Is My IQ Really Only 115? A Conundrum of Intelligence

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In summary, the speaker discusses their experience with taking an IQ test and receiving a disappointing score of 115. They also question the accuracy of the test and express their belief that their IQ is higher than the results indicate. The conversation also touches on the limitations of IQ tests and their ability to measure intelligence. The speaker also mentions their experience with seeking extended time on assessments due to their dyslexia and the recommendation from a psychologist. They ask for advice on whether they should retake the test or disregard the results. There is also a brief exchange regarding the issue of extended time and the speaker's response to a comment.
  • #36
micromass said:
Exactly. Don't give much importance to IQ tests.

I scored a 98 on an IQ test. It doesn't really bother me.
But you're a genius and I'm a dud.
 
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  • #37
Evo said:
But you're a genius and I'm a dud.

Just because I'm good at googling math questions on wiki doesn't mean I'm a genius.
 
  • #38
micromass said:
Exactly. Don't give much importance to IQ tests.

I scored a 98 on an IQ test. It doesn't really bother me.

I believe you , but it's hard to believe.Definitely counter-intuitive information.
 
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  • #39
micromass said:
Just because I'm good at googling math questions on wiki doesn't mean I'm a genius.
Oh, you do not!
 
  • #40
Evo said:
Oh, you do not!

Or do I??
 
  • #41
micromass said:
Or do I??
But I am called the "Google Queen" so surely I would be able to find the same answers...except...I never Google math questions.
 
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  • #42
Evo said:
But I am called the "Google Queen" so surely i would be able to find the same answers...except...I never Google math questions.

Time for a new queen :biggrin:
 
  • #43
How much does it really cost to take a legit IQ test?
 
  • #44
I want my IQ to be 69.
 
  • #45
WannabeNewton said:
I want my IQ to be 69.

Probably a lot of work to be done then :-p
 
  • #46
reenmachine said:
How much does it really cost to take a legit IQ test?
I hear that they are at least a couple of thousand. Mine were all paid for. I was a weird child, I was never allowed to have books or participate in class since I was 8 years old because I was too far ahead and they had no place for me. Long story, new teacher had me tested at 11, parents called in and they were told the public school system was not equipped to handle children on my level, they suggested a few boarding schools for the "Academically Able", children had to have a minimum IQ of 140 to even be considered. I refused to go. Got jumped repeatedly, finished school at 14, went to France for a year and enrolled in college when I was 16.
 
  • #47
newcomer1 said:
That quite possibly could be the reason. From my experience, it affects my ability to read the most. Often times I read words out of order have trouble making sense of the letter ordering in words. For these reasons, I try and avoid reading when I can(seeking out a teacher instead of scouring a textbook for hours on end). I also do not read for pleasure because of this. However, my ability to do math isn't unaffected by it. I'm able to solve complex problems, but a lot of times I reverse a few steps or make VERY VERY terrible arithmetic mistakes, meaning I have to painstakingly sit there and look at each step in my work to figure out where I reversed the step or made the arithmetic calculation error--which, I should add, is not as easy as it sounds, because more often then not I'll make the same error again when checking even if its staring me blankly in the face. Trust me, having this disability can be a nightmare at times.
It seems to me, given this description, that whatever you scored with dyslexia, you would have scored higher without dyslexia, without the distractions and inconveniences it causes.

I'm not saying that because I think it's what you want to hear. It's common knowledge that people with dyslexia suffer from degraded academic performance because of it.

Oliver Sacks has a case history in his book, The Mind's Eye, about a man who wakes up one morning, goes out to get his newspaper, and is bewildered to see it has been printed in some bizarre and illegible foreign hieroglyphics. It turns out he had a small stroke during the night limited to the part of his brain that processes the written word.

People with dyslexia are partway toward being that guy, somewhere on a continuum between a normal reader and this man who completely lost the ability to make sense of writing. Before the stroke he was some sort of literary academic, but if you gave him a written IQ test now, he'd be ranked about as smart as a tree stump.
 
  • #48
Don't worry if you score average - you can always say you're at the top of the Bell curve.

newcomer1 said:
Any suggestions for improving or ways of enlightening the situation?

Whatever you do, don't watch Ancient Aliens - you may lose some points. I watched two episodes and I lost my speech ability for quite a while. Seriously though, as others have pointed out, don't take such tests too seriously.
 
  • #49
micromass said:
I scored a 98 on an IQ test. It doesn't really bother me.

reenmachine said:
I believe you , but it's hard to believe.Definitely counter-intuitive information.

Must be that modesty is a trait of a genius?
 
  • #50
dlgoff said:
Must be that modesty is a trait of a genius?
Modesty is a trait of a *true* genius.
 
  • #51
Evo said:
No, that's how *you* took it because I didn't post what you wanted hear. You asked if you should have been given more time on the IQ test, no. I've taken several IQ tests since age 11. They don't give you a time limit, but they do stop you at some point.

You said I responded to your question about timing on the IQ test since I am familiar with them.

How do they decide when to stop you? It seems you have an idea of how this decision is made since you commented on it. Could you elaborate, out of curiosity? I could answer most (all?) of the questions on an IQ test if I had no time constraint. Or at least I like to think so.
 
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  • #52
Physics_UG said:
How do they decide when to stop you? It seems you have an idea of how this decision is made since you commented on it. Could you elaborate, out of curiosity? I could answer most (all?) of the questions on an IQ test if I had no time constraint. Or at least I like to think so.
All I know is that they have a point where they stop. But they may stop judging before than., even if they want to keep observing you.
 
  • #53
If I though mm's alleged IQ score was indicative of anything, I'd just direct my questions on topology to members of the general public. I wonder how that would work out.

I honestly view IQ scores determining intelligence as I do 'jawline proportions' determining the better athlete. Yes, that's a thing.
 
  • #54
Evo said:
I hear that they are at least a couple of thousand. Mine were all paid for. I was a weird child, I was never allowed to have books or participate in class since I was 8 years old because I was too far ahead and they had no place for me. Long story, new teacher had me tested at 11, parents called in and they were told the public school system was not equipped to handle children on my level, they suggested a few boarding schools for the "Academically Able", children had to have a minimum IQ of 140 to even be considered. I refused to go. Got jumped repeatedly, finished school at 14, went to France for a year and enrolled in college when I was 16.

wow you had quite the childhood! thanks for sharing!

as far as the price of the IQ test , it is ridiculously expensive.I thought it was 100$ or so , like any meeting with a psychologist.
 
  • #55
reenmachine said:
wow you had quite the childhood! thanks for sharing!

as far as the price of the IQ test , it is ridiculously expensive.I thought it was 100$ or so , like any meeting with a psychologist.
Considering the test will take at least one full day 8-9 hours, and if it's extensive, 2 days, you can see how the cost is so high. It also depends if they are really doing comprehensive and multiple tests. Online I've seen prices quoted from $150 (probably not a real IQ test) to $1,500 - $2,000. Depends on where you are, what their rate is, how many tests, length of tests, etc... Considering that a psychologist will charge $100-$150 an hour for doing nothing but listen to you whine, they tack on more for actually testing and evaluation. Even after you finish the test, they will need to go over results and observations and write it up, at least that is my experience, you don't walk away with a score. Maybe the cheaper ones just hand you a score.
 
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  • #56
All that just so someone can have something to brag about. Doesn't seem worth it.
 
  • #57
Evo said:
Considering the test will take at least one full day 8-9 hours, and if it's extensive, 2 days, you can see how the cost is so high. It also depends if they are really doing comprehensive and multiple tests. Online I've seen prices quoted from $150 (probably not a real IQ test) to $1,500 - $2,000. Depends on where you are, what their rate is, how many tests, length of tests, etc... Considering that a psychologist will charge $100-$150 an hour for doing nothing but listen to you whine, they tack on more for actually testing and evaluation. Even after you finish the test, they will need to go over results and observations and write it up, at least that is my experience, you don't walk away with a score. Maybe the cheaper ones just hand you a score.

I understand why it's expensive in those circumstances.It's hard to believe some people with a average salary will pay that amount to take an IQ test unless he's a puzzle/IQ test junkie.
 
  • #58
Is human intelligence even a scalar quantity? :wink:
 
  • #59
leroyjenkens said:
All that just so someone can have something to brag about. Doesn't seem worth it.
Well, IMO, people should only be tested if there is a reason, as in school so they have a better understanding of the child. Now days parents seek out quacks that hand out high IQ scores so that they can insist that their child get into gifted classes. If the teacher hasn't noticed that your child has finished the entire years coursework in the first 3 weeks of school (yep, that was what I did that upset my third grade teacher so badly that she took my books away and I wasn't allowed to participate in class, she told me that she couldn't teach two classes and since the other kids couldn't keep up with me, I had to slow down), then your kid probably isn't as great as you want to believe. :-p I was just bored, I'd finish an assignment in our workbook, and instead of sitting and staring at the wall, I just kept moving forward with chapters and lessons (they were in our books), of course tests were handed out by the teacher.
 
  • #60
Evo said:
Considering the test will take at least one full day 8-9 hours, and if it's extensive, 2 days, you can see how the cost is so high. It also depends if they are really doing comprehensive and multiple tests. Online I've seen prices quoted from $150 (probably not a real IQ test) to $1,500 - $2,000. Depends on where you are, what their rate is, how many tests, length of tests, etc... Considering that a psychologist will charge $100-$150 an hour for doing nothing but listen to you whine, they tack on more for actually testing and evaluation. Even after you finish the test, they will need to go over results and observations and write it up, at least that is my experience, you don't walk away with a score. Maybe the cheaper ones just hand you a score.
Lol... the one I took was only an hour or so long...
 
  • #61
newcomer1 said:
Lol... the one I took was only an hour or so long...
Sounds like you got the mini test, it's considered valid.

If you really want to be tested, you'll want the full IQ test including Raven's advanced matrices, it looks like some of the matrices are included in the WAIS IV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAIS-R#WAIS-IV
 

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