Let’s say you had an opportunity to take an IQ test for the first time in your life.
Would you take it?
I wouldn’t. I know me. I know I’d make a big deal over it and drive myself nuts. If my score was lower than expected, I would be depressed about being “stupid”. Every time I’d face an intellectual challenge, I’d be embarrassed and maybe even punk out prematurely. And if I tested higher than expected, then I’d be wondering about all the wasted “potential.” I’d probably be disappointed in myself.
I think I’d also be reluctant because I don’t trust myself to produce a reliable score. I am an inconsistent test-taker. For instance, over the course of a month, I went from testing in the 40th percentile on my GREs to the 90th. I suspect that no matter what score I got on the IQ test, I wouldn’t believe it represented me accurately.
The reverse question is addressed to those who have been tested. If you had it to do all over again, would you rather not know?
I could not give less of a shit.
ETA: I did take it, but it was when I was a little kid and I have no idea what my score was. And I’m really not interested in knowing.
I couldn’t care less what it is. I’ve reported elsewhere on the Board that as an undergrad, I had a part-time job assisting a blind lady who was getting her doctorate in psychology. Her thesis was something about IQs, she had to give a lot of IQ tests, and I had to help her score them. She warned me ahead of time that since I was seeing the tests, my own results would not be considered valid if I took one within the next five years, and I was okay with that. (For the record, she had become convinced that IQ tests were a load of bollocks. This from an obviously intelligent lady herself, intelligent enough that even though blind from birth, she had become a fully tenured English professor and then gave it up to pursue a second doctorate in psychology.)
More than five years later, in Hawaii, a friend’s wife was doing something similar with giving IQ tests and asked to practice on me. She gave me one. When she asked if I wanted to know my score, I declined. She asked if I was sure, because it was “rather high,” and still I declined.
Personally, I think at least 20 points should be deducted from the score of any doofus who even cares about such a thing.
A fellow who worked in college administration told me mine - I never quite believed the rather nice number he gave me. If I’m that smart why aren’t classes easier, and why do I do some many dumb things?
My sister did take this test as a teenager and she joined MENSA then. So I guess that she is a certified genius! She is awful proud of her IQ. It did not seem to help her much, as she sure is a mess today.
I know that I am not as smart as her, but I am not as messed up either.
I’ve been on the fence about it. I’m really curious, but I know I’d be really disappointed if it was less than 130. It’s strange because anything over 120 is considered unusually intelligent but I wouldn’t be happy with being “barely” unusually intelligent. I might end up taking it. Who knows…
I got tested several times. Don’t know the results for the school tests; in the last one, which I got as an adult and actually signed for myself, the number I got was the upper value for that test, so I still don’t know an actual “measurement” (in commas because first, those tests measure your ability at taking that particular kind of test, and second, I assume the precision at the tail ends is akin to measuring countries in handspans).
I don’t get any benefit from getting a number beyond the already-obtained and completely qualitative “welcome to Mensa”; the only advantage from the point of view of other people seems to be peeing contests, which I happen to despise. Since there have been times Mensa has been very helpful and I’ve met some real nice people there I’m glad I took it; since I derive no further benefit from a “more precise” number I’m not bothering test any further.
Oh, another Mensa benefit, this one completely unexpected. One of my brothers would get mad whenever I “beat him” at anything; one day, he was ranting to our other brother and said “it’s not as if she’s a genius or something!” “yes she is, actually” “uh?” “dude, she’s in Mensa. Since she’s in Mensa, I reckon she’s a certified genius.” After being shown those Mensa monthly mags with my address on the envelope, now my idiot brother doesn’t get a conniption when I do some simple arithmetic faster than he does. If I’d know that was what it would take, I would have taken the test a lot sooner!
To the people tossing numbers: careful with those. There are several scales and giving a number without listing the scale is like giving a temperature in the same fashion: is 100 boiling water, a feverish person, or way beyond freezing? Depends on the scale.
One part of me is curious, but the other part doesn’t see the point. You are born with certain intellectual gifts and knowing what they are don’t make you a better or worse person. If I found out I’m the most intelligent person in the world, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t drive me to do spectacular things.
The way I see it, I was smart enough to get a degree and have a fairly successful career. I have talents and abilities and a good life - I don’t think knowing a number that someone claims defines my intelligence would change anything. Truly intelligent people recognize this.
It is like getting any other gift… do you really need to know the exact value, or is it enough to know you have a nice gift?
The one and only time I have ever known it to be helpful (other than bragging rites for people who often have nothing else to brag about) is when my son was still struggling with reading in third grade. He had straight A’s except for reading and he struggled to get C’s. The school counselor actually told us “not all of your kids have to be smart… we won’t do anything unless he is failing.”
We knew something was wrong because we were spending 2 hours per night working on homework with him (remember 1st and 2nd grade) most of which ended up with him in tears. We finally took him to a psychiatrist who tested him and diagnosed him as “Gifted but learning disabled.” He has dyslexia. The fact that we could show them that he tested way above normal on the IQ test actually did catch the attention of the administrators and we were able to get him into a program for three years that worked wonders (Orton Gillingham in case anyone is interested) which got him up to speed.
So, after that long winded rant… no, I’ve never seen the need to know your exact score. Who gives a crap if you are three points or thirty points above the person who is way more successful than you are?
