How do people with IQs of 140 - 200 think?

We think, creatively, constantly. We use all of our senses, and we're very consciously aware. We also think abstractly, often.

For what its worth, I was tested in Elementary school and they said mine was 142, I was enrolled in a "gifted" program with a few geeks but it wasn't really for me. School was always boring for me, and though I would rarely attend highschool I almost always aced tests, but I attribute that to exceptional memory. I have the ability to pull memories up at will and remember details, which I assume some people cant do. I remember taking tests, seeing the question then a "video" pops up in my head of the teacher at the front of the class explaining it, and voila I got the answer. As far as I know, I am also the most successful person in my graduating class of 300, though some are very close, if not slightly ahead. Some are still finishing 8 year crazy degrees, tens of thousands in debt and no guaranteed job. So I would assume I am doing ok.

On a side note I did this stupid www.free-iqtest.net... and they say I am 147, but I don't believe thats an accurate reading cause that test was pretty simple I think even most people would get in that range doing that test. I think for people to get a true reading of their "IQ" they would need to be administered a proper, formal, standardized test.

Take care!

[edit on 13-10-2008 by king9072]

reply to post by LiquidationOfDiscrepancy


iq = 169 - thoughts "what the # is going on, this is #ed"

thuoghts while on the john "man i hope things get better, people are not that bad"

genius at its best, ha

When I was younger, I used to get angry at people a lot when I would try to hold a conversation with them. I thought that people were deliberately acting like they didnt understand just to toy with me. It wasnt until my mid-late teens that I fully realized that other people simply did not process information as quickly.

I still find myself sometimes frustrated and I have to slow down. However, it really isnt a big deal at all. Just a lesson in not assuming everyone thinks like you do.

For me that is the biggest difference in IQ. Same as a faster processor in a computer. I know lots of people with lower scores who enjoy the same things I do, and whom I really enjoy a good discussion with and when talking to them I never think "my scores are higher than your scores" or anything like that at all. It just seems to me that a higher IQ allows you to handle more variables mentally at a time, and more quickly.

I consider the IQ issue completely separate from the issue of being able have flashes of insight or intuition that allow great discoveries, (which is what I consider genius, not a mere test score) but maybe they are linked. I just know too many high IQ sorts that never seem to get them. I suspect the two are separate faculties.

My IQ falls around 141. I married a man who has a similiar IQ and we have three very intelligent children.

That is the only part that is normal. I am a social outcast from my family because I was "different". My nickname as a child was schoolteacher. I hated that, so I kept my nose in a book most of the time, which further alienated me from them. Loads of fun there.

I work in a tech support field, which is nice but frustrating sometimes as I tend to think much faster than the customers and then they get aggravated at me because they don't understand what I am saying.

Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss. I have too many thoughts running around in my brain.

i have an IQ of 145

as a child, i was quite introverted and shy. i was often more satisfied playing by myself than with friends, resulting in quite a low number of them. i learned to read very well before i started school and i still read constantly to this day.

i was in the "gifted and talented" program during my earlier years in school until one day i just got bored. they didn't challenge me enough to suit me so i started to slack. the straw broke the camels back around my 7th year because teachers could never answer any of my questions. instead, they would simply give me the answer and move along. i got in a bit of trouble over that because i began throwing fits because i didn't want the answer, i wanted the reason why the answer "was". they were teachers but were content to let the book teach while they did nothing and collected a paycheck.

in high school, my grades reduced to As and Bs, except for the classes where the teacher would not comply so i completely gave up in those subjects but they would not let me fail and continued to give me passing grades.

after high school, i just began working but i never have felt quite "normal"

since then, i've gotten 1 year of college under my belt but cannot currently afford to go so that's on the back burner.

anyway, back to the original point.

sometimes i feel a bit like the star trek tng (this is where my nerdosity shows) character data. i can never quite understand average people and they never quite understand me. i am very quick-witted and entertaining initially but i am also quite logical and i tend to get irritated when others are incapable of learning as rapidly as i. i've still not really settled on a career, as i want to learn to do EVERYTHING lol

my mind tends to drift toward the abstract and i make bizarre mental connections. other people seem intimidated by me and they think that i somehow feel as if i'm superior to them, though i never imply anything of the sort. my gf even accuses me of this but in reality, i just understand things differently than she does and it frustrates her. she's a very emotional person and she often accuses me of "showing off" if i best her at something when to me it's something extremely simple so i just want to get it over with.

to be honest, i could live my life as a hermit and i'd be right with the world. all i want in my life is to have my needs covered and to have a means by which to continue learning and growing as a person. also, i have to have my equipment for creating music, as it's my absolutely favorite thing in the world to do.

I was at 147 in the 8th grade last time I bothered telling ANYONE. I was hounded till I left school and town for that matter! We think way to much and most of the time we can't sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Most of us have stomach probs etc and even more of us have seizures (epilepsy). You can only keep things firing at full speed for so long before your body demands shut down.
Over the last 20 years I have gotten into the habbit of intenionally spelling things wrong or acting like I don't know answers to questions etc people have, its just safer that way. To be honest it isnt hard for anyone to be this smart. I have shown 12 people now how to think like we do and they all shot up the scale.One of them who now works for the gov is just as smart as me. This was a boy with an F average and couldn't learn anything in school,( all his classes where special ed due to this)we met when he was in the 6th grade. He is now the youngest scientist employed by the us gov. It isn't about being different or the best. Its about helping others when you get to a certain level...keeps us sane I guess. Thats another thing that comes with it I suppose; we do think of others over ourselves A LOT. lol Hope this helps to answer your question.

genius by math standards? no. but genius by common sense or spitirutla standards yes. I think that the IQ tests are lacking a few things.

I barely qualify at 143 and have little to add to those who have posted already other than to say I am amazed at how similar we seem to be.

To keep it simple I feel I think deeper than most other people. I normally have a vision of where things will head next, and I am right, a lot more often than wrong. I see the big, and end picture of things. I can usually find things that others have lost by talking with them for a short time. It is almost as if I see my self in their place through asking a few questions and predict where they lost the item. I often find it on the first try!

I am also depressed often. I am usually very hurt when losing a love relationship. I seem to feel and experience emotions on a deeper level than most others.

I seem to see things from angles others do not, which has helped me to improve processes at places I have worked. I used to work on aircraft in the Air Force and I could troubleshoot electronic malfunctions to what caused it with very little knowledge of the circuits involved. I could ask someone to explain how the system works, and just feel my way through it. I would make a wild guess based on the movie I play in my head of the system as to what part is causing the problem. I would be correct almost every time. I could do this very quickly. I can do this with most electronics.

I have poor relationships with several past bosses because I have explained to my bosses how their new plan will fail and it does...I find it hard to be a yes man.



[edit on 14-10-2008 by Xeven]

I've been tested a few times since school but in grade 7 we had surprise tests and weren't even told they were IQ tests. The school administration kept these on file for the duration of the remaining schooling years. I found out that these tests were used to forecast the potential of a given student, a benchmark of sorts. When I started having trouble (lots of missed time) in high school a particular teacher brought up my score in front of the class to call me out. At the time I was trying to be a rebel and very much was, though I caused no grief for anyone. That teacher spent half of the class lecturing me in front of everyone on my wasted mind. It was almost like an intervention. Advice... If you test and test a high score, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF otherwise people can highly exaggerate their expectations of you.

After I learned that I wasn't crazy, just a little more analytical than others I actually felt a little more confident in stating my opinions on items in both school life and work life to a great deal of success. It's opened some doors I guess. I still look back on that moment in high school and turn blood red of embarrassment but at the same time I remember well the shock expressed on classmate's faces. LOL.

In a nutshell I believe anyone contributing on ATS and taking an interest in the esoteric have higher than average IQs, if not you might want to take that test again!

Normal topics quickly bore the average thinker and that's why we are all here.

As some people here have said, I always look at things and think, Why? I think that's the biggest reason I'm an atheist. I can never let things simply "Be".

I have an IQ of 165, I scored very high in logic. I know some of "The Secret Things" and I'm a very depressed individual, mostly because cannot connect with most people the way I'm supposed to, I don't understand most "customs" or things that people are supposed to like or things that people are supposed to say or things that people are supposed to do, I'm my own self unmotivated and not under control of the MSM, I think for my self, I don't rely on what "leaders" say.

I'm also very extroverted and introverted, I'm melancholy and sanguine, I have a rather conflicting personality, I'm very moody and reclusive yet I get along with people pretty well and am usually the center of attention.

I really hate my life, knowing things that people generally don't understand (mostly because they don't want to) and not having anyone to share my life with sense I cannot connect with people the way people are supposed to connect with each other, I just don't have that, "vibe" or whatever it is.

It's strange, I cannot truely connect, yet I get along with others and am a rather popular person, life sucks.

-Lahara

Really don't think of my self as genius. My IQ is 145. I often think many people think the way I do on most things, only to find out they look at you
and say "why didn't I think of that?" or " wow, that's really quite deep."

If I were to really self analyze I would say my memory is quite different. My earliest memory is from when I was 2. So like another poster said I cannot only remember what you said 1 month ago, but I can tell you what you were wearing, what you ate for breakfast, your overall mood that day, down to the weather outside. My long term memory just works like that.

I am able to relate to anyone from all different walks of life. I have a lot of
compassion and empathy for everyone. But truly none of this matters to me. As a society we have learned to find our significance in our occupation, our income, our intelligence, basically what we have or have not. Our true significance comes when we are able to step outside of our own existence and see our selves for who we truly are. Nothing. Only one thing or person can make us something and everything and that person is Christ Jesus.
Without Him it really is irrelevant.

My IQ was a relatively modest 117 when I was thirteen, so I can't I can't offer very much input as to how a genius thinks. But I doubt it is all that different from a normal person's. I believe the thought process itself is quite similar however it progresses faster and faster the higher the IQ. I don't think Hollywood's exaggerated representation of numbers and equations floating around is accurate.

However as I understand it IQ only means that one is educable at such a level, not that they can make practical use of their ability to interpret and understand information. I know some people with IQ's from 130-160 who have trouble excelling in school. I believe Thomas Edison was considered a lost cause after suffering brain trauma, but look at what he was able to accomplish, and he was pretty much self-educated if I recall correctly.



[edit on 26-10-2008 by Psychotic_Squid]

Titles, degrees, rewards and acknowledgements of our genius can be
gratifying but without humility I think most intellectuals become stuffy and
full of themselves.

I think intellect, inspiration & intuition go hand in hand but we must not
forget that our E.Q. is as important as our I.Q.

I do not boast or show off my intellect so others will feel more
comfortable around me. I am usually quiet and listen intently before I
speak.

In my experience learning to give & receive unconditional LOVE helped
me have tact and patience in my dealings with the super
intelligent and the not so bright.

IQ doesnt measure intelligence... it measures activity in the brain and the amount of activity in the brain.

This thread is very interesting. I haven't read it all, but I will do so. I've just finished thinking of a whole laundry list of things I could write on this subject. The ups and downs of a life of thought. To the OP I would suggest going to the website of a not so famous guitar player (Jack Grassel) who has perfect pitch.

www.jackgrassel.com...

He describes what that is like, the pros and cons of it. I think what he says is very applicable to people with high IQs. It is not all a bed of roses.

Here are the cons:

Q. What are the cons of having "Perfect Pitch"?
A. Unaccompanied choirs tend to "go flat" during a performance. The PP person has much stress and difficulty singing out of tune with the rest of the choir, especially while reading notes on paper. The musician with it is somewhat of a "sighted person among a sea of blind". Since there are so few people with this gift, the musician can appear crazy because he or she is the only one in an ensemble that hears everything that happens. This gift cannot be turned off, so every sound, 24 hours a day, becomes a musical event which may torment the musician his or her entire life. To a person without Perfect Pitch, a car passing by is just that. A person with Perfect Pitch hears the same car as cluster of pitches eminating from the tires, car body and wind which triggers memories of songs containing those pitches. However, when performing music he or she may have the ability to create a superior performance. There is also the possibility that the PP person may perform poorly do to sonic distractions in the performance environment. The musician without PP probably is more consistant in performance. The person with "Perfect Pitch" is most effective in an ensemble where every musician has this gift.


Many musicians are driven mad by "Perfect Pitch" because they are too sensitive to live in the present world and may exibit intolerant behavior (Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, etc.)


The PP person can be "thrown off" by wrong notes or chord changes played be other members of an ensemble. For their own survival, PP musicians make sure they only play with the finest musicians.
One person reported having difficulty looking at music in one key and singing in another. With training, many of us have overcome such problems, even "turning off" our absolute pitch if necessary.


Q. What are some of the possibilities?
A. A person with PP often performs solitary feats for entertainment, but will talk about such things only with another perfect pitch person. These things don't help in a musical performance but make the daily life of the PP person unique.

Highly intelligent people can have many of the problems that those with perfect pitch have, but in the context of thinking and interacting with others.

IQ is not fixed and absolute though. When I was tested in grade school, my IQ was 120, but years later, after many years of Buddhist meditation, I saw an article in a newspaper on the subject of IQ.

The article included about 10 questions. These were both tricky and complex, requiring the mind to hold and manipulate complicated combinations of information in order to answer them correctly. It took me a couple of hours to do the test, but I scored 150.

Meditation enhances the "wiring" in the brain, enabling it to do more complex things if that is your choice. I believe that a high IQ can be developed by anyone with the help of a highly qualified meditation instructor.

Edit, to add: Of course it would only be a by-product of another process entirely.


[edit on 29-10-2008 by ipsedixit]

I can debate with the best of you. But my views almost always conflict with the majority of you.

I must be a dummy. Based on the above, my IQ must be 80 or lower.