One Mans Blog
Specialization is for Insects.
Posted on Nov 08, 2007 - 1:10am by John P. in Philosophy, Thoughts
The other day I sat down to watch The Princess Bride for about the 10,000th time. Man that is a great movie! Anyway, when I was watching the part where Vizzini, the Sicilian, was answering the question as to how smart he is, he said:
“Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons.”
So, I decided to mosey on over to the Interwebs and find a list of people with the highest IQ ever measured, and lo and behold I couldn’t find one! So for the sake of future searchers, I compiled the following information. Enjoy.
In order to establish a baseline knowledge, IQ (intelligence quotient) is a score derived from attempting to measure the actual mental horsepower of any given individual. Personally I place little value in IQ tests, but I do acknowledge that they are an indicator of some common potential success factors, so we’ll leave it at that.
The “average” IQ is by definition 100, so if you score below that you are dumber than average, and above it means smarter than average.
|
 The distribution of IQ scores is as follows:
|
In 1926, psychologist Dr. Catherine Morris Cox - who had been assisted by Dr. Lewis M. Terman, Dr. Florence L. Goodenaugh, and Dr. Kate Gordon - published a study “of the most eminent men and women” who had lived between 1450 and 1850 to estimate what their IQs might have been. Data from that study as well as other sources around the net were compiled to form the following list. Please drop me a comment if you have additions or corrections (make sure and cite sources).
Also, see Wikipedia’s list of Universal Genius (Polymaths).
Now that you’ve read all about these really smart people, surely you want to know how you compare? Well, set aside a full 40 minutes and go through this test to determine where you are on the evolutionary chain.
Select the image below and the clock starts when the test loads, so be prepared in order to get the full 40 minutes. Trust me, you’re gonna need it! Oh, and if you answer “A” on every question, you get a 72! (a=72, b=65, c=65, d=65, e=72, f=72, g= 65, and h=65 - Only The Man would help you cheat on an IQ test!)
EDIT: I received the following e-mail from Mike, a former school psychologist of 30 years, regarding the validity of this IQ Test:
…one of the better and possibly fairly accurate IQ tests (11/8/07) seen on the net. Two caveats:
1. This test evaluates visual spatial reasoning skills, and not verbal which some may say would be a bias toward guys.
2. This test does not assess processing speed and ability to make quick/accurate and perhaps more c creative choices.For different view of intelligence away from IQ try: Theory of Multiple Intelligences
If it turns out you are a Genius, join a club! Here’s how to hook up with your intellectual peers:
By the way, why is it that most of the high IQ society Web sites suck so bad? And if I may inquire additionally, why is it that none of them have sections on their sites where they are actually teaching people by translating highly complex issues into understandable language?
Now, for the rest of us (I score just above a moderately intelligent canine, but just below a porpoise), you can just join the One Man’s Blog Society for the Incredibly Average. Believe me, we have a lot more fun around here.
I use the "No Adverts for Friends" plugin by Donncha O Caoimh
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 [5] Show All
Hello there,
Sorry about my lame English,
I wish I could describe my feelings in English as I can in my mother language
but shortly I think this is so shoddy and assuming(?) to think that it is possible to write a test which is test intelligent. Intelligent is such a complex thing. I mean, come on, there are genius people who barely can communicate. There are so many kinds of intelligent.
Honestly, it is simply pathetic. Furthermore, the idea behind IQ tests is “a test that doesn’t depends on education”. well, like, hello? Didn’t they ever heard of human intelligent, the ability to get better by practicing? obviously if someone has done 3523489 exercises before the test, he would get a better result than a poor guy never heard of those test, even if he hundred times more intelligent.
Intelligent is after all is the ability to learn a whole new subject you never heard of, but can they really do that test, customize to any one?
Well i thought that at the end of the day we should be caring more about the ones that we love and put others before ourselves RATHER than try to FIX the world. Remember Presidents, CEO’s, Wars and Weapons and forms of genicide all exist because of scientific disoveries! BUT on the opposite side, forms of natural medicine and observation of what works at a present time, rather than creation of a “better” means of functioning could be considered more beneficial than “intelligent thinking” or “scientific discoveries”!
I guess what we all need to realise is that the I.Q. test is a 21st century “measure of intelligence”.
It has only been around for about 100 years and does not give anyone who has a “superior mind” the right to judge other people!
It is a test created to measure a human beings problem solving skills. But the problems are created for the test which means when it all boils down to it there are no problems, only the ones we choose to create!
Choice and free will is what makes us human and we can make the wrong choice sometimes.
No human being is prefect and therefore no human being can use “logic and reason” to make a perfect choice!
There has to be an ultimate mediator, somebody who is all knowing, all powerfull, all loving and all that is good and perfect.
Or else we will all eventually die and it will not matter what choice you make because according to the theory of evolution and natural selection and the big band as the origin of the universe…we are all animals and there is no such thing as right or wrong. We have just made the whole thing up….
So is murder right or wrong?
Is rape right or wrong?
Are women and children innocent?
Is stealing right or wrong?
GUESS WHAT? According to the human theories about the origin of the universe we have made the whole thing up!
There is no such thing as right or wrong, we are just animals who will die and cease to exist…
And we wonder why the word is tearing itself apart…
ah and btw i got 130 which is quite ok, so dont thing im saying it because i got 90 or something (;
Itay– I completely agree with you. Intelligence is such a complex thing that will never be able to be measured with a number, and it is also something that is largely determined by experience (nurture as supposed to nature). It is fun being able to say you’re smart and IQ tests have been (with other tools) used to diagnose learning disabilities, making it a relatively valuable tool, but it is, in my opinion, a bit extreme to believe that such a test would accurately measure intelligence. Also, I got a 130 too, and even if you did get a 90 it would be hard for me to believe that your intellegence is that low because obviously you have enough reasoning ability to realize that intelligence is as complex as it is.
I was utterly bewildered when I read on another site, that, da Vinci’s estimated Intelligence Quotient was 220. That is extremely high - seeing 147 is genius level. Mine is 160 (14 years old) - which - is relatively high- but an absolute molehill compared to the 220 da Vinci’s mountain.
william james sidis
Yes, Willam James Sidis estimated IQ was 250-300.. Fascinated by his life.
ah….
I got an i.q of 144….
You have an IQ of a genius and you can’t form that sentence correctly? um… haha.
intelligence is measured in success thats what my paps used to say
i am 13 and i have iq 135
When you get older, they average it out with your age. So it should stay the same so long as you mature and grow at the average rate.
So, if your IQ was 100+ at 6, that means you were not as developed as other 6 year olds.
If your IQ is 135 when you are 13, then depending on how you stand compared to your fellow 13 year olds, your IQ will remain 135 so long as you develop at the average rate, and you are already at the average rate.
So, if you are behind and you have a 135 IQ, then when you age and catch up it will be higher. If you are ahead of the average 13 year old developmental status, then it will lower when everyone catches up.
I am 13, and my IQ is 139. But I know that I am behind the average 13 year old, which means when I catch up, I will have higher.
I hope this clears some questions up
I think your IQ test is faulty, mine came out at 100.
I have been government tested with an IQ of 137
I had an IQ above 100 when I was 6 years old.
yeah…just looked at this test again…think it is a bid odd…I think there are two hard questions which I wasn’t sure about…the rest are not too difficult at all…
stick with the government tested one!
Also, it tests one aspect of iq tests…no maths, verbal reasoning etc.
As a U.S. Maine Private First Class with a “poor” high school education I was government tested for IQ. I was told that I had an IQ of 92, which didn’t suprise me. What did suprised me was my company commander with a 150 IQ was totally incompetent and couldn’t function doing daily administrative duties. I was the lowest ranking Marine and was assigned the job of making the office run smoothly and make him and the 1st Sergeant look good. Many high IQ Lieutenants in Vietnam were killed and got their men shot to pieces while thinking about what to do. High IQ has its place.
ive been put through the battery of IQ tests and landed a 127 (a few weeks ago actually) but the test only gave me 119
this test isn’t any good (not that im saying oh i got a bad score or anything) but iq test naturally vary by 20 point anyways people… anyways if you get a hundred then a 130 then a hundred the rest of your life don’t go thinking its 130 all the time… besides iq doesn’t measure how intelligent you are it barely measures how much you can figure out at a time about something you see, this is where alot of high iq p[people fail to be actually smart
Ok people, clearly some of you don’t know much about the meaning of an IQ-test. Allthough this test was fairly ok, it isn’t a complete test. Don’t worry if you get lower score on this one and a higher score on another one. Only that should tell you guys something about the accuracy in those tests (online-tests). Ones IQ can’t vary that much from test to test. Get your self government testet or just buy a mensa t-shirt and call it the day.
Anyways, Though an IQ test measures only a few of a human’s mental abilities, these few abilities are targeted for measurement, because they are well known to positively correlate highly to many other human abilities. How high you score in one of these measured abilities, will strongly indicate how high you would be expected to score on the unmeasured abilities. In other words, all our mental abilities can never be measured by these tests. And by the way, those who claim that they got a specific number over 140 on this test is lying and/or changed the sd-16 to sd-24. The standard deviation of this test is 16. If you get well over 140 you will get a result that says “over and end 140″. When you change to sd-24 you will get over 160. See what I’m getting at? Different tests have different standard deviation. The Standford-Binet IQ test has a standard deviation of 16 while the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale has a standard deviation of 15. But the scale also changes, so that “over 160″ is equivalent to “over and end 140″ with a standard deviation of 16 where 100 being the norm and so on.
Cheers (All the way from Sweden)
i just checked mine and am in gifted band
dr suleman pandor age 28
i gotta 110 haha im still surprised about it…=)
I think the test should include time taken..I got 122 but had 15 minutes remaining…my true IQ from a lot of other tests is usually 135-145…usually around mensa level…but the test is okay.
Above end 140, with 20 minutes spare (SD=16). Above 160 (SD=24).
I love “IQ Tests”; they are good mental exercise. I hold no faith in the results but the journey is always interesting and usually fun.
This was the most visually-orientated test I have come across.
got exactly the same, and never had good grades at school or college…
this test seems very wrong to me.
suleman pandor got a a genius from batley
I got 124~~~~~~ and i am only 13!!! i think i can improve it xD
Although I took this test in 10 minutes I still got an IQ of 140.
A lot of you have admitted taking IQ tests previously & have admittedly improved after taking subsequent tests & it’s only natural to assume that this would happen by learning the trends or just by plainly memorizing previous answers & from this I’d gather I.Q. is like anything one practices. While certainly admitting some will do better with more practice it’s probably marginal in the whole scheme of things. We walk, talk & communicate, have sex, go to work, sure some of us do better at chess, but none of us, even the “geniuses” of us have been bright enough to ascertain the keys to unlocking the mysteries of the Universe & immortality. It’s just another tool of hierarchy. I’m better than you, I’m smarter than you & has its perks for getting laid or bragging rights but is no more than just that. Because if any of you, those even that have scored brilliantly–I emphasize any of you cannot compose a symphony, write a brilliant novel, do things mathematically or logically that are profound, change the world for the better, you’re mediocre & taking an IQ test just to build your ego a little shows how self-indulgent & petty most of you are. And if any of you were really that bright you’d realize genius is in accomplishment & life & love & cherishing everyone moment.
A lot of you have admitted taking IQ tests previously & have admittedly improved after taking subsequent tests & it’s only natural to assume that this would happen by learning the trends or just by plainly memorizing previous answers & from this I’d gather I.Q. is like anything one practices. While certainly admitting some will do better with more practice it’s probably marginal in the whole scheme of things. We walk, talk & communicate, have sex, go to work, sure some of us do better at chess, but none of us, even the “geniuses” of us have been bright enough to ascertain the keys to unlocking the mysteries of the Universe & immortality. It’s just another tool of hierarchy. I’m better than you, I’m smarter than you & has its perks for getting laid or bragging rights but is no more than just that. Because if any of you, those even that have scored brilliantly–I emphasize any of you cannot compose a symphony, write a brilliant novel, do things mathematically or logically that are profound, change the world for the better, you’re mediocre & taking an IQ test just to build your ego a little shows how self-indulgent & petty most of you are. And if any of you were really that bright you’d realize genius is in accomplishment & life & love & cherishing every moment.