Is It Possible to Boost Your IQ with These Simple Tips?

[ShadowKnight]

Online IQ tests are generally bunk. Its kind of amusing to watch people sport the scores as badges of pride though. Like posting your IP to IRC as 127.0.0.1 and watching all the leet script kiddies knock themselves off the internet is kind of amusing.

That's funny as hell! All these years dealing with security and I am kicking myself for not thinking of that one!

 

[franznietzsche]

That's funny as hell! All these years dealing with security and I am kicking myself for not thinking of that one!

Well, i ahve to give credit where credit is due. I didn't think of it either. First saw it in a userfriendly strip, and once found an account of someone actually doing it in IRC. Hilarious stuff. Lemme see if i can find it... http://www.totalillusions.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=328&st=0

 

[TenaliRaman]

Yes, i had picked that one up at slashdot once.

Hmm if i had a sig, i would right now put it as "Hack me, My ip is 127.0.0.1"

-- AI

 

[Danger]

Like posting your IP to IRC as 127.0.0.1 and watching all the leet script kiddies knock themselves off the internet is kind of amusing.

I don't understand a word of that. Managed to get enough out of the link to find it hilarious though.

 

[Chi Meson]

Like posting your IP to IRC as 127.0.0.1 and watching all the leet script kiddies knock themselves off the internet is kind of amusing.

OK, now I'm reasonably intelligent and I have no idea what you just said.

Edit: and I had no idea Danger had already said the same thing [note to self: finish reading the full thread before replying]

 

[cragwolf]

I'm come to the opinion (without a leg to stand on, of course) that IQ doesn't mean much as a measure of intelligence. I score significantly higher than average on IQ tests, but I'm almost certain that I'm dumber than the average person. I have a calculator brain and I think calculator brains do quite well at IQ tests. The calculator is the most primitive form of artificial intelligence, you know.

 

[ShadowKnight]

I don't understand a word of that. Managed to get enough out of the link to find it hilarious though.

All computers using TCP/IP (the Internet) have what is called a loopback address, 127.0.0.1. So posting your IP publically as 127.0.0.1 and then someone trying to run some destructive code against your IP address (as some people on IRC like doing) results in them running the destructive code against their own PC This only works if the "hacker" is really dumb.

 

[Danger]

results in them running the destructive code against their own PC

I guess that's the electronic equivalent of me plugging someone's gun barrel if I suspect there might be trouble later.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I'm come to the opinion (without a leg to stand on, of course) that IQ doesn't mean much as a measure of intelligence. I score significantly higher than average on IQ tests, but I'm almost certain that I'm dumber than the average person. I have a calculator brain and I think calculator brains do quite well at IQ tests. The calculator is the most primitive form of artificial intelligence, you know.

Not only do I find it hard to believe that you have below average intelligence, but I find it hard to believe that you believe that. Nonetheless, I agree with your basic point. I very much doubt that intelligence is one-dimensional (as implied by an IQ) and I'm certainly not convinced that it strongly correlates with success. The example you give about "calculator" power is an excellent one, as such skills are virtually useless in the modern world. I sometimes wow my classmates with my ability to multiply numbers in my head, but I doubt it has that much more practical value than the ability to cross my eyes.

 

[hitssquad]

I score significantly higher than average on IQ tests

This is an IQ test:
wilderdom.com/personality/intelligenceWAISWISC.html

Have you ever taken an IQ test?

 

[ShadowKnight]

I guess that's the electronic equivalent of me plugging someone's gun barrel if I suspect there might be trouble later.

Naw, it's more like the equivilent op Bugs Bunny curving the gun barrel around to point back at the shooter!

 

[cragwolf]

Not only do I find it hard to believe that you have below average intelligence, but I find it hard to believe that you believe that.

Well, the evidence suggests (but does not prove) otherwise. It's a little too personal and embarassing to go into in much detail, but the only area of life where I have excelled compared to the average person is the sort of very basic mathematics that can be done on a stupid computer. In other areas I'm either average or below average. I really hate it when people assume I'm intelligent just because I can immediately return the result of 15% of 5000. They only get disappointed the longer they know me.

I see intelligence as this multidimensional balloon where each axis measures some aspect of intelligence. The volume of this balloon is proportional to the total intelligence. My balloon has this long dimple sticking out of it representing my low-grade mathematical skills. But its total volume is still a bit below average. IQ tests, in my poorly formed opinion, don't take enough sample points from this sphere to get an accurate measure of intelligence.

Have you ever taken an IQ test?

Yeah, I took the WAIS-R variant when I was a young adult.

 

[Grogs]

Well, the evidence suggests (but does not prove) otherwise. It's a little too personal and embarassing to go into in much detail, but the only area of life where I have excelled compared to the average person is the sort of very basic mathematics that can be done on a stupid computer. In other areas I'm either average or below average. I really hate it when people assume I'm intelligent just because I can immediately return the result of 15% of 5000. They only get disappointed the longer they know me.

People are just different. My dad has a tough time with Algebra, but he'll come at me with some figure like 'What's 70% of 42,000? 29,400 right?' And I'll just be sitting there going 'uhh, hold on a second. Let me pull my shoes off.' Raw math has never been my strong suit.

I see intelligence as this multidimensional balloon where each axis measures some aspect of intelligence. The volume of this balloon is proportional to the total intelligence. My balloon has this long dimple sticking out of it representing my low-grade mathematical skills. But its total volume is still a bit below average. IQ tests, in my poorly formed opinion, don't take enough sample points from this sphere to get an accurate measure of intelligence.

I agree that there are various (and sometimes hard to measure) components of intelligence. Rote memorization, spatial reasoning, reading comprehension, and various math skills are all parts of it. It's not all that uncommon to see people who excel in one area and not in another. People whom we label 'idiot savants' seem to show an extreme difference between various areas.

 

[ShadowKnight]

I see intelligence as this multidimensional balloon where each axis measures some aspect of intelligence. The volume of this balloon is proportional to the total intelligence. My balloon has this long dimple sticking out of it representing my low-grade mathematical skills. But its total volume is still a bit below average. IQ tests, in my poorly formed opinion, don't take enough sample points from this sphere to get an accurate measure of intelligence.

Dude, take a step back and read the paragraph you wrote. Someone who isn't intelligent and considers themselves dumb would not understand this string of words, much less WRITE it! Don't be so hard on yourself, it takes at least average intelligence just to understand topics on this site.

 

[cragwolf]

Dude, take a step back and read the paragraph you wrote. Someone who isn't intelligent and considers themselves dumb would not understand this string of words, much less WRITE it!

Well, firstly I don't consider myself dumb, just a bit lower than average in overall intelligence. 30th or 40th percentile, maybe, although I think it's impossible to measure. Secondly, I think that aside from a small percentage of people who have a very low intelligence, everyone can learn to write a string of words like mine. Vocabulary and grammar have been mastered by stupid computer programs like Microsoft Word. Thirdly, I think it's important not to confuse intelligence with intellectual interest. There are geniuses with low education who work in factories doing manual labour who have little or no intellectual interests; there are educated people like me of mediocre intelligence who have strong interest in intellectual matters.

 

[hitssquad]

The Feynman IQ urban legend

"When I was a kid I sneaked off and got into the files and looked up our IQs. Mine was 124 and his was 123. So I was actually smarter than he was!"
Joan Feynman

I would guess that Richard Feynman, in his prime, had a g factor strength of around +4 SD.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...sJuly/JensenPartI.htm+feynman+iq+jensen&hl=en

Question #1:

Christopher Langan for the Mega Foundation: It is reported that one of this century’s greatest physicists, Nobelist Richard Feynman, had an IQ of 125 or so. Yet, a careful reading of his work reveals amazing powers of concentration and analysis…powers of thought far in excess of those suggested by a z score of well under two standard deviations above the population mean. Could this be evidence that something might be wrong with the way intelligence is tested? Could it mean that early crystallization of intelligence, or specialization of intelligence in a specific set of (sub-g) factors – i.e., a narrow investment of g based on a lopsided combination of opportunity and proclivity - might put it beyond the reach of g-loaded tests weak in those specific factors, leading to deceptive results?

Arthur Jensen: I don’t take anecdotal report of the IQs of famous persons at all seriously. They are often fictitious and are used to make a point - typically a put-down of IQ test and the whole idea that individual differences in intelligence can be ranked or measured. James Watson once claimed an IQ of 115; the daughter of another very famous Nobelist claimed that her father would absolutely “flunk” any IQ test. It’s all ridiculous. Furthermore, the outstanding feature of any famous and accomplished person, especially a reputed genius, such as Feynman, is never their level of g (or their IQ), but some special talent and some other traits (e.g., zeal, persistence). Outstanding achievements(s) depend on these other qualities besides high intelligence.
[...]
So-called intelligence tests, or IQ, are not intended to assess these special abilities unrelated to IQ or any other traits involved in outstanding achievement. It would be undesirable for IQ tests to attempt to do so, as it would be undesirable for a clinical thermometer to measure not just temperature but some combination of temperature, blood count, metabolic rate, etc. A good IQ test attempts to estimate the g factor, which isn’t a mixture, but a distillate of the one factor (i.e., a unitary source of individual differences variance) that is common to all cognitive tests, however diverse.

I have had personal encounters with three Nobelists in science, including Feynman, who attended a lecture I gave at Cal Tech and later discussed it with me. He, like the other two Nobelists I’ve known (Francis Crick and William Shockley), not only came across as extremely sharp, especially in mathematical reasoning, but they were also rather obsessive about making sure they thoroughly understood the topic under immediate discussion. They at times transformed my verbal statements into graphical or mathematical forms and relationships. Two of these men knew each other very well and often discussed problems with each other. Each thought the other was very smart. I got a chance to test one of these Nobelists with Terman’s Concept Mastery Test, which was developed to test the Terman gifted group as adults, and he obtained an exceptionally high score even compared to the Terman group all with IQ>139 and a mean of 152.

When I read things like this I came back to the same thought: IQ tests are a very good measure of how well a person does on IQ tests.

Boring.
physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=700030&highlight=boring#post700030

IQ tests have also been shown to have relatively high validity and reliability as measures of g.
amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0275961036

 

[laminatedevildoll]

IQ scores of celebrities

http://sites.ninemsn.com.au/minisite/testaustralia/IQ2003/celebrity.asp"

 

[zoobyshoe]

IQ tests have also been shown to have relatively high validity and reliability as measures of g.

I'm not sure what your point is, Hitssquad. You are saying you're sure Feynman would have scored higher had he been tested as an adult?

 

[Zantra]

After my IQ results came back, the public school I went to tried to get my parents to send me to a school for the "academically able", you had to have a minimum IQ of 140 to even be considered. A few years ago, "60 minutes" did a special on these schools for child geniuses and the school that was suggested to my parents was one of the ones featured. Among the graduates were a belly dancer, a short order cook, no one went on to anything great. Glad my parents didn't make me go.

Evo I had the exact same experience, but my parents couldn't afford to send me (think it was about 15k/year) so I didn't end up going. It's just a prestige thing, like Mensa. Children who are truly gifted/curious, and are encouraged by someone in their life will find an outlet even with public education- I did. Of course I was also blessed with an overabundance of PhD's and teachers/professors in my family, so I had a built in outlet

You guys are still trying to see who has the biggest hmm?

No matter how smart you are, there will always be someone smarter than you. No matter how dumb you are, you will always be smarter than someone. Unlesss you're koko the chimp, that is.

 

[Zygotic Embryo]

Interesting..

 

[Zantra]

Interesting..

I was late, I rambled...