Do you know your IQ?

[Anonymous]

They tried to test me when I was 14. I remember the teacher started to freak out when the score got above 140. At 160 the teacher was visibly white and sweaty. Then the dial started to point above 180, and the machine literally broke. The teacher ran out of the room in tears, and refused to have anything to do with me in the future.

So no, I don’t know what my score is, and, having seen my teacher’s reaction that day, I don’t want to know. All I do know is that, from that day on, I swore that I would only use my powers for good.

[Anonymous]

Yes, 155, more of a curse than a blessing. But it has taught me to be patient and to be a better communicator. Although it is frustrating to be a 3 dimensional chess player in a world of people who struggle with checkers.

[Anonymous]

At 160 most of my mental energy is spent translating my thoughts into simple language. It's the linguistic version of the tyranny of the rocket equation. The smarter you are, the harder you have to work to communicate your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know my exact iq, but I tested into the gifted program in the mid 1980s in elementary school. Anyone know what the cutoff was? I think I was the only one in my class to be accepted.

I even remember some of the test questions, being asked to repeat a long sentence about a car traveling and crossing the railroad tracks.

I remember missing out on the cutoff by one point. Mine was 119. My brother was around 130. Smart but lazy. Dropped out of college after freshman year. I got a Master’s degree in my mid 20s.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know my IQ but it seems the more I post here the lower it gets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My Dad was a developmentalist who was trained to administer IQ tests and he's talked to us about it.

IQ as a single number really isn't a particularly useful metric. You can have very high verbal skills but low logical or mathematical skills and vice versa. Those online IQ tests are just scams. IQ also isn't static, it's very dependent on whether you utilize certain skills.

My parents actually didn't give us our IQ scores we got testing into gifted because they didn't want us to compare. They also taught us that being smart didn't mean much if you didn't apply yourself.

That’s why I doubt any of those school tests were actually IQ tests. Just basic info to see if they could handle a faster pace.

The only legitimate ones are the students tested for learning disabilities.

My son had his tested and there was a 20 point difference between his verbal IQ and nonverbal IQ. This shows a significant learning disability. They combine the scores and his combined scores gave a score of 128. Sounds great but the discrepancy between the two has made life difficult for him.

He’s always been extremely well spoken, large vocabulary, always a few years ahead in reading. The problem is he can’t get it down on paper. He’s extremely anxious. He’d be better off with an IQ of 100 with no discrepancy between the two scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These tests have got to be BS. if 100 is average, where are all the people who get below 100?

If you worked in healthcare or any public facing profession, you would know that they are EVERYWHERE.

+1. Everywhere! There are so many times I think 'why would a person do xyz?" and usually the most logical answer to my question is basically 'because they are not very smart"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These tests have got to be BS. if 100 is average, where are all the people who get below 100?

There's some confirmation bias. Those of us who scored well don't mind answering the question. But also, let's not forget the demographics of the DC are and DCUM. We are more highly educated than the average, and the IQ test definitely shows privilege bias.

Maybe. But the scores people are posting are exaggerated. It doesn’t take a genius with a high IQ to see that. It’s embarrassing.

People with very high scores - and I know some of them - would have no qualms posting their scores on an anonymous board, especially since it’s the kind of thing no one brags about publicly. So I don’t think that the scores people are posting are exaggerated. You don’t have to believe them, but your “it’s embarrassing” comes across as a little…I dunno…defensive. I’ll just remind you that IQ is ultimately meaningless and has no bearing on success in life.

It seems like some are trying to outdo previous posters and maybe it’s more like people confusing their testing for “gifted” programs as IQ tests. But there’s definitely exaggeration and I find that embarrassing for grown people.

IQ can have meaning if you’re an outlier. Especially on the lower end. It makes life more difficult. But the majority of people go through life not knowing or caring what their IQ is. The most common need for IQ tests is suspecting a learning disability.

One of 5 children. My parents had us tested for Mensa membership. So they had us tested because they thought our IQs were high. They were correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tried to test me when I was 14. I remember the teacher started to freak out when the score got above 140. At 160 the teacher was visibly white and sweaty. Then the dial started to point above 180, and the machine literally broke. The teacher ran out of the room in tears, and refused to have anything to do with me in the future.

So no, I don’t know what my score is, and, having seen my teacher’s reaction that day, I don’t want to know. All I do know is that, from that day on, I swore that I would only use my powers for good.

[Anonymous]

I was tested twice for my elementary school's GT program in the 1980s, but didn't make the cut (my siblings were both in it). I couldn't do the puzzles!

I graduated 2nd in my class and was a National Merit finalist so I suppose at least some of the brain cells were firing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These tests have got to be BS. if 100 is average, where are all the people who get below 100?

There's some confirmation bias. Those of us who scored well don't mind answering the question. But also, let's not forget the demographics of the DC are and DCUM. We are more highly educated than the average, and the IQ test definitely shows privilege bias.

That still doesn’t account for so many posters claiming genius IQs. There’s a lot of competent people in the DMV, lots of government bureaucrats, policy makers, important work being done. Definitely smart people but not to the point that so many poster are the geniuses they claim to be.

The smartest cities in the country aren’t calculated by how many puzzles you can do or what books you read. This one study analyzed 16 equally-weighted metrics (on a 0-100 scale) across three categories: connectivity and infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and the local tech job market.

Here’s where the brains are -
Seattle
Miami
Austin, Texas
San Jose, California
Oakland, California
Boston
San Francisco
New York City
Los Angeles
Atlanta

These are the cities the young smart people go.

[Anonymous]

I have no clue what my IQ is and I don't care. I just try to do the best I can with what I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no clue what my IQ is and I don't care. I just try to do the best I can with what I have.

Same. They did not test at our schools. They did take four of us out of class in my grade to learn foreign language and read some different books. I despise the French language because of it. Teachers chose the students.

If I had to guess my IQ I would say between 105-110.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These tests have got to be BS. if 100 is average, where are all the people who get below 100?

There's some confirmation bias. Those of us who scored well don't mind answering the question. But also, let's not forget the demographics of the DC are and DCUM. We are more highly educated than the average, and the IQ test definitely shows privilege bias.

That still doesn’t account for so many posters claiming genius IQs. There’s a lot of competent people in the DMV, lots of government bureaucrats, policy makers, important work being done. Definitely smart people but not to the point that so many poster are the geniuses they claim to be.

The smartest cities in the country aren’t calculated by how many puzzles you can do or what books you read. This one study analyzed 16 equally-weighted metrics (on a 0-100 scale) across three categories: connectivity and infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and the local tech job market.

Here’s where the brains are -
Seattle
Miami
Austin, Texas
San Jose, California
Oakland, California
Boston
San Francisco
New York City
Los Angeles
Atlanta

These are the cities the young smart people go.

Why do you think everyone with a genius IQ is just trying to make money? You've listed all the big tech/financial centers. Weird that you think geniuses choose lucrative careers. It's as if you have never met any actual geniuses before.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know IQs of Drumpf and Musk?