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Terman's subjects had IQ scores averaging 151, and long-term, instead of being disaffected, alienated odd-balls, as the common mythology suggests, they were happier, lived longer, had happier marriages and higher professional accomplishments.
I know of a woman in that study and she was certainly successful and happy in her life.
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I took the Mensa test once and passed it in the required time, but all that did was depress me more. I kept wondering why I was in such a bad financial place in my life when I was supposed to be that smart. Since then I've learned that being smart isn't the cure-all for everything and doesn't make life easy. I've also learned we all have special gifts and while I have a good memory and am great at spatial imagery, I flunk when it comes to social skills and self esteem. Just because there's a place to measure what I do best doesn't mean I'm the best.
I was on Mensa International's website earlier this week and after poking around discovered that based on 3rd grade IQ scores and GRE test scores I qualify for membership. Is anyone a member or know of a member of this organization? Does it make a difference in your/their life? If so, how? I know that researchers have found that married couples tend to share IQ. So, there must be something to IQ in terms of compatibility, but I'm not sure how to pin that down. Any ideas out there on this CD forum?
Or is IQ just tied to fairy-taleism and is not a valid or useful construct/concept/*reality*?
Thanks in advance.
It's a useless elitist organization. I've been "eligible" for membership since 1963, when they gave me my first IQ test (I scored 152). I don't care. I have never joined. I WILL never join. I have no interest in a bunch of people who want to get together and feel like they are Extra Super Duper Special because they scored high on a test. There are a PLETHORA of things wrong with the IQ tests, including the fact that they are so culturally biased and rely so heavily on only a handful of aspects of human ability. You need a good memory and to be widely read to score well, and that's about it. The problem solving sections are interesting but not necessarily terribly useful in your everyday life. An artist who is acknowledged to be a "genius" in the field of art is unlikely to score particularly highly on an IQ test. A cabinet maker may make gorgeous (and complicated to construct) furniture, and still score low or average on an IQ test.
It just has no meaning in the real world. All it means is you have a lot of the skills they bother to test for. There are tons of other skills they don't test for at all. And unfortunately many times IQ tests are administered by school personnel who have a dog in the fight - such as liking a kid and wanting them to score highly so they can get in a gifted program, or to make them feel better. I can't tell you how many times I retested a kid who supposedly was tested by their school counselor or other school personnel, only to find that they had been coached through the first test, or given extra time, or even (on several occasions) were actually given the answers by the test administrator on the first occasion. We put entirely too much emphasis on "IQ". It's just a number. Big deal.
I have a hard time taking IQ scores seriously when the average score is about 145 among those I have met. That is quite hard to believe from a statistical viewpoint.
I have a hard time taking IQ scores seriously when the average score is about 145 among those I have met. That is quite hard to believe from a statistical viewpoint.
Are you saying that the average score is 145 of "all the people" that you have met or all the people that you have met in MENSA? Yes, the first is quite hard to believe statistically but the second is not.
I have a hard time taking IQ scores seriously when the average score is about 145 among those I have met. That is quite hard to believe from a statistical viewpoint.
I've heard the same. Many celebrities also claim to have IQs that are off the charts, although offer nothing to prove it. Many parents I know tell me their child has a genius level IQ.
Perhaps OP is looking for the social component. If someone is of high intelligence, I would imagine that there's a strong chance that spending your time with those of lower intelligence could become rather mundane without some sort of cerebral outlet.
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