages and comunicate with others very easily.
There were a lot of wierd thinmgs like I had a lot of trouble grasping calculus and high math, but If read physics that involved mathh I could undertand math and reverse and make my own formulas to get to a same result.
Teh firts time I realized I could do things that were REALLY diferent was at 16 when at high school I flunked math because I did not know how to make devivatives and Integrals so facingg my sewcond and last chance exam I memorized the 40 equations of the book all the steps and procedures, the exam came and the profesor called me and said " I know you cheated on your exam because you have 3 mistakes on the procedure but the result is OK, so you cheated" Ii told him I memorized the whole thing and he could not believe me, he said "show me" , I repeated 5 excersices in front of him on the blackboard, he gave me an A, It was the first time I really sensed I had something most considered "weird" I always was mocked by my older brothers because I got B and C and they all were straight A students...
I entered college at 17 (2 years early), I felt terrible because I thought eveyone was going to be very competitive and it was the opposite, I wrote programs for the Texas instruments 59 calculator and sold the programs, I began to feel that everyone else was an idiot, and became myself a first class jerk, oh boy was I a womanizer!!!, I found out how to play them and in the process I hurt a lot of people, took advantage of almost everyone, and I could not belive most of them would be happy to be taken advantage of..????, so after finishingg my career in Biomedical Eng. I found myself lonely, bored to death and with an inner emptyness that was only filled with reading, writing and traveling...So I entered theraphy and went back to the university to study Psychology, after finishing my second degree I knew I had high I.Q. but I felt it was a curse since it made me very difficult, and changed girlfriends quite often.
I remember a lot of small details of my wholelife and I have the ability to see a whole map and then know my whereabouts in a new city, so I almost never get lost, I am complete idiot, drawing or painting and some other things,you see I have meet very bright people in my life and I always joke about my innadecuacies and EVERYONE has some.....so high I.Q. doesnt make you an all around genious.
Therapy for 9 years taught me to relate to people, to lower my expectations and lowered my anxiety level, but my hability for foresee events based on facts has not diminished...nevertheless I loose my temper everynow and then like in Los Angeles Internalinal airport last sunday when security refused to put my car coilovers on the cargo hold of the flight I was in, the idiot security guy told me they could explode! I informed him that every time a car passes a pothole the presure in the shock goes to 90 to 300 PSI so its imposible that they explode due to altitude and the cargo hold is presurized, I TALKED TO A WALL, that kind of thing gets me REAL BAD.

One thing I have learned is that just because you are smarter it doesnt make you "right" you can make the stupidiest mistakes even if you are 200 in IQ, the ability to learn from mistakes is what in the long run makes you really "inteligent"

Originally posted by LadyV
Seems a bit as if this thread has turned into bragging rights....LOL

Thank ya . . . thank ya vury much . . . . g'night!!

Well, I can burp and fart simultaneously, which is supposed to be anatomically impossible. I can also "burp-talk" through the alphabet as far as the letter S. . . . or burp-talk the Star Spangled banner as far as "twilight's." Frau Dr. is always infuriated when I to that, and says I'm going to hell.

This thread was a bit long, and if this hasn't been said before, I'll say it now:

If you haven't got the common sense the good Lord gave you, it won't matter how high your IQ registers....simple as that.

I've seen engineers that couldn't tie a shoe, and I have seen people considered to be low on the IQ scale accomplish some phenominal things.

IQ levels as they are measured today serve only as a "badge" to hold over someone so another can exercise their perceived superiority over another.

~oracle

Originally posted by LadyV
Seems a bit as if this thread has turned into bragging rights....LOL

If you think this is bad try starting a thread about sexual prowess.

What can I say, it can be fun top tout what you have. Especially since the average person probably doesn't have as much as he would really like to.

In fact I think I'll engage in some bragging of my own now:
I'm probably one of the tallest people posting in this tread... TAKE THAT!

Seriously though, it's similiar. Your height is limited by genetics and further limited by the substances you are subjected to as a fetus and young child, but can be somewhat bolstered by nutrition and excercise -slightly- later in life. Your mental capacity is limited by genetics, then by stubstances you are subjected to early on, then by the amount of attention and the types of toys you are raised with. The quality of your teachers early on is important too. As you begin to mature, all you really have left is your limited meal choices and you level of participation in grades 1-12, and by the time you're that old a lot of your potential has been predetemined by the neurons you built during your formative years.

Last point I want to make now. Who ever decided that intelligence was the foremost of gifts? Why shouldn't athletic ability, keen senses, emotional development, and strong personality be considered equal tallents?
The most brilliant man alive might be able to tell you exactly what the best resolution to a conflict is, but if he can't speak with confidence and be charismatic and show decisiveness, do you think he'll ever be able to pitch his sollution to anyone? No, he's going to need a person who has that gift to compliment him and finish the job where he was started it, even though that person couldn't do it without the benefit of the first person's brilliance.

In fact, this may seem a little far out, but if you grouped excellent students demographically to minimize variations in their upbringing, a disproportionate number of students in each group would have birthdays between September and December. Why? Because I have heard that the first 4 years are the most important to development, and as far as I know you can only start kindergarten if you are 5 or will be 5 by the end of the first semester, therefore children born between September and December get their initial education at a time in their lives when they are exceptionally receptive to education.

Originally posted by The Vagabond


If you think this is bad try starting a thread about sexual prowess.

What can I say, it can be fun top tout what you have.

I dunno...I guess for me, I it just seems boastful. Yes, I'll say I have a high IQ but that's as far as I'll go....plus you always get those that act like your lying...
Now back to trying to figure out why may game is crashing...

whats thew difference of having your iq professionlly and taking an online one? arent they both somewhat inaccurate? correct me if i am wrong. i took two online iq tests and they both within 5 points of each other.

whats thew difference of having your iq professionlly and taking an online one? arent they both somewhat inaccurate? correct me if i am wrong. i took two online iq tests and they both within 5 points of each other.

Online tests, in my experience, tend to score about 20 points higher than a "professional" accredited test.... The last few times I took an IQ test online, well, I know I'm not THAT smart....and it really made me feel like I'm wasting my life, hehe...kind of like people who don't believe I'm not making a living doing art...it just gets me depressed,

[edit on 18-1-2005 by Gazrok]

In the end IQ is just another potential indicator, everyone is agreed. It's the same as being attractive, or a good liar, or being a good shot in a war time situation. All these things tilt the balance slightly in your favor in the eyes of evolution.

Vagabond
I bet I'm way taller than you.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
In the end IQ is just another potential indicator, everyone is agreed. It's the same as being attractive, or a good liar, or being a good shot in a war time situation. All these things tilt the balance slightly in your favor in the eyes of evolution.

Vagabond
I bet I'm way taller than you.

Probably not. I use what I can "average height" which is my average height throughout the day. I spend between 8 and 12 hours a day wearing work boots and a hard hat which adds 4-6 inches, or 2-3 to my average hieght. making me an average of 6'4. Now if you compensate for sea level.... well I work on Big Bear mountain a lot.

Edit: God help you if i ever became Pope. Have you seen the size of his hat!?

[edit on 18-1-2005 by The Vagabond]

NO intelligent persons on this planet can be intelligent by believing so much into the concept of "IQ"!!!

Gee... I just can't believe how so many people take IQ tests as granted. This is truly a sign of low intelligence. Intelligence has to do with thinking by yourself, questionning things and confronting ideas in order to KNOW or UNDERSTAND things. Intelligence is the abilty to "get it", in layman's terms.

Did it came to anybody's mind here that IQ tests were just for political purposes??? Does "instruments of social control" (by education policy) rings any bells to you? Anyways, what's the purpose of having a big IQ other than having your brain cells used like cattle by corporations and the government.. to play tridimensional chess with MESA folks?

Originally posted by Questor
I can't stand those who supposedly have high IQ but obviously have low common sense.

Some folks who have high I.Q.'s find many things not interesting. Their minds wander and have difficulty concentrating on mundane tasks.

I was told that my I.Q. was above average. I didn't want that. I wanted to be a grunt in the Marine Corps and ended up in the Army.

Phooey on what people say about people with high I.Q.'s. I believe that they're just jealous. I know some highly intelligent people (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here that know's these people) and they have a lot of common sense!

I believe a lot of what I.Q. has to deal with is the ability to see things with the "mind's eye."

[edit on 18/1/05 by Intelearthling]