[quote]pookie wrote:
Professor X wrote:
My dad had my IQ tested when I was a kid but would never tell me what I scored on it…and at this point, I truly don’t care. It means nothing to me because I have learned that those who often claim to own the largest amounts of brain matter…are often the least informed on issues that truly matter.
I think IQ tests measure how good you are at passing IQ tests. I think there is a lot more to being smart than just being able to do pattern recognition and sentence completion quickly.
[/quote]
I agree completely. However, there are apparently many people who put so much stock in a number than they believe they are more valuable than others because of it. Some of the most ignorant and closed minded people I’ve ever known have been those who claim their intelligence is so far above the average.
I also know for a fact that there are people skilled in different areas (read as ‘gifted’)that may not be best scored in an academic setting. They do well at life in general but would test poorly.
Some of the people on this thread seem as if they would write those individuals off simply because they aren’t reading the same novels or because they don’t care what they think of philosophy.
A truly intelligent man (with life experience) would know how this thread would go before ever hitting submit.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
KombatAthlete wrote:
Can anybody else share any insight they might have about this, either from their own experience or someone you knew?
Most people are really stupid. Ponder this: 50% of people have an IQ of 100 or less. An IQ differential of only 10 points can make it almost impossible for two people to communicate.
Based on the logical reasoning present in your posts, I would say you’re easily in the top 2%. This means you will find it almost impossible to communicate beyond the most basic level with almost 90% of all people. Frustrating, 'eh?[/quote]
I realy doubt the validity of your statement.
Here’s why- It points to a lack of ability to communicate, not different levels of intelligence.
I’ve been to a few Mensa conventions, and I can tell you this- I have never been surrounded by more people who have shitty communication skills than at one of those conventions. It appears to me that there is not a bigger bunch of social rejects than one of those gatherings.
I have also judged scholarship essays written by high school members (and one colege educated adult). If anything, they had worse communication skills than an average high school kid.
My advice would be that kids or adults of above average intelligence should focus a bit more on comminication skills, and focus a bit less on how smart they are.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
In college, most of my friends were professors. It was hard hanging out with other people. They do really stupid shit - like watch sit-coms. Seriously, why do people think what is on TV is funny? Why is “small talk” interesting?[/quote]
You mean, you had social problems and few friends your age.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
One thing that was always hard was dating: It’s hard shopping with a girl when all I wanted to do was read a book. Most movies are trash, and conversation over dinner is a bore.[/quote]
You mean, you had trouble talking to girls.
Look, just because you don’t enjoy sitcoms, movies, girls, etc., as much as you like reading/discussing books doesn’t mean you have above average intelligence. ALL IT MEANS is you prefer reading/discussing books to sitcoms, movies, and girls.
I know, I know, it’s not very glamorous, but it’s realistic. I would think one sign of intelligence is being able to see the blatantly obvious.
Has anyone else noticed a certain Stewie-esque quality about this thread. (For those of you operating on a higher plane of consciousness, that’s a Family Guy reference.) I have this image of KombatAthlete (CalifornaLaw, feel free to include yourself here, as well) building a death ray out of Lincoln Logs and, in his best Rex Harrison impersonation, yelling, “Forecast for tomorrow; A few sprinkles of genius with a chance of doom!”
I think a few of you need to reexamine your own communication skills; and for God’s sake, at least spell check your damn posts if you’re going to claim intellectual superiority–it’s embarrassing.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
pookie wrote:
Professor X wrote:
My dad had my IQ tested when I was a kid but would never tell me what I scored on it…and at this point, I truly don’t care. It means nothing to me because I have learned that those who often claim to own the largest amounts of brain matter…are often the least informed on issues that truly matter.
I think IQ tests measure how good you are at passing IQ tests. I think there is a lot more to being smart than just being able to do pattern recognition and sentence completion quickly.
I agree completely. However, there are apparently many people who put so much stock in a number than they believe they are more valuable than others because of it. Some of the most ignorant and closed minded people I’ve ever known have been those who claim their intelligence is so far above the average.
I also know for a fact that there are people skilled in different areas (read as ‘gifted’)that may not be best scored in an academic setting. They do well at life in general but would test poorly.
Some of the people on this thread seem as if they would write those individuals off simply because they aren’t reading the same novels or because they don’t care what they think of philosophy.
A truly intelligent man (with life experience) would know how this thread would go before ever hitting submit.[/quote]
Exactly. There are different kinds of intelligence - one theory says there are seven.
I took an IQ test a few years ago for no other reason than to see what one was like now that I was an adult. It is essentially a trivia quiz. It wasn’t awful - I realize any test will be limited - but hardly indicative of anything, in my view, other than someone’s knowledge of trivia.
Kombat, you’ve proven that you’re still just a dumb high school kid. AND THAT’S FINE. You’re still in High School; you’re entitled to be a doofus. Everybody is an idiot as a high schooler.
You’ve gotten very similar responses from many different posters on this thread, and they all point to the same theme – you’re just not as smart as you think you are.
But before you discount our opinions because we ‘just don’t understand,’ allow me to share a quote from an old professor of mine:
“I was 21 once too, I understand your perspective. You haven’t ever been 52, you can’t understand mine.”
Kombat, we’ve all been in your shoes. We were probably all high schoolers at one point, and I would wager that nearly every one of us thought we were hot shit then too. I know I did.
Hopefully you will grow, mature, and experience new things in the next few years. You will realize then that you’re not on some different, higher intellectual plane; you’re just full of yourself. Then perhaps you will look back on this thread and realize just how stupid you’ve sounded.
Don’t misinterpret this post as a flame either, because it’s not. You’re perfectly normal thinking that you’re awesome in High School. It’s not normal if you still think that at 26.
I never said I have trouble communicating. I can get along with anyone quite fine and am adept at mainpualting people’s opinions of me if I want to.[/quote]
I seriously doubt you are as good at it as you advertise.
You ever consider that they say the same thing about you, but come to a different conclusion other than you are too brilliant for them to talk to?
[quote]nephorm wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Most people are really stupid. Ponder this: 50% of people have an IQ of 100 or less.
I’m with you so far…
An IQ differential of only 10 points can make it almost impossible for two people to communicate.
Whaaaaa? 10 points is less than a standard deviation. Impossible for two people to communicate what, exactly?
Yeah, I’m opening myself up by disagreeing with you, but oh well ;-).
I can’t think of a situation in which a difference of 10 points would make it impossible to communicate, unless you’re right at the “profoundly retarded” line… in which case they aren’t really communicating well within that 10 point range, anyway.
Based on the logical reasoning present in your posts, I would say you’re easily in the top 2%. This means you will find it almost impossible to communicate beyond the most basic level with almost 90% of all people. Frustrating, 'eh?
Come on, Creskin… can you really ascertain IQ through internet posts? Really? Just busting your balls… but still…
For the record, that would be a score of 132 SB.
Two standard deviations above the mean. That’s also the qualifying score for mensa. Not that I’m trying, of course, to imply that KombatAthlete doesn’t have a score in the top 2%… just that it’s not the easiest thing to guess over the internet.[/quote]
“kreskin” spells his name with a “k”. unless of course this was a play on the spelling of “kombat”. if that is the case then brilliant and never mind.
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
In college, most of my friends were professors. It was hard hanging out with other people. They do really stupid shit - like watch sit-coms. Seriously, why do people think what is on TV is funny? Why is “small talk” interesting?
You mean, you had social problems and few friends your age.
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
One thing that was always hard was dating: It’s hard shopping with a girl when all I wanted to do was read a book. Most movies are trash, and conversation over dinner is a bore.
You mean, you had trouble talking to girls.
Look, just because you don’t enjoy sitcoms, movies, girls, etc., as much as you like reading/discussing books doesn’t mean you have above average intelligence. ALL IT MEANS is you prefer reading/discussing books to sitcoms, movies, and girls.
I know, I know, it’s not very glamorous, but it’s realistic. I would think one sign of intelligence is being able to see the blatantly obvious.[/quote]
true. But he never said he didnt like Girls. Isnt that blatantly obvious?
I talked to older people all the time during high school and I never had social problems. I thought most of what the kids did was idiotic though, but I also had my times of total idiocy.
[quote]julia87 wrote:
true. But he never said he didnt like Girls. Isnt that blatantly obvious?
I talked to older people all the time during high school and I never had social problems. I thought most of what the kids did was idiotic though, but I also had my times of total idiocy.[/quote]
While what you wrote is true, it should be noted that I was merely lobbing out some alternative viewpoints that don’t involve him being Will Hunting’s wet dream (which is why I won’t argue and point out the difference between him saying “most of his friends were professors” as opposed to your “I talked to older people”). I’ll be sure to double up on the sarcasm next time.
It was all building up to the last two paragraphs, where I attempted to make a point. I don’t yet know if it’s sharp enough to drill through the skull of the OP (mighty thick terrain, apparently), but there’s only so much I can do- around him I can’t help but feel as though I’m bringing dental floss to a gunfight.
[quote]conner wrote:
Look, just because you don’t enjoy sitcoms, movies, girls, etc., as much as you like reading/discussing books doesn’t mean you have above average intelligence. ALL IT MEANS is you prefer reading/discussing books to sitcoms, movies, and girls.
I know, I know, it’s not very glamorous, but it’s realistic. I would think one sign of intelligence is being able to see the blatantly obvious.[/quote]
Here’s something strange. I have noticed that some people who claim some type of intellectual superiority like to disregard animated t.v. shows because they are mundane.
I think that shows like Family Guy, the Simpsons and a few others are freakin brilliant. It must take an enormous amount of creativity to concoct an entire little world, a complete cast of characters, and all of their interactions.
I know they aren’t some revolutionary or earth shattering discovery like nucyaler power, but damn, not everything is.
[quote]KombatAthlete wrote:
I guess its possible to judge people through Internet forums now.[/quote]
You pretty much open yourself to judgement once you start communicating with other humans. We are Not a different species from you, really.
So--
what a wierdo. I cant believe you said any of that.
“tell me ‘you are too smart for you’re own good’, etc. on an almost daily basis.” ???
Why would you even tell anybody that? Thats totally conceited. Im not even going to go over the rest.
You have an inflated view of yourself.
Just because your good in academics doesnt make you smarter than everyone else, you are as ignorant as the “high school dumbasses” you talk about. Did you ever even think that maybe those “dumbasses” were smarter than they let on to other people? If you saw me in high school, I was high from overdosing on Welbutrin EveryDay. And Im intelligent, or so I think I am, at least to a level thats good by my own standards.
[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Here’s something strange. I have noticed that some people who claim some type of intellectual superiority like to disregard animated t.v. shows because they are mundane.
I think that shows like Family Guy, the Simpsons and a few others are freakin brilliant. It must take an enormous amount of creativity to concoct an entire little world, a complete cast of characters, and all of their interactions.
I know they aren’t some revolutionary or earth shattering discovery like nucyaler power, but damn, not everything is.
[/quote]
I agree completely. Though they’re not reinventing the wheel by any stretch, discounting some TV shows simply because they’re on TV (or animated/childish) is just insane. I mean, if everyone could do it, who wouldn’t want to write successful cartoons for a living?
The Simpsons, Family Guy, and though not animated the TV show Scrubs is pretty damn creative, and Seinfeld, despite being a show about “nothing”, was pretty damn well written in that a series of three or four seemingly unrelated events can come together for a hilarious conclusion.
Intelligence, in my opinion, is more than adding numbers or remembering facts.
Don’t forget: “You are only young once but you can be immature forever.”
I agree that most intelligence tests are just trivia recall tests. I am always amused when I watch Jeopardy, and there are many questions that I have no idea of the answer that everyone else seems to know, and then there are some questions which none of the assumably “highly intelligent” persons on the show can answer which I know the answer to.
Assuming there are 10 billion trivia facts that one could know and an intelligent person can only recall less than 1 million trivia facts at any time in their life, then one could consider us all idiots with only <0.1% of the avaialble knowledge of mankind. And adding in the fact that the scope of mankinds knowledge doubles every decade, there is a lot we all don’t “know”.
Does the fact that one person can answer every trivia question about the entertainment industry, and I can answer every trivial question about the mathematical sciences and someone else can answer every trivia question about law and legal precedents make any one of us more or less intelligent than the other? It probably makes us better at one profession than another, but does not necessarily make us a “better” person.
It also may tend to make us better at accumulating wealth in this society but that is a totally different discussion (are the people with the most money the smartest, best, most qualified to lead or make decisions for society?).
[quote]conner wrote:
SkyzykS wrote:
Here’s something strange. I have noticed that some people who claim some type of intellectual superiority like to disregard animated t.v. shows because they are mundane.
I think that shows like Family Guy, the Simpsons and a few others are freakin brilliant. It must take an enormous amount of creativity to concoct an entire little world, a complete cast of characters, and all of their interactions.
I know they aren’t some revolutionary or earth shattering discovery like nucyaler power, but damn, not everything is.
I agree completely. Though they’re not reinventing the wheel by any stretch, discounting some TV shows simply because they’re on TV (or animated/childish) is just insane. I mean, if everyone could do it, who wouldn’t want to write successful cartoons for a living?
The Simpsons, Family Guy, and though not animated the TV show Scrubs is pretty damn creative, and Seinfeld, despite being a show about “nothing”, was pretty damn well written in that a series of three or four seemingly unrelated events can come together for a hilarious conclusion.
Intelligence, in my opinion, is more than adding numbers or remembering facts.[/quote]
What would you say if I said I discount TV period. NOT just animateed shows. Would you guys say FAmily guy and Simposns are even halfway as good as Hekel And JEkel or Underdog or Even The Herculoids ? If yes then something is wrong with YOU. Very wrong.
Wow. OP is a douchebag - why are you posting this? I could see doing it as a blatant attempt to rile people up, but you appear to be trying to curry favor as well. Erm? You do not make friends by bragging about your internet accomplishments.
PS: In general, those who talk about IQs are insecure. It’s like your height- if you knew you were tall, you wouldn’t bother to measure. Apply that same concept.
I’d like to think that I’m a pretty smart guy, but only because it seems foolish to believe I’m stupid. However, whether or not this intelligence confers any advantage is debatable - paralysis by over-analysis etc.
I realize that by writing this reply, I’m attempting to show off my own internet smarts. Oops. I suppose those who need the least validation want it the most.
Consider that if you were actually intelligent, you wouldn’t be socially isolated, would you? Number of genes in the gene pool is the only measure of reproductive success - you are not well adapted if everyone hates you. Unless, of course, you clone yourself.
[quote]pookie wrote:
I think IQ tests measure how good you are at passing IQ tests. I think there is a lot more to being smart than just being able to do pattern recognition and sentence completion quickly.
[/quote]
EVERYONE says this. It’s the same thing as saying, “I have great relative strength.”
Some people are biger and stronger than others; some are smarter. I’m not sure why people have such a hard time accepting this.
