High IQ members and the nature of intelligence

reply to post by DeadFlagBlues


well, i am going to mexico city.thats were my dad lives. no, i dont know how the education is down in argentina what kind of education are you persuing

Originally posted by Questor
I think there exist people who have it all, both smarts & looks. But certainly in today's society, looks are valued more.

As Robert Heinlein was fond of pointing out, one pretty much implies the other. Sexual attractiveness implies selective fitness (and correlates suggestively with income and social position). Above-average intelligence is probably sexually selected in humans anyway.

It's true that with looks, you don't need to work as hard to get ahead.

For women, perhaps. Excessive good looks in men are actually a drawback; other men resent it, or else they think you're a boy bimbo and refuse to take you seriously.

Dumb blondes only look attractive to stupid men. The trouble is that the stupid outbreed the wise in every generation.

I was tested when I was in my early 20's. I had such an abusive childhood that I spent hour after hours with doctors. My self esteem was terribly low, I felt worthless, but still hopeful... I knew there was something special about me, I mean there must of been. I then had a full 8 hour test, I mean it lasted all day! You would not believe that pump it gave me to hear my I.Q. was between 138 and 145.
Up until that point in my life, I had not even finished high school, didn't think I was good enough, smart enough. Once I found out I went to school immediately. I still never did as well as I had hoped, but I believe I never did learn the proper skills when it came to organizing and adapting to a class. That and thursdays were cheap drink night!!! Who wants to miss that?
It was important for me to learn my I.Q. I think if I hadn't I would of ended up on the street.

Intelligence and IQ which purports to measure it really does not do much more than classify people in order to control what kinds of opportunities they will be offered. My tested IQ is very high- high enough that I can see patterns in standardized tests and how they have changed over time to reflect societal needs/policies. Really there is no diff between my thought process and that of others- i think. Sometimes I need less info to draw conclusions- but like everyone sometimes those conclusions are wrong. Many (I'd say most) hi IQ people go at life the way an immature older sibling might play a board game with a younger- making up the rules and generally exploiting ignorance. I see it constantly and it is a source of anxiety to me. Most people's behavior is at some level constrained by what they believe others will think of them if they are caught misleading or engaging in some other cheating behavior. Very bright people don't get caught as often so this important behavioral constraint is less binding- they cheat because they can. Not all hi IQ people are like that though.

Originally posted by Indigo_Child


What special mental abilities do you have?



I also would like your opinion on how you think a person with an IQ of 1000 would be and what you think the nature of intelligence is.

[edit on 17-1-2005 by Indigo_Child]

i went w/ my ex a few yrs back. he tested at 100 and i tested 148.

what special metal abilities do i have? i can think .

I also would like your opinion on how you think a person with an IQ of 1000 would be ~ not sure what you are looking for here. i have never met someone w/ 1000 and doubt i could really form an opinion on them unless i do.


what you think the nature of intelligence is? i guess it is when a creature can choose btw choice A and choice B. of course there is always choice C and sometimes ppl don't use intelligence and just choose A or B based on what appeals to them and forget that there is a choice C, and sometimes even choice D-Z. but choosing choice A or B is easier and thus maybe there are some that we would assume are intelligent, but instead they are only able to pick btw what they are handed. just a thought.

reply to post by miss.terious

Interesting and enlightening comments, Terious. I think that IQ test scores can definitely raise your self-esteem, and that is great. However, I also think it works in the reverse. I knew a brilliant guy who was crushed to learn his IQ was only 115 -- he soon after dropped out of college. I don't know what happened to him, but he was legitimately brilliant in many important ways.

I also think IQ tests have been a major wedge in society. The most famous example is The Bell Curve by Charles Murray, which "proved" that IQ scores were lined with race. William Shockley, inventor of the transistor, performed a similar study. These were stupid and highly destructive studies, proving nothing about individual worth. How much personal suffering was created because of these studies, and their misapplication? I bet there was a lot.

#

Could it be that IQ scores are a lot like vision tests? Maybe IQ scores are only reflective of how well you can do without tools to assist you. Specifically, how does someone with a high IQ fair in a math test against someone with a pocket calculator? I would suggest you can be as proud of your IQ score, as you can be proud of your uncorrected vision score. Neither is a big deal, but it is nice to have that extra capability, although not critically so.

Great topic. This would have been a really good thread in the ATS Psychology forum.

Originally posted by Buck Division
reply to post by miss.terious

 

However, I also think it works in the reverse. I knew a brilliant guy who was crushed to learn his IQ was only 115 -- he soon after dropped out of college.

oh yes. it became the topic that was always brought up in an arguement btw the ex and myself way back when.

"oh, you just think you are soooo smart bc your iq is higher" just the fact that he brought it up so much was enough proof of his point for me.

actually, i always thought he was very smart in ways that i wasn't. i sometimes think TOO much about something and overlook the obvious. he was good at catching that.

IQ is one of those funny subjects. I mean, its an abstract attribute, and not a reliable means of measurement (different tests have different scales which disagree with each other), but terribly fascinating, as we all like to measure our abilities.

Interestingly, and testement to its abstract and not-so-reliable nature, Richard Feynman, one of the greatest physicists of the last century had a famously 'low' IQ score of 123. it has also been suggested that even Einstein did not have a particularly high IQ, but these are two of the most brilliant minds of modern times.

I agree with the above poster, it can be a nice boost to the self esteem to notch up a high score. I took one along with my colleauges at work and got a pleasing result...only to then dig out a Stephen Hawking quote: "People who boast about their IQs are losers!", cutting short my moment of smugness.

I've taken the Stanford-Binet several times, and have scored as low as 132 and as high as 158. With that much variance, I am not confident in this test as a measure of anything.

I'm different from most other people I meet, but it isn't so much an intellect thing as a personality thing. I despise self-aggrandizers and people for whom, if a thing cannot be eaten, screwed, dominated, or "worn" to indicate status, then the thing doesn't exist. Consider me a needle in a balloon party.

The IQ part has not been my friend. It's one thing to sneer at self-important people from a distance, but when you can do it to their face and think circles around them at the same time, it isn't something that wins friends.

If I believed in reincarnation, I would lay claim to having been Wittgenstein in a previous life. He was fabulously wealthy but gave it away to his sister. He wore a dingy coat all year round. His 'Tractatus' was a thumb in the eyes of his peers, with which he proved the vanity and self-importance of the haughty Vienna Circle and even his friends such as Russell.

So, I would say that a high IQ does not in any way make a person happy, particularly if it is coupled with an inherent disrespect for other people who abuse their gifts by applying them towards petty manipulations.

[edit on 7-7-2008 by applebiter]

My tests have also varied, but there is one site I liked which wanted to split it up into twelve sections. I have areas where I am trusted and others where I just follow. I'm sure that they are different intelligences and really question this one overall. I can play good cop and bad cop.........

The real question related to IQ that matters is what have you done with the IQ you were given? Have you helped others? Is the world better off or happier?

Exactly. The ability to reason showly reduces as you age, and the IQ tests abstract ideas, which is why it isn't an exact measure of intelligence.

No, it doesn't. If you let go and stop exercising your mind, then it might atrophy, but it's not etched in stone or anything.

And IQ tests mostly reveal the degree of ADAPTABILITY, which is what you need to show: a grasp of the "rules of the game".

To the OP: the IQ doesn't influence the actual way a person sees the world, just the speed and efficacy that is required to compute the relationships between the given data.

IQ has nothing to do with every aspect of life. Those with higher IQs could be smart logically but they could be like the general public when it comes to different kind of knowledge. IE. Someone has an IQ of 150 but has no idea how to fix a bike, or fix a car, and etc.

I know an otherwise average man -- some might even use the regrettable characterization of "slow" -- who is a productive member of our local tiny island society. He does not use the internet, has no concept of upper math, speaks in an island slang and some Jamaican patois. These are poor yardsticks by which to measure him, as where fishing is concerned, he is an absolute genius. He senses the places to go, sees birds far beyond the vision of mere mortals that are indicative of schools of fish, and consistently brings in good hauls, even against large trolling boats with outriggers and all the shiny toys. He doesn't need them. He is a fishing genius. He is perfectly adapted to his environment and manifests a higher order of perception of patterns of things that matter HERE. Here, on this little chunka rock in the Caribbean, math, physics, chemistry, geology will not feed you. He cannot really articulate how he does what he does. How to quantify his intelligence? In terms of worthiness in relation to his environment, he is the pinnacle by which we might all be measured. Next to him, I am an absolute dolt.

Just a little ditty to perhaps interject a shift in thinking.

Originally posted by Equinox99
IQ has nothing to do with every aspect of life. Those with higher IQs could be smart logically but they could be like the general public when it comes to different kind of knowledge. IE. Someone has an IQ of 150 but has no idea how to fix a bike, or fix a car, and etc.

i think this might be true. those, including me, who i have known to have a higher iq tend to overanalyze things and miss the obvious (common sense) type stuff. not all, but most anyway.

and even though i scored high, it still takes me quite some time to be able to grasp certain concepts (math being high on that list lol). just once i do grasp it, i can run w/ it.

again, my ex, although his was 100, he was able to pick up spanish VERY quickly (i am still struggling w/ it) and he has a very good memory (much to my dismay )

Originally posted by BlackProjects
The real question related to IQ that matters is what have you done with the IQ you were given? Have you helped others? Is the world better off or happier?

I took up driving the odd route for the Second Helpings program, to pick up food from grocery stores and restaurants for redistribution to local homeless shelters. It made my wife unhappy because we didn't see much of each other already. She wanted Saturday mornings to be for us. Now we're divorced.

I'm studying semiotics so that I can lie to you in order to help you.

Life is stranger than this simple "common sense" homily gives it credit by far. If that kind of homespun wisdom had ever been enough to make me or anyone else happy, then everyone would buy into it.

reply to post by applebiter


Another form of intelligence not mentioned on this thread so far is emotional IQ or EQ which is the ability to discern how someone is feeling in a given situation. It can be a valuable business skill or an interpersonal one say in marriage.

reply to post by BlackProjects


I'm sure that is sometimes the case. It isn't relevant in my case, but it must be important in others.

intelligence is irrelevant. we're too damn smart that we're stupid. we can figure out nuclear technology but we can't find a suitable solution to the energy crisis or the poverty level or the hunger problems of Africa and other third-world areas. we're only smart when it comes to new ways to destroy. einstein was a genius not because of the conception of a nuclear bomb. he was a genius because he understood the continuous human downward spiral. he understood that pretty soon, we will wipe ourselves out. john lennon was by no means a "genius" by today's standards, but he was a genius in the sense that he knew what was wrong with the world. your IQ has nothing to do with genius. IQ is your ability to process, retain, and utilize information and knowledge. Genius is a state of mind in which you notice all the things around you and constantly try to make it better. There are some truly dumb people with high IQ's. The guy who developed the hydrogen bomb for example. giving mankind another weapon is like giving a pistol to an infant. you just don't do it.

Originally posted by iwant2believe1992
The guy who developed the hydrogen bomb for example. giving mankind another weapon is like giving a pistol to an infant. you just don't do it.

starred you bc you definately made very valid observations that do sometimes seem to be overlooked.

if you are referring to who i think you are referring to in the above quoted segment, from my understanding, he didn't technically develop it or give it to mankind, but rather realized the implications too late of what his formula COULD develop and in his later years spent much time actively protesting the use of the hydrogen bomb. that is what i have read in several different biographies about him. i know some like to argue that, but his spirit does resignate to me as being one of good character, not that its worth much to anyone else lol.

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]