IQ Quiz

Leary had nothing to do with IQ tests as far as I recall. I read his autobiography, appropriately entitled "Flashbacks," which is actually quite good. It was published I thing in the 80s and as I recall it sold about 6 copies. It was bad timing on his part to come out with such a book during the height of the Just Say No era. Oooops. I am not pro-drug by any means, but I always had a sneaking admiration for Leary. I attended a talk he gave when I was a freshman in college. This was shortly before he fled the country to live with the Black Panthers in Algeria. I also heard Alan Ginsberg back then, as well as the Merry Pranksters, minus Ken Kesey who I think was in jail at the time. Oooops. The hippest man I ever saw in person was Richard Feynman. I remember that as if it were yesterday. I was only about 16. He was speaking to a room full of high school kids (dare I use the nerd word) who were exhibiting in the Ohio State Science Fair (oh lord). I, of course, was one. Exhibitor, that is. I should write that one up as a story. It was amazing. If you've ever seen footage of him on TV, and there's a lot of it, you'll know what I mean.

Thank god for Wolfie, she gives all of us a glimmer of hope yet! Did you ever see Lord Buckley, James?

I can relate to the dappy/scarily high IQ debate. A friend of mine has an IQ of 158 but looks for her shoes when they're on her feet. And can't remember someone's name when she's known them for four years. And has no common sense. Also, there are different types of IQ - verbal and mathematical being just two. Or you could have a high emotional IQ or be good at making things. High IQ does not automatically equal brainiac; after all, talent is just 10% of success, the other 90% is bloody hard work. As to my IQ? hmm.

i have done it and will reveal the results later ...

I never saw Lord Buckley in person, but I do somewhat vaguely recall seeing him on TV. I saw R. Crumb in Amsterdam. He lives in France and from time to time gets some friends together into a band and gives a little concert. They play old-fashioned popular music from the 1890s through the 1930s. Lots of banjos, if you get the drift. It was great fun. I have the poster: R. Crumb and the Cheap Suit Serenaders--We Ain't Got No Glitter

Justyn, I have NEVER been so jealous of anyone as I am of you right now. Although Feynman's book "Six easy pieces" ought to have been banned under the Trades Descriptions Act, he is not only on my list of geniuses (and as I've said, Einstein can kiss my shiny metal ass on the genius front), but also an all-round cool guy.

I also met Charles Townes the same way, one year earlier. He was the co-inventor of the laser. He was not a very interesting personality, but I well recall all the uncertainty at the time, roughly along the lines of "gee, this is clever but what possible use can we make of it.....maybe something to do with communications?" There was serious discussion about whether it would ever be used for anything other than military applications. LOL @ that today.

it does not really matter does it? all IQ tests are is an approximate measure of intelligence and can be a useful tool for analysing behavioral problems etc. There is not a gsce or degree to be had in IQ. A high IQ does not get you a job. It can only set you apart from others if you brag about it. I have never been forced to sit an IQ test in my life. I have volunteered of course because like everyone else I was interested to see what it was. I have heard that those with very high IQ's often have a difficult time in childhood as they tend to be treated as a joke/oddity by their classmates and, in later life, often have difficulty in relating to others. the fact that this thread is full of derisory comments about high IQ's not being able to do the most mundane things in life is an example. a high or low IQ merely defines how 'intelligent' you are when compared to the mean value. it does not mean you are good at driving a car or kicking a football. it has nothing to do with street cunning or amassing knowledge. I feel sorry for them. If you have an average or below IQ you are more likely to have a great time down the pub with 98% of the population. to be in the top 2% makes it harder and if you are a 'boffin' type and in the 1% (160+ I believe) you are likely to shun society and not have a very enjoyable life. and I didn't watch the program. as someone else said, it was obviously going to be flawed and the results are utterly worthless.

i was sitting with some one who was going on and on and on about his big iq, i think they should bring a programme out called eq e being for emotional, as if people maybe concentrated more on this form of intelligence, the world would probably be a better place to live..

My name is Joe Dunthorne and I have a below average IQ. There...I've said it. The first stage to recovery is to admit to yourself that you are a below average human being. I got 98. In my defence I thought the quiz was more a matter of reaction times than anything else, although I suppose that's what IQ is all about, but I always seemed to be a second too late. See how I maintain my self-esteem through delusion. I was in such a state of denial afterwards that I did a different internet IQ test and to my great relief I got around the 120 mark so I dont really know which is right. I suspect the BBC one is slighter more realistic as it was longer. Oh dear, no comments about students and below average IQs please...

I didn't see the program, but taking a test like that off the television is silly. The real test is quite long and requires concentration. It is timed in total, and I think by section, but not by each question. As I recall, it takes at least one hour.

never taken an iq test

When I took an official IQ test in the third grade, I scored a 111. Recently, I took one on the internet and scored a 138. I knew that was probably not very valid and I should have taken another one ... but why? I needed the gratification -- the benefit of the doubt! On that test, I scored high on logic ... low on recognizing patterns (though it was slightly above the 50 percentile). The patterns, though, didn't really surprise me. If you're interested, I'll try to locate that website again. There are free IQ tests all over the place on the net -- though they probably don't really mean anything. (But I scored a 138! It's official because I want it to be! -- Kinda like the Neilsen ratings.)

I did the test and my result was low, you dont need to know how low. My 13 yr old got a higher score. But I was really knackered when i did it. There was too much about numbers and percentages, noone needs to be good at those. It's shape sorting wot I like. The people who compile the test must be thick not to know that!

Wot's an Eye Queue test?

In the U.S., at least when I was in school, IQ tests were mandatory. I think the first time was in maybe 3rd grade and then again in maybe 8th or 9th grade. They never told us the results, though they did tell the parents the results. That caused a couple of problems. My parents never told me what my scores were, but some did tell their kids, if the score was high. I remember one guy in particular. After finding he had a "high" IQ, he stopped doing homework and became entirely too cool for school, as the saying went. I don't know where he is now, but probably no where. I am clearly a social misfit, but unlike people who are born that way, I am a self-made man. Everyone needs something to be proud of in life. That's mine.

IQ tests are severely unscientific. I had a boyfriend who was a member of Mensa and boasted about it constantly. To shut him up I took the test too and also became a member of possibly the most meaningless clubs ever. The advertisements in the magazine were full of sad, dysfunctional people drowning under the weight of qualifications. Give me someone with humour, sensuality and a sense of fun....I don't judge people on how quickly they can divide figures or place odd shapes into odder places. Oooh that last bit sounded a bit rude...it must be that wretched Karl Wiggins' fault.....him and his double entendres......

Some of the most "intelligent" people I've met would have severe difficulties locating their bottoms with both hands.

here is a taoist saying: The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise. discuss i am currently assisting two friends of mine in their search for Blokes ... this mainly consists of saying "eeeeugh he said WHAT? ... he brought his own SLIPPERS? ... he doesn't like CHEESE? ... don't go out with HIM" etc. these women are late 40's plus ... intelligent, funny, wise and beautiful ... they want men who match them of course ...the intelligence question is a very interesting one ... both of them need men with a certain TYPE of intelligence i think ... we have been struggling to define what it is ... and we think it comes down to a certain way of using language ... perhaps its a tribal thing ... if you are a member of the witty wordsmith tribe (which they both are) ... then you want someone who comes from that tribe too ... i think there is a common idea (expressed by paul above) that there is a type of person who so lives in their head ... the world of the intellect ... that they are useless in any practical sense ... the Nutty Professor type you might say ... and i have certainly come across people who had a huge depth of knowledge about certain things but also had absolutely no idea about people and interaction ... no wisdom ... and i feel people with a lot of learning in them can be seen as intimidating to people without ... i was hoping to make a point here ... i think i'll just put the kettle on instead ...

My darling friend Neurotic Julia is without a doubt the most intelligent person I know, and couldn't find her @!#$ with both hands, a map, a compass and a tour guide if her life depended on it. She work out the most complex algebraic sums in her head in a matter of seconds, yet once rang me up to ask how you used a can opener. She has all the common sense of a pile of halibut heads. Clearly intelligence isn't everything. The same goes for the software engineers I know. Incredibly brilliant men and women when it comes to computers, but I lost track of the number of times they rang up reception to ask how did you use the coffee machine again? Or forgot that you have to swipe a security card (hanging round their necks, generally) across a black panel next to the doors to open them. I think I'd rather be of average intelligence and capable of opening a tin of hotdogs. I didn't take the test, by the way - I don't think knowing my IQ level would improve or worsen my life any.

Those genius sound like me... in that I cant do normal common sense tasks at all. Now I just need to find where im gifted and hey presto, CMSavant is born. I dont think IQ tests mean much, for a start there are too many types of intelligence, many of the tests are ethnocentric and it gives people a very unneeded confidence boost (in the wrong way). This national IQ thing is silly as they are taking averages, what happens if only the people who think they are really intelligent take it? Or only the thick people who think they are really intelligent? (thick btw, is very subjective as there are lots of types of intelligence, I wouldnt say people who cant do maths are stupid if they can repair cars and write beautiful poetry).

Well, I think the test (as taken over the internet) is fairly OK. It got me about right (have had several proper tests in my history) but as it focused on 100, it will be inaccurate beyond. However, IQ is Potential only. Doesn't mean you can actually do anything or be 'better' but it gives the opportunity to be so. Your own skills can be based on things other than sheer IQ, fluency in languages, musical ability, etc etc. What you DO with your iQ is upto you. A 1.2 litre punto can beat a 3 litre jag if the driver is better. We NEED high IQ people to advance our knowledge and understanding - to discover, rationalise, and explain things to us. But as people, being on the 2% fringe high is maybe as bad as the 2% fringe low (as Stormy said) in termsof happiness and social relations. Gulp! lamb, anyone?

I need someone who can repair poems...

alas paul, some are beyond repair...

Wolfie makes a great point. I joined Mensa in high school, but there was nothing for a teenager to do in Mensa at the time, so all I got was the newletter for a year. I forgot about it for about 20 years. Then it dawned on me that maybe Mensa was being used as a glorified singles group. Afterall, there was a "spread" in Playboy called The Girls of Mensa at the time. So I renewed my membership and attended two get-togethers, one in New York City and one in Connecticut. Well, visually it was a bit like the bar scene in the original Star Wars film. Otherwise, it was much worse. Oh lord it was hideous, more pathetic loser per square inch than anywhere else on the planet at the particular moment in time. I commented to someone afterwards that most of the men looked (and acted and sounded) like David Berkowitz, the notoious Son of Sam seriel killer. That was the end of Mensa for me. Now I must take a long hot shower to wash away the recollection. Brrrrr.

there was a "spread" in playboy? jt, you kill me sometimes :o)))

Justyn - I don't suppose you know if Tim Leary designed any IQ tests that only "turned on" people could get a "high" "score" on ;o) I really loved your tale of how he escaped from prison!