Intelligence - yours and the people you meet

In My Humble Opinion
1

This thread was inspired by this one. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=138311

Where do you rate yourself in terms of intelligence with respect to the general population? And, if you could make such assumptions, what is the level of intelligence of the people you regularly encounter as you go through your life? In what portions of your life do you enconter folk of different intelligewnce that you or your normal cohorts?

Feel free to use measures of intelligence other than IQ if you feel inherent cultural biases make it an improper measure.

This is the kind of thing I am getting at:

I consider myself pretty bright. Based on test scores while in school, my level of education, and my enormous ego ;), I am comfortable placing myself in the top 10% of the population on most measures of intelligent. I am a lawyer - and work in a law office. I suspect that college and postgraduate education has some correlation (certainly not ironclad) with relative intelligence.

So, the fact that I live in a community with a great percentage of college grads, and take the train into the city to work in a professional office, means that I spend most of my time with - say - individuals in the top third or so in terms of intelligence.

Of course, one obvious flaw is the measure of artisans and creative people. I freely acknowledge that the folk I interact with are not overly high on any creativity scale. And I suspect skilled tradesmen generally exhibit above-average intelligence.

But I find myself curious at what a person of “average intelligence” or below is like. An IQ over 130 may suggest genius, and under 70 retardation. Where are the majority of the population who hover around 100 on the bell curve? When I encounter someone who strikes me as not too bright - I wonder what their intelligence is?

Are you aware of any attempts to estimate the relative intelligence levels of folk who participate in various activities? Say (totally made up) 95% of doctors are in the top 5% of IQ, while 50% of HS dropouts are in the bottom 50%?
Correlation to churchgoing/superstition - or different faiths/beliefs?
Convicted prisoners - or for different types of crimes?
Correlation with income level? Profession?
People who shop at K-mart as opposed to Marshall Fields?
Higher IQ of folk who participate on SD than other MBs?

Thanks. *Tho I fear my posting of this topic may be construed as evidence contrary to my professed level of intelligence! *:wink:

2

As far as test scores go, I’m in the top <1% of the population. Yes, consistently. However, my actual performance does not betray that fact; I’m a complete ditz, lack a certain amount of drive, and refuse to do anything that will drive me batshit bored nutso insane. Additionally, I tend to purposefully act in such a manner that most people assume I’m a ditz, or, at the very least, a person of only marginally above average intelligence.

This, as you might guess, creates some problems. For instance, at my SO’s house this weekend, he was called away by a rather important IM. Seeing as I wouldn’t let him NOT talk to this person, I said that I would go into another room, and could I take one of his books with me to pass the time?

He said “sure.” So I grab Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time.” He gives me a look and says “now you’re putting me on.”

Um, nope. It was just the only thing in your room that I would be interested in, yet would be able to put down once you finished the conversation (I have a tendency to get absorbed in fiction). Besides, I tried to read it in 9th grade and only got through like the first chapter.

He just gave me one of those “I have yet to figure you out” looks.

The people I hang out with pretty much always fall into the top 25% of the population. Only one person, though–my best friend back home–is demonstrably and inarguably smarter than I am. However, the people I hang out with also tend to be underachievers, at least to a certain extent. Even I am–I could be getting straight As. I just decided it wasn’t worth the headaches right now. Hey, I’d rather be SANE when I graduated college.

Generally, though, this means that I regularly have to deal with “people of a lower intelligence” than my normal group of friends. ::shrugs:: It doesn’t really bother me. Lots of those people know more about life than I ever will, and the rest of them are at the very least human. I do get annoyed and frustrated sometimes–I’m not a very patient person, and I hate to have to explain things.

Thing is, though…a person’s intelligence (or IQ if you will, and no, I’m not going to post mine here, I have no need for the intellectual version of dick sizing, TYVM) doesn’t necessarily affect the way that they act. Just so you know.

3

I have no idea what my IQ is…in shcool I always tested through the roof and the administration told my parents not to tell me what my scores or IQ was for fear that I would “sandbag” the rest of my academic career. (I did anyway.)

I would place myself in the top 10% but I really don’t know. I do find myself being exasperated with most people because they usually don’t “get” me, or keep up with what I’m saying. As a result, I have a very small and select group of people I hang out with on a regular basis. Most of them I would say are not as intelligent as me but do “get” me and don’t frustrate me. As a matter of fact, very often I feel quite isolated in social situations because there is such a disconnect between me and other people. I don’t have a lot of friends because of that.

This is going to sound horrible, but I generally don’t attempt to gauge the intelligence of others because I automatically assume I’m smarter until someone sparks my interest. I started a new job a few months ago, and there’s a woman here who is very quiet, eats lunch alone, generally doesn’t socialize and the other people here have sort of pegged her as the office “bitch” who thinks she is above everyone. I approached her with the intent to draw her out a bit and 5 minutes after we started talking, we were having this really great, animated conversation and later I realized that she “gets” me and she probably feels the same way I do about most people…I’d rather be alone than deal with everyone else. It’s been great to have someone in the office here that I feel is on my level that I don’t have to explain things to, etc.

I often wonder if other “smart” people feel the same sense of isolation that I do. I know my brother (who is smarter than I am) feels this way, but he has a circle of guy friends that he talks sports with and does other guy things that are easy to join regardless of how smart you are. I have no interest in most of the standard girly things like shopping and watching movies, etc. that many of my female friends want to do.

4

Does anyone out there know they are of “average” intelligence?
Any social workers or such have experience with folk of below average intelligence?
For example, what types of things would a person with an IQ of 70 have difficulty understanding?

5

I don’t generally think of people that way. It’s only when they deviate severely from the norm (either way) that I tag a label on them. For the most part, I’ve found it more useful to evaluate people more by general personality type than by some other arbitrary label.

I guess I stopped labelling people as “smarter” or “dumber” than me when I graduated from college and got a real job–I noticed that education had little to do with relative intelligence. At that point, I sat down and started thinking about intelligence really meant to me, decided it was a pretty meaningless concept in day-to-day life and threw it out.

6

My intelligence is a 16, which is pretty good for a Fighter-class character. How do I know? It says so right on my character sheet!

:smiley:

7

I was told that I scored high on IQ tests way back when, but was never told how high that was. I was in the Gifted program in school (real big treat, let me tell you). I never took the SATs but I took all them other tests and did pretty good on them. I also took the GRE and did pretty good on it, though I don’t remember what it was. I have two bachelor’s degrees, one in English and on ein Math Education. I’ve been told I am smart all my life by all kinds of people.

However, I’m currently sitting in a stupid, dead-end job that any high school graduate with four neurons could do. I have no ambition, can’t stand working, don’t have any knowledge that anyone would find useful, and seldom look more than a week into the future. For someone who’s so goddamn smart, I have a hard time seeing it.

You want to prove you’re smart to me, put away the test scores and just be smart. One of my roommates could probably blow the lid off any test you gave him, but I was amazed he didn’t constantly fall down from sheer stupidity.

8

130 isn’t a genius IQ, no way, no how. When you start testing above 180, you’re getting into the serious genius level but I think a genius is a person who transforms a domain of human endeavour. Like Da Vinci.

9

Dinsdale wanted to know where the people of lower intelligence are. I can answer that. They live in here, in the small hick town I’m currently residing in. :slight_smile: I can relate to what Sunshine has said, such as feeling isolated. I get quite aggravated at times with some of the people I’ve had to deal with over the years. On the flip side, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people I’ve known who display intelligence. And overall, although they are fewer and farther between, there are plenty of smart people around here too.

As for me, in school I always scored above average for intelligence. (I haven’t been tested as an adult, unless you include those internet IQ tests!) I think I am an intelligent person.

It’s funny because I’ve changed my views on what makes a person smart. I’ve had some pretty stupid people say some really poignant things to me, and I’ve seen smart people make really foolish choices.

A person can have brains but nevertheless live a meaningless and miserable life (through bad choices.) Now that’s stupid. I guess in gauging people’s intelligence (excluding the really dumb ones) I look more to whether or not they are living the best way they can. (Are they in a marriage that has never been happy and they have no plans on changing that? Do they have a dead end, low-paying job and don’t plan on getting more education so they have some job security and decent pay? Do they complain about things they can change without taking any action?)

At any rate, intelligence has always been the single most important thing to me when making new friends or meeting potential boyfriends. I can’t respect someone who isn’t at least as intelligent as me, and I really love it when the person is actually a lot smarter than I am. And of course, they have to be using their potential (see above paragraph).

10

I don’t know quite where I fit in. I’d be pretty comfortable saying at least the top 25%, no problem. In highschool, I’d usually be in the 98th percentile on most standardized tests. I don’t know that they hint of true intelligence or not though. We didn’t have TV when I was a child, so I thin I read a lot more than my classmates. I’m still seeing the effects of that in that I tend to have a broader base of knowledge on many subjects that many of my peers in graduate school don’t. I also notice that I’m able to make mental leaps and draw relationships between various subjects more than many of my classmates and even my advisor. I still know I’m not THAT smart though, because spending time around my whip-sharp older brother is still quite humbling.

I, too, don’t have a lot of friends, often because I get frustrated with people. I’ve made few friends since I’ve moved here because I don’t really have the patience for making small-talk with people and appearing at social functions to schmooze. I don’t know if it’s a product of intelligence or not though.

All-in-all, intelligence is such an intangible and multifaceted thing, it’s hard to say where anyone fits.

11

This is a pretty interesting thread. I know my IQ is considered fairly high, but I doubt it means all that much. I consider myself to be bright, and I know I excel in certain areas - language and the arts - and do well pretty easily in mathematics, although I truly hate mathematics. I have an excellent memory, which means I am very good at trivia games and stupid song lyrics, but the memory thing seems to serve little other purpose.

But on-topic, I have a very good friend who is quick-witted and kind, but not terribly smart bookwise. There are a lot of things I was shocked to find she didn’t know. I find myself wondering where her educators failed, because this woman went to college without a grasp on anything beyond reading and math. The only thing that bothers me about this is that her lack of knowledge on many subjects bothers her not at all. I absolutely do not get that. Once she learns a fact, she can remember it, but will not seek out any further knowledge on whatever subject.

12

50% are also in the top 50%, which means that HS dropouts are representative of the general population.

:stuck_out_tongue: [sup]I’m in the lower 13%, but creative as hell[/sup]

13

I’ve never had my IQ tested. Based on my high school results, I’m in the 99th percentile of university applicants. I went to law school (I’m graduating in two months – weee!) straight out of high school.

I consider myself “gifted” in most areas of intelligence. My memory and observation skills are better than most people. I’m good at trivia games. Most pleasingly to me, I grasp new concepts a lot faster than most people, even in my peer group at law school.

I’m quite empathetic to other people’s feelings, which I consider to be another area of intelligence. I’m also pretty creative.

On the other hand, I’m quite stupid in other important areas. My mental arithmatic skills are terrible (I struggle just to add sums in my head!). I can force myself to rote-learn formulae, but they slip out of my mind in a few hours. I’m terrible at statistics.

I also struggle in interpreting literary texts on my own initiative. Complex devices have to be explained to me. I’m pretty “average” in these areas.

14

The people I know and/or meet are generally all smarter than me, which affords me some relief by unburdening me from witticism and scintillation.

I have therefore cultivated my looks, and am welcome at many gatherings; as most people, smart and otherwise, like a good listener who also looks good.

When my looks finally go, I’ll learn something useful like piecework sewing.

15

OK, I’m witnessing and I admit it. Even if this means this thread gets thrown into GD, I’m going to go ahead and do it.

Sunshine, Plain Jane, Angel of the Lord, get thee to Mensa, now! Here’s the website for Mensa in Denver. For the rest of you, here’s for Mensa as a whole. We need more neat, interesting people! It’s also the one place where I can be certain my intelligence will make me more, rather than less, welcome. The requirements are simply that one time in your life you must have scored in the top 2% of one of any number of tests which roughly measure intelligence. Not only is ditziness/absent-mindedness not a disqualification, from what I’ve seen, it may mean you’re more likely to qualify.

Yes, I’m that smart. For the most part, I consider it an embarrassing thing which I happened to be born with. I don’t feel smarter than average, but then again, I don’t know what average is. I don’t really think about the intelligence about friends or other people I meet. As far as friends go, I figure anyone who puts up with me must be pretty smart, very tolerant, or both.

One difference I do keep running into is this. I’m interested in a wide variety of things and have as much curiousity as Elephant’s Child, which is one reason I love this Board. I also read almost constantly. This baffles people sometime, just as I’m occaisionally baffled that they’re not into all this stuff.

As far as jobs go, I’d argue that too much intelligence is a handicap rather than a help. Because you don’t realize people don’t operate at your level, it can make you less able to deal with ordinary people. It also becomes redundant, and it may not even be relevant. What my mechanic’s IQ is isn’t important. What is is his or her ability to fix my car.

Sorry if this is a bit incoherent – it’s early. Maybe someone ought to ask about the effect of caffeine on IQ!:wink:

CJ

16

Personally I think I’m a rather smart individual… that doesn’t stop me from making stupid decisions though. You can’t specify that the stupid ones are the high school drop outs as well… some of us just never felt challenged enough to stick it out, and put up with all the crap because you are different/see the world differently… the only reason I went back was because I realized I need my high school to get into college and get a decent job. Even now, I find myself bored as hell in class because the teacher has to explain a concept at least 3 times before the rest of the class gets it. I’ll be sitting there bored out of my skull listening to the same thing said in different words for the third time.

I don’t actually know my IQ because I never bothered to take any tests, though I’ve always done rather well in school. (Considering I managed to pass with 60% at least in a number of classes when I was there less than half the time lends me to believe I am smart)

I don’t really think on how smart other people are though. I hang out with them if they can keep up a good conversation, without all that inane small talk. When small talk happens I’m the one you find in a corner listening to people and only butting in when I feel a good point can be made by me.

As to the question about where people shop… how can that be an indication of intelligence? Yes a lot of people who appear to be of lower intelligence shop at places like K-mart but I did so too when it was up here still as I am on a budget. A very tight budget being a student as I am and living on my own.

Some of the people I have the most fun around I would say have a slightly lower intelligence than I do. I often confuse people with some of the thoughts I come up with, so I find it easier just to hide them until I find people I actually can talk with them about.

17

I’ve never submitted to an IQ test; I probably never will (can’t see the point and I’m a little afraid it might prove me more stupid than I previously thought); I did have to take a couple of cognitive ability and general aptitude/logic tests a few years back when I applied for an in-house promotion; I scored in the 98th percentile on the cognitive and 95th on the general (scored against a sample of typical applicants, not a full cross-section of humans); I never expected to get the job because it was a jump over three or four grades and as it turned out I didn’t get it; somebody else with a lesser score got it (I happen to regard this person as borderline genius, way, way smarter than me anyway).

I also happen to regard tests like this as a pile of horse…um…feathers; I don’t believe that (general)intelligence can be precisely quantified)

18

One thing I’ve noticed, when asked people almost always think they are in the top 10% of the population regarding intelligence. Personally my IQ is around 125, but I’m not certain what percentage that puts me in. I don’t know if artistic intelligence (if there is such a thing) counts, but if so then I do ok there too.

19

Sunshine and Legomancer, you do realize that now that you are adults, you can go back and demand to see your test scores, right?

Those of you who claim never to have taken an IQ test may be surprised to find that you were given one as a child without your knowlege. Most schools do a wide range of testing, and usually don’t explain what they are doing to the children being tested. Again, ask to see your school records.

If you took the SAT test during the years before they were “re-normed” you can get an approximate IQ score by adding the verbal and mathematical scores and dividing by 10. For example, if you got a 600 on the mathematical and 700 on the verbal, you can add them together to get 1300 and divide by 10 to get an approximate IQ of 130. (Mensa will accept scores of 1300 or greater if the test was taken before 9/30/74 and 1250 if taken between 9/30/74 and 1/31/94. Scores after that date are not accepted.)

How do I feel personally about it? Well, I never give out numbers because I hate the competitive aspect of something that one was born with. It is high enough to get me into Mensa, but I have never joined or even attended a meeting for fear of being trapped amidst bores or worse. cjhoworth, feel free to disabuse me of this notion! :smiley:

I figure that the Straight Dope boards are as good as any Mensa meeting, you meet a better class of people here. And I like the relative anonymity.

As far as learning from others, you can do that no matter what the IQ of the person with whom you are conversing. Life experience counts for a lot more there. If you have done something that I haven’t, then there’s a good chance that I can learn something from your experience. And almost anyone has done something that I haven’t.

The way I look at it, a high IQ and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee around here.

20

Well, what do you know? My SAT scores, put through that math, are just about the same as my IQ! It works!

I’d put myself in the top 25% or so. I’m fairly smart, but not blindingly so. I mix with a lot of different people, and though I’m brighter than a lot of them, many of them are nicer, more thoughtful or hardworking or experienced, or something else.

I’m just as happy not to be smarter than I am; some of my friends who are brighter than I am seem to lack a lot of common sense, or have an inflated idea of their own importance/intelligence. Booksmarts are not the only thing worth having.

I only know a couple of people who I would say with some confidence probably have IQs less than 100. They’re not too swift, it’s true, but they seem to put up with a lot more trouble in their life than I would be willing to do–I mean they stick to their commitments, etc. even though they’re really tough situations.