What's Your IQ?

A circle is one line, an octagon is 8.

Pear is a long tree fruit, apple is a round one. Potato is a long root vegetable, radish is a round one.

That's how I read them, anyway.

My father had an IQ off the charts. When I was an infant, he got spinal meningitis and nearly died, high fevers baked his brain, was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. When he recovered, it had knocked maybe 50 points or more off his IQ (according to my mother and whoever was treating him) and was 'merely' very smart. (He would have been just turned 26 at the time; he already had 14 patents for box designs in the corrugated packaging business, some of which are still in use). But he remembered how smart he had been and it was always frustrating for him; he'd have flashes of insight and other things were just out of reach but he could remember that they didn't used to be. They moved him to sales, where he was very successful, because he still understood the product better than anybody; he just lost that creative insight part of his brain that allowed the extra leap to happen. So my mom always claims I "got it" from him, though she's no slouch. The other kids "got" a fair amount, too.

This was his favorite joke:

"The smartest man in the world was much admired for his gifts, with an IQ over 200, but a very lonely man; he was unable to communicate with anyone around him in a social, enjoyable way. He had no interests or hobbies in common, could not imagine the attraction of fashion, sports, or television shows, and could barely hold a conversation. He finally decided he had to find a way to change his life, or how could he marry, raise a family, or enjoy the world?

"He did some research, and found a psychiatrist was advertising an invention he'd made that could lower IQ. He made an appointment with the doctor, and after a series of interviews and tests, the doctor agreed that the man would benefit from the treatment. He hooked him up to the electrodes, put the cap on his head, and took a reading on the gauge: 205. He asked the man, 'Now, what would you like your IQ to be?' The man said, 'Well, I think about 150 would do it; I could still be very intelligent, but I think I could enjoy other people.' The doctor said, 'I concur. That will take about 7 minutes, as it's a gradual process, so let's get started. Here's a light sedative to let you drowse and relax while you're being treated.'

"The man took the sedative, leaned back and closed his eyes, and after a couple of minutes appeared to be dozing, so the doctor started the machine. After a minute or so, the phone rang at the outer receptionist desk, and the receptionist came rushing in a moment later. 'Doctor, your patient is about to commit suicide and you need to come immediately and talk him down!!' The doctor runs to the phone and begins to soothe and counsel the distraught patient, letting him talk it out, being sympathetic and responsive, calming him and keeping him on the phone while the receptionist runs next door to call the police to respond to the patient's home. The doctor finally hears the police in the background and convinces the patient to let them help him to the hospital.

"The doctor glances at his watch as he's hanging up and suddenly realizes he's left his other patient on the IQ machine. He rushes back into the treatment room where the man is still dozing and, as he reaches the machine, glances at the gauge before turning it off. IQ 85! The doctor shudders in fear of the consequences, but moves to the man, shakes him lightly by the shoulders, and says, 'Wake up! Wake up! How do you feel?' The man opens his eyes, looks around for a moment, smiles, and says, "Go Big Red!"

deleted

Quote: Mosca

Mostly it's multiple surgeries in the last 10 years. Going under general anesthesia. Every time you recover, you lose a little bit of sharpness. I'm not interested in finding deep answers like I used to be. My attention span is short. I don't read like I used to.

Has SOOPOO weighed in on this? I know there is risk for anesthesia. There's seems to be something about risks in children. But people who have had lots of general anesthesia may also be degenerating from a related disease process.

Quote: AxelWolf

I wish people who choose 161 or above would identify themselves and give the exact number.

I suspect one of them is Eliot. The first N of 161 appeared
the at the same time as his post. We have yet to hear from
the mod who says he's over 161. We lose points as we age,
women lose them faster for some reason. But not drastically,
we don't go from 125 to 100. It's more like 125 to 117.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

A potato is a tuber, not a root.

When is a tuber also a root. When it has erectile
tissue. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

"What's your IQ."

I've never been narcissistic enough to care.

Quote: Keyser

"What's your IQ."

I've never been narcissistic enough to care.

It's not about caring, I didn't find out because I
cared. You take a test and it's in the results.
Caring has nothing to do with it. Does this mean
you also don't use a mirror? If you don't care
about how you do on tests, I can't imagine you
being narcissistic enough to care about your
appearance.

Also, for anyone north of 161, what is a really hard IQ question for you? If any?

All these geniuses could get together and put together a super test. For what reason, I don't know. For the rest of us to contemplate it, maybe.

deleted

Quote: AcesAndEights

I went to a small private, Christian school Preschool-12th grade. We took lots of standardized tests (bubble-filling) all the way through elementary/junior high, in addition to the PSAT sophomore year and the SAT and ACT junior and senior year. And the ASVAB junior year.

But I never took an IQ test. Or if I did, they never told me the actual number.

I was definitely "gifted" in that I was usually the smartest kid in my class, at least in math/science (and at least one of the smartest in all other subjects). But my class was only 20-30 kids throughout school. I was valedictorian, but only out of 26 graduating seniors. I was the only person in my AP calculus class; by the end my teacher and I were learning multi-variable calculus together.

Most, if not all, standardized tests used in the public schools from the 60's through pretty recently; included an IQ test within the test itself. It's not a separate test in and of itself, and most kids were not told it was there. So if you went to public school in America in the last 50 years or so. You almost certainly took several IQ tests. I know for a fact this is true of both the California Achievement Test and the Iowa Tests. Which were used in almost every state. The IQ results were almost never shared with the students or parents. I graduated from HS in 1986 and got a look at my "permanent record" once. It had my standardized test scores, including IQ, going back to 3rd grade. We took these tests every other year as I recall. These tests became somewhat controversial later, partly because they used the IQ results to sort kids info gifted and talented programs as well as special ed. The main problem being that the kids (and I did this sometimes) would just get bored after hours filling in bubbles and either not finish the test. Or just fill in whatever to get it over with. Making the IQ numbers notoriously inaccurate. Not to mention that some people just don't test all that well.

As a side note; my wife administers IQ tests as part of her job sometimes(she is a psychologist) and the test she gives is almost all oral. She records the answers and assigns points based on the accuracy/speed and or completeness of the answer. The test takes 2-3 hours to administer and is considered by mental health professionals to be a more reliable indicator of IQ than a fill in the bubble type test. However, she'd be the first to tell you that ALL IQ tests are to be taken with a grain of salt. Your score can vary wildly for any number of reasons. The number you get is a general idea of intelligence and that's all. So someone who scores say 130 is not necessarily smarter than someone who scores 125, they were just having a better day maybe. But someone who scores 155 is almost certainly smarter than someone who scores say 110. She usually says the range is +/- 10 points. Assuming that, 1.The test is administered correctly and 2. That the subject gave an honest effort.

Quote: rxwine

Also, for anyone north of 161, what is a really hard IQ question for you?

Issac Asimov had an IQ so high they couldn't
measure it with certain IQ tests. He was a
science expert who wrote a couple hundred
books. He was also a terrible mechanic. He
marveled at his garage mechanics ability to
take half an engine apart and put it back
together correctly. Asimov said he couldn't
do that if you showed him a hundred times.

Okay, I decided to google. There's probably more out there. But found this:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/47/science-math-philosophy/hardest-iq-test-world-1150957/

Quote: rxwine

Has SOOPOO weighed in on this? I know there is risk for anesthesia. There's seems to be something about risks in children. But people who have had lots of general anesthesia may also be degenerating from a related disease process.

I think we exchanged PMs when I brought it up once before. The big one was the open heart surgery, I never felt the same afterward. The cancer, the infected gall bladder, the ventral hernia, twice for the hydrocele (the worst one for pain, look it up). I should have surgery for a shoulder condition, but I'm not going to. It isn't life threatening, so, no way.

IQ tests are fun to talk about, but I really don't put much stock in the results. For example, this 11-year-old girl supposedly has an IQ higher than Einstein:

http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/07/girl-11-has-higher-iq-than-albert-einstein-and-stephen-hawking-3915929


But am I really supposed to believe that she's smarter than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking? I don't think so.

Quote: vendman1

However, she'd be the first to tell you that ALL IQ tests are to be taken with a grain of salt..

I can't imagine how my sister got a 143. That
always bugged me when I was young. She
was a good student, but not 143. She was really
clever, however, and always noticed everything.
Like I said, I haven't seen her since the week
Elvis died, I have no idea what she's like now.

Quote: Mosca

The big one was the open heart surgery, I never felt the same afterward. The cancer, the infected gall bladder, the ventral hernia, twice for the hydrocele

Wow, brother. That list is extensive, and it hurts just reading it. Glad you're all right now. God bless.

Quote: EvenBob

I suspect one of them is Eliot. The first N of 161 appeared
the at the same time as his post. We have yet to hear from
the mod who says he's over 161. We lose points as we age,
women lose them faster for some reason. But not drastically,
we don't go from 125 to 100. It's more like 125 to 117.

I didn't say I am over 161, I USED to be over 161, now I'm in the 140's, I believe.

Are there any Free On-Line IQ tests that are legitimate? I'd be happy to take one and see where I'm at right now.

Quote:

Three interpenetrating circles yield a maximum of seven pieces, not counting pieces that are further subdivided. What is the maximum number of pieces, not further subdivided, that can be formed when three circles and two triangles all interpenetrate

Quote: rxwine

Also, for anyone north of 161, what is a really hard IQ question for you? If any?

All these geniuses could get together and put together a super test. For what reason, I don't know. For the rest of us to contemplate it, maybe.

My Visual Acuity score has always sucked, even at my high point.

Quote: Mosca

Mostly it's multiple surgeries in the last 10 years. Going under general anesthesia. Every time you recover, you lose a little bit of sharpness. I'm not interested in finding deep answers like I used to be. My attention span is short. I don't read like I used to.

Do you think sedation works the same as anesthesia for what your talking about?

Also, concussions can really mess with your head, [like Ali]

I know a guy who had a fever so high when he was a kid he forgot how to walk and talk.

Quote: EvenBob

I can't imagine how my sister got a 143. That
always bugged me when I was young. She
was a good student, but not 143. She was really
clever, however, and always noticed everything.
Like I said, I haven't seen her since the week
Elvis died, I have no idea what she's like now.

I have seen plenty of people who score high on tests, but they are as dumb as rocks when it comes to common sense things.

Quote: Beethoven9th

But am I really supposed to believe that she's smarter than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking? I don't think so.

I was reading on this subject awhile back. A lot
of people think it's wrong to label somebody
with a high IQ a 'genius'. IQ is just the ability to
pass an IQ test, it's one component of genius.
We throw that word around too much. The
title of genius has to be earned, like it was by
Asimov and Einstein and Hawking and some of
the chess champions. Somebody once said that
genius squandered is almost commonplace now.
That's because they weren't really geniuses, they
just had high IQ's.

What about the Wizard? I mean he makes all those tests when you guys meet up and it's probably not a strech to say he is a math genius. Maybe he is one of the 2. Also someone could have just put that to bust chops. Bless the bigot choice....

Also was the answers to those ones earlier e,b,d? It looks like they involve turning or for the dots one I think you are pushing them ---> that way.

Quote: Mission146

I didn't say I am over 161, I USED to be over 161, now I'm in the 140's, I believe.

Are there any Free On-Line IQ tests that are legitimate? I'd be happy to take one and see where I'm at right now.

There's one at American Mensa that has a an $18 fee and they score instantly. I got in by taking the supervised test over a quarter century ago. I have no idea what my IQ is now.

Quote: s2dbaker

I have no idea what my IQ is now.

I do.

hehehehehehe ;)

I seem to remember a study where they determined that you shouldn't disclose IQ to kids. Tell them they scored low, and they won't try thinking "I'm stupid". Tell them they're smart, and they think "I don't have to try, I'm already the best."

Personally, I never took a test, but I've always thought I'm smarter than most people in the room. I'm a voracious reader of non-fiction and answer most answers on Jeopardy, which I watch nearly daily. Unfortunately, I hold myself back with drugs and drink. I'm a big fish in a little pond, never trying to jump to a bigger pond. I'm smart enough to realize the world's unfair, and politics are unfair, the world will never be without conflict, the world will always be run by sharks with persistence who prey on the weak.

I am the weak, and I realize it. I tread water though life, having the paycheck to satisfy my little needs. Why try harder? I have enough IQ to realize it's all futile.

The Wiz has said on here he took the Mensa test but
didn't get in. Asimov didn't care for Mensa, he didn't
like all the patting on the backs they gave each other
for something they got at birth. Too much smugness.

I worked with a guy who had a high IQ 45 years ago.
HS dropout, voracious reader though. He was always
bragging about how smart he was. I heard later he
was in the state pen for drug sales. Yeah, a real genius.

I read one thing most high IQ people have in common
is they believe they're smarter than they really are.
They think they can accomplish anything, when they're
really limited in a lot of ways. Like Asimov and mechanics.
I said my sister was very clever, but usually too clever
for her own good. She was always spinning tales to cover
her actions, you really couldn't trust her at all.

Quote: Mission146

I didn't say I am over 161, I USED to be over 161, now I'm in the 140's, I believe.

Are there any Free On-Line IQ tests that are legitimate? I'd be happy to take one and see where I'm at right now.

Quote: s2dbaker

There's one at American Mensa that has a an $18 fee and they score instantly. I got in by taking the supervised test over a quarter century ago. I have no idea what my IQ is now.

That's not free, unfortunately, you score 0 points on the Reading Comprehension section of today's IQ test...j/k

I've taken two tests officially. One when I was 5 and the other when I was 8 to attempt to get into the gifted program. At 5, my mom told me I was at 125. At 8, they made it sound like I just missed the cut-off of 130. I've been labeled a "high achiever" in the past. When I did unofficial IQ tests on the net, I tended to be in the 140s since they play more to my strengths.

Shape/pattern recognition is my weakness and is mainly why my resume immediately got trashed at Procter and Gamble because they give you a test over that garbage before they even touch your resume. I'm still really bitter about that.

Quote: Mission146

Quote: s2dbaker

There's one at American Mensa that has a an $18 fee and they score instantly. I got in by taking the supervised test over a quarter century ago. I have no idea what my IQ is now.

That's not free, unfortunately, you score 0 points on the Reading Comprehension section of today's IQ test...j/k

Last January they ran a promotion of $0.00 for the at home test. Maybe they will do it again this January. I have no clue what my IQ is.

Quote: tringlomane

Shape/pattern recognition is my weakness and is mainly why my resume immediately got trashed at Procter and Gamble because they give you a test over that garbage before they even touch your resume. I'm still really bitter about that.

Bitter? You could've sued. That's been illegal for decades. Then again, maybe you can't even get standing if you're white... You should've gotten a minority to take the test and sue if they failed.

Quote: AxelWolf

How dose ones IQ go down? Are you very old? Drug abuse?

Your IQ is related to your age. So if you took the same test at age 15 and again at age 25 and had the same raw score your IQ would be lower because a 25 year old should know more than a 15 year old.

I always tested 125-130. I was always less impressed with just the number vs what the person knew how to do. You can know all the calculus you like, but if you cannot use it to do anything practical what is the point? I always knew a lot of history but until I started reading STRATFOR Intel reports I didn't have great use for it other than beating friends playing along with game shows at home. Now I use it to understand what is going on.

In Sarah Palin's book she used the term "Book Smart,Street Stupid" to describe academics who may have a high IQ but no clue about the real world. I have yet to find a better term to describe them. I used to see it when I was in management. Once someone designed a great computer routing program. Our state administrative manager said how it would do this and that, making our jobs easier. I said it would never work. We had a near-blood argument over it. She said, "I saw it work!" I replied, "No, you saw a computer program work, not how it will work in the real world with customers."

A few years later they tried it in 6 branches. 3 loved it, 3 said our biggest competitor could not screw up our business worse if they tried. It was killed.

The street smart person was right.

Lumosity offers test free and provides scores. It's not an IQ test. Only went there once.

I always have tested high in cognitive area and have good memory skills. The other area was math. I didn't understand this as my knowledge in this area is limited.


I guess I would be referred to as a high functioning retard...

Nice job, Graham. I was addicted to Peggle for a while. Even got my students interested in the game back when I taught.

I've never taken an IQ test. I got a perfect score on the SAT verbal section back when it was only two sections (800 points). I didn't do quite so well on the math.

I did so well on the PSAT (a pre-SAT test for high school juniors) such that I got a National Merit commendation or some such. My dad freaked out about this and wrote me a letter saying, "You're smarter than me." He still talks about it as if it were the greatest thing I ever accomplished. Strange the things people value.

I grew up in a very high-achieving mileu. It's one of the sources of my current anxiety.

Quote: teddys

I've never taken an IQ test.

That you know of. If you went to school in the
US, there's a 99% chance you took one. They
don't tell you it's an IQ test, they don't tell you
the results, and only tell your parents if you
score really high or really low. I've known my
IQ since I was 19, I can't imagine not knowing
it. To me, it would be like not knowing my
birth date.

Quote: teddys

I've never taken an IQ test. I got a perfect score on the SAT verbal section back when it was only two sections (800 points). I didn't do quite so well on the math.

When I met you, I told you that I had another friend who was your doppelganger. Well, he also scored perfect on the verbal and not so well on the math. You two have almost identical facial expressions and eye movements, too.

Quote: EvenBob

That you know of. If you went to school in the
US, there's a 99% chance you took one. They
don't tell you it's an IQ test, they don't tell you
the results.

I recall in 7th grade being told that I would be placed in certain courses, apparently because of these standardized tests. I was put into something called the "School Mathematics Study Group" (SMSG) in 8th grade; I recall that my midterm project was on slot machines and probability. Heh. If not exactly IQ, then schools at least know percentiles on standardized tests.

I haven't thought about SMSG in 43 years (I was 12 in 8th grade, skipped 6th grade). I never thought about what it was or where it came from. I found this: A brief history of American K-12 Mathematics, where they state:

Quote:

That same year (1958), the American Mathematical Society set up the School Mathematics Study Group (SMSG), headed by Edward G. Beg1e, then at Yale University, to develop a new curriculum for high schools. Among the many curriculum groups of the New Math period, SMSG was the most influential. It created junior and senior high school math programs and eventually elementary school curricula as well. The original eight members of SMSG were appointed by the president of the American Mathematical Society, but thereafter the two organizations had no formal connection. SMSG subsequently appointed a 26 member advisory committee and a 45 member writing group which included 21 college and university mathematicians as well as 21 high school math teachers and supervisors.

At any rate, IQ is nothing to brag about, any more than good looks. It's just a genetic lottery. I wish I was smarter and better looking.

We took a whole battery of tests in the 6th grade.
It was a big deal. First day was reading, second
day was math, that's all I remember. The teachers
were fluttering around, it was like no other tests
I'd taken. I'm sure this had the IQ test in it. I was
11, and it's around that age they do it. The only
thing I heard out of it was, I was reading on a High
School senior level. In 1960, that would be equivalent
to reading on a graduate student level at MIT these
days.

deleted

Quote: vendman1

Most, if not all, standardized tests used in the public schools from the 60's through pretty recently; included an IQ test within the test itself. It's not a separate test in and of itself, and most kids were not told it was there. So if you went to public school in America in the last 50 years or so. You almost certainly took several IQ tests. I know for a fact this is true of both the California Achievement Test and the Iowa Tests.

What do you know, we took the Iowa tests when I was in elementary school. I think we also took the Stanford Achievement Tests in some years (not related to the more well-known SATs for getting into college).

So my IQ is probably sitting in a permanent file somewhere in deep storage. I'm tempted to try to get it out of them.

Quote: AcesAndEights

What do you know, we took the Iowa tests when I was in elementary school.

Of course. How do you think all those gifted
kids were outed. I don't know if the records
you want still exist. In those days they would
have been on paper.

Quote: EvenBob

Of course. How do you think all those gifted
kids were outed. I don't know if the records
you want still exist. In those days they would
have been on paper.

We didn't have any gifted and talented groups at my school, too small to make it feasible. Sometimes I did a slightly different (faster/harder) math curriculum, and that's about it.

Definitely they would be on paper. Who knows if they kept it.

Quote: teddys

I've never taken an IQ test. I got a perfect score on the SAT verbal section back when it was only two sections (800 points). I didn't do quite so well on the math.

I did so well on the PSAT (a pre-SAT test for high school juniors) such that I got a National Merit commendation or some such. My dad freaked out about this and wrote me a letter saying, "You're smarter than me." He still talks about it as if it were the greatest thing I ever accomplished. Strange the things people value.

My girlfriend got a perfect 800 on the verbal as well; she holds it over me a bit even though I got a higher overall score (I was 750 math/690 verbal). I was also a National Merit Scholar finalist! It was actually pretty good deal as it unlocked a lot of scholarship offers. I could have gone to my local state school for free, mostly on the merits of the NMSF award and my GPA.

Quote: teliot

At any rate, IQ is nothing to brag about, any more than good looks. It's just a genetic lottery. I wish I was smarter and better looking.

This. IQ is a tool you were given, to use, or abuse, or ignore, as you see fit. It guarantees nothing, not even success at understanding things.

When I was a junior in high school I had an in school suspension. I was left alone so I found my file and was able to see my IQ results. Before that I didn't realize I had taken the test.

Quote: AxelWolf

I have seen plenty of people who score high on tests, but they are as dumb as rocks when it comes to common sense things.

The term "emotional intelligence" better describes a person who is both intelligent and has the street smarts to apply that intelligence in practical and useful ways - a business situation, for example. Smart people with low emotional intelligence have a hard time applying what they know to real-life situations. What is often lacking between a merely high IQ person and an emotionally intelligent person is a better set of social skills and the ability to see the "big picture" when finding solutions to real-world problems.

There's no option for "never tested."

I have an advanced degree, but don't attribute that to intelligence necessarily - persistence rather...

I'm a dumb liberal, so duh, *facepalm*, 59.