Probably no rocket science, but I guess most people interested in writing have higher verbal IQs than other types of IQs ( Math, logic, visual-spatial, etc). At least it was my case, when I was at school (30 years ago) we got tested and got 3 scores: General IQ, Verbal IQ, Numeric IQ. Numeric IQ in my case was average, general IQ was 113, and verbal IQ 120 , the highest in my whole class. As I said, it's just common sense that this is the case in people with a taste for words. What about you? Have you ever taken an IQ test? And if so, what patterns were found?
Several times, several different types. Patterns? - My talent profile is like a roller coaster. - There are some things that are very rare among NT's. - Different types of tests gave very different numbers. I think it helps to get outside view with quantitative backing. It's not only "how you see yourself" thing after that.
154, baby! ETA: of course it was an online test that took like 15 minutes, but I had been drinking, so maybe they cancel out?
IDK, it varies. Though I highly doubt taking a multiple choice questionnaire really tells ones true intellect. Easier to measure by what they are actually capable of doing, versus how to choose the perceived correct answer. Besides we all know when in doubt the answer is always C (at lest it used to be).
A couple, a couple of different kinds. My scores are pretty consistent, and take a consistent plummet if there's a maths section.
This question makes me laugh. I only took one IQ test, back when I was in second grade. And I failed it. I mean, FAILED. I was called in to see the teacher privately, and was allowed to take it again. Failed again. Somewhere in the world is a record of me having an IQ of about zero. I remember getting very annoyed at the questions, which were mostly about shapes, and being asked which shapes were alike. Well, they were all different. To me, 'alike' meant 'the same.' If they'd asked me which ones were 'similar' I think I'd have scored a bit higher. I guess I started as I meant to go on.
Yes I have, but they are always silly. They always seem to give ridiculous high scores, and I find myself more concerned with where they find their baseline. I just don't know much of anyone who is going to score below their apparent "average." I guess most of the time I see how they could be little mental pick-me-up in telling a person they're not an idiot, but other than that they're kind of absurd. And then you have the MENSA group. That's a whole other animal of pretentiousness in a society whose only entry is passing high on an expensive IQ test. The lengths some people go to try to prove the world they are smarter than everyone else.
My biggest fear is being stupid and having people treating me like I am... so when the score comes out just over "above average" I can't help but think it's the tests way of kindly telling me I'm dumb as a rock. I'm trying to stay away from those sort of things since they'll always give me anxiety.
As a non-native speaker I'd read alike as "similar" and not "the same". Though I guess it's just the way we're taught to translate it.
There's two major problems with IQ tests, conceptually. Firstly - The test scores are continually re-normalised to give an average score of 100. As general intelligence has slowly trended upwards, this means that 100 today isn't what it used to be. You could has tested at 110 a few years ago and now the same result would mean 105, for example. Second - True IQ tests, i.e. not the free online ones, include a lot of different aspects added together. Ten or fifteen different sub-tests that measure different reasoning abilities. These combine into a general IQ, but there is no good way to weight that such that it reflects reality. It's an open question whether being terrible at verbal and social reasoning should be completely balanced out by very high logical ability. The individual intelligence measures are used much more in actual psychology, and with good reason. Two people with IQ100 have little in common. IQ scores on the whole serve to be ways for people who already think they are smart to show off exactly how smart they are. 145 btw.
So, first off, I haven't researched the science behind IQ scores at all so I can't speak with absolute certainty. But... I am an IQ denier, basically. Sure, we can calculate a score that rates the brain's responses in a few, very low level areas. But in 99% of cases, that isn't actually what's important. I doubt it's even what people would indentify as "intelligence" when observing someone's activities without knowing their IQ score. A very low IQ is probably useful to psychologists in identifying some mental conditions. But I do not think it is a valuable anchor for self worth Our brains are learning machines. The day to day application of intelligence is the repetition of trained patterns. You are what you eat, or more specifically what you do, learn, and practice. People learn at different paces, that can be measured, but I'll take a slow learner who's learned the right stuff over a fast learner who has squandered their ability any day. And there are techniques that improve the ability to learn, so even that is acquired through hard work to some extent. IQ doesn't matter, in my opinion. I've never in my memory taken an IQ test and I don't really plan to. I'm a consciencious objector.
Yeah, me too! At least not voluntarily taken one. The thing is, your IQ gets measured by how well you respond to tests that other people have set. That can depend upon lots and lots of factors ...including your mood on the day, whether you feel like wrestling with the problems they've set, whether their wording is precise enough so you get exactly what they mean, and, quite frankly, whether you can be arsed to play their game at all. I'm not one for hypothetical game playing. Give me a real problem to solve, and I'll stick with it UNTIL I solve it. But games? And gamey kinds of questions? Things like crosswords, sudoku, riddles, puzzles? Nope. I've got no interest in these, and my attention span is very short when it comes to 'solving' them.
Looks fine to me Also, see my earlier comments about having a terrible score in one area being balanced out by others
I took the MENSA exam back when I was young enough to care about such things. Scored 144. I'm generally in agreement with what @LostThePlot says about the concept. The online ones are mostly unrigorous garbage, the 'official' ones are rigorous but they don't really measure anything useful for your daily life.
Not to mention being intelligent has nothing to do with being able to use that intelligence in all situations. Years ago I worked with an incredibly gifted engineer named Mahesh. The man could solve design problems like he was asked to open a pickle jar. Everything was easy for him. But when he was out on the production floor, he wouldn’t know which end of a hammer to hold. I’ve also known people who would be stumped by a knock-knock joke, but could solve a Rubik’s cube quicker than I could tie my shoe laces.
I found this to happen quite often. We hire more field Service engineers, like myself, who are brilliant physicists or material science doctors, but they are lost when they get here. They have a mass amount of knowledge, but logical analysis and simple use of tools in which a troubleshooter uses daily just doesn't click. I often see them talk themselves in a circle, skipping entirely over the simpler bits, diving into unnecessary theory. And don't even get me started on the customer interaction bit. Incredibly interesting to talk to and learn from, but terrible technicians. They should stay on the theory and design side.
Exactly. To be fair to IQ tests; it's not so much that they are bad, it's that people outside of psychology don't use them as they are intended. In fact it's so prevalent to use them incorrectly that at some point it became illegal to use IQ tests as part of job recruitment. This is a terrible use for IQ tests. As we've said, high IQ doesn't speak to any one specific ability. Even if you did happen to score highly on this specific area, there isn't actually a connection between high specific IQ and actually being good at real world task. Very few things are pure intelligence; we learn how to do things, we don't solve a fresh challenge each time. As I say, it became illegal and I think we can all be glad about that. In fact, if you're talking about workplace tasks then the strongest predictor of success is not IQ, it's Conscientiousness (one of the so called Big Five) which measures stuff like attention to detail, organisation and diligent working. Which makes sense of course. But you aren't allowed to test for it either, basically for the same reasons. The point is that people make stupid assumptions about IQ. It's funny that in today's world we've kinda gotten to the point where people are uncomfortable to say they have 100 IQ. Being average isn't enough, for some reason, and it's because we've abused IQ as a concept.
Dumb Question Time: So when did they raise the number from 75 points being the average to 100? I mean does it really change the average of intellect by making the amount of points for the average higher? So I think the testing system doesn't make you look that much smarter when you score above the average, or the test got easier to raise the level of the average. IDK.
I have twice. I dont remember the score because it wasnt important to me. I was put in Special Ed. classes from elementary school through middle school for my stuttering and all the psychological effects (ex. because my stutter made me a target, i wouldnt speak in class or participate in projects and activities where I had to speak/socialize). They just didnt know why I stuttered, so regardless of my good grades and despite my mom and teachers saying there was nothing wrong with my mind. I had a paraprofessional follow me around and criticize me ("You finished reading that book in a week? i dont believe you. im calling your mom") Middle school, the administrators had me take an IQ test to test out of Special Ed. I scored above average and I was no longer required to go to Special Ed. i was free! I took another IQ test end of Middle school because they thought I might be ready to skip a grade. So I took the SATs in 8th grade after the IQ test. I just kind of didnt question it. Thats what my mom wanted me to do, so i did it.
