Do you know your IQ?

[blackdogdays]

I think deep stress and bereavement have depleted my brain. I get muddled and mentally fatigued so easily.

I do have risk factors for dementia so hoping it's just stress.

IQ is certainly not the be all and end all of cognitive testing but wondered if many MNetters know their IQ? Are there any tests that are free online that are also reasonably accurate?

What is your score? Do you ever feel as though life has dimmed your cognitive function over the years?

The notion of IQ is rooted in British Imperialism and Exceptionalism and was originally developed to answer the question of what made the British aristocracy so superior to the peasantry, and the British superior to other races.

I thought hey were devised to quickly stream a mass of men entering US military service so you could get people into suitable ranks.

In fact I'm pretty certain that the British Army rather poo-pooed IQ tests as unnecessary, since the lower classes were by definition not as smart as their betters. (And if they were, who'd risk finding out ?).

https://www.verywellmind.com/history-of-intelligence-testing-2795581

Mine’s 168 (tested at 19 as part of a project at Uni). Now 50, I have worn groove in my floor as I buzz back & forth to retrace my steps because by the time I enter a room I’ve forgotten what I’ve gone in there for.

IQ is as useful as a frog in a wardrobe.

IQ is as useful as a frog in a wardrobe.

I disagree. It can be a very useful metric. I can't afford to dismiss valuable data because I don't agree with it's premise.

I have taken lots of tests over the years and always get between 128-150. It’s mostly rubbish though I think, aren’t all the tests subjective, we would all have to take the same test on the same day with the same set of variables to be able to make a clear comparison.

It is important to remember that 100 is the average and so there will be many below that. I looked up signs of low IQ once recently (job related) and one sign is not generally knowing that there are unknowns. I think sometimes that creates a happier outlook 🙂

aren’t all the tests subjective,

A much more serious point, is the entire notion of "intelligence" and indeed "life".

I have a sneaking suspicion that our notions of both are based on what we know.

Which means if there is any life "out there" - in particular "intelligent" life we may be completely unable to spot it.

For all we know Mars may be teeming with "life". Just not as we know it ....

137

I always scored very highly on those tests when I was younger. I don't think they say much though really - they are about patterns and logic puzzle type things, which really plays to my strengths! I don't think I am really as intelligent as such a high iq indicates

I scored 148 on a Mensa test as a teenager.
I live a very average life, working in a low paid job as a TA. I had a lot of mental health problems as a teenager and young adult meaning my exam grades were way below what was expected and again for mental health reasons I ended up not going to university so I don’t even have a degree. I have a lot of regrets about that.

Scored very high on Mensa tests as a teenager, above 160. Tested again at university, similar result. I was invited too, to join Mensa, but thought it was too up itself for me, and joined DENSA, a kind of hoho Mensa project instead, which was much cooler.
I can't say it's helped me, but I really enjoy my mind ...most of the time.

I have a very high IQ.

However, I also still don't understand how my mortgage works, I can't learn to drive, I've probably never left the house without forgetting something, getting lost or losing track of the time, and this morning I spent a good five minutes trying to put a jacket on unsuccessfully before DP pointed out to me that it was upside-down, so I wouldn't put too much weight on IQ if I were you.

I've had many varied intelligence measures taken over the years, Mensa included.

I've always scored in the top 1%

It was fun whilst I was at university, scraping together all of my apparent ability and seeing what I could do with it - about as much as anyone else who put in as much effort.

But outside of that? No use whatsoever! DH, whose various scores are regularly lower than mine is far more useful in a crunch and I have never done anything where knowing a test result has been of any use!

Oh... except for one job interview. The 'Main Man' was insufferable, absolutely and utterly 'used car salesman of the year', so very condescending to everyone else in the room.

His last question - I left as I answered it - was "What has been your proudest achievement?"

My answer, as I picked up my bag and coat "Scoring so highly on an IQ test that I recognise this as waste of time"

And yes, I know how insufferable that makes me sound. But he really was a twat!

Same as a pre teen it was close to 160. I don't think I'm autistic. I live a very average lifestyle but people tell me I don't (not in terms of finances). I just pick up things fast and understand concepts- I learned to dumb it down in my teens and am teaching my kids to lean in to it and enjoy it.

Mensa do have a little short test

https://www.mensa.org/public/mensa-iq-challenge

Mine was measured at 177 too back in the 1980s. It depends on the test you take as to how high the scale goes, and I think that’s changed over the years too.

Yes I do know mine - or what it was when I was tested 40 years ago.

But I do forget things now. In my case age, but stress certainly doesn't help.

It's the stress you need to deal with - and time for you.

IQ isn't the issue here

To keep your brain active try learning a foreign language or musical instrument, it forces the brain to make new connections....

Exactly the same here. My DP laughed his head off when I bragged that I'm technically a genius according to my IQ
I don't go a day without doing something completely dim/having to have something simple explained to me/having to cross my birthday out of the 'todays date' on work sheets etc.

IQ tests measure your ability to pass, or not, those tests. Mine measures high. Most people who know me would laugh at that. I'd have happily swapped a high IQ for a larger measure of common sense.

Same! 😁

The purpose of MENSA quick tests, is to get people to pay for a MENSA full test.

Anything else is froth.

Why do so many posters get so bitter about IQ?! Mine definitely isn't so high lol, but if it was I'd be proud. And I'm really impressed by anyone else that got a really high one on their test. Why be nasty about it?!

Bereavement fried my brain. I couldn’t believe that I was saying the wrong words in sentences, couldn’t remember things I’d done, places I went.
Someone explained to me it’s all the hormones that are released, the shock, and you probably don’t eat and drink properly.
I can remember the day the shock wore off —20 months later, it took that long.
Simon Weston says he suffered from shock for over 20 years ( I think it was as long as 25 years)

Things that have helped me include relaxation, hypnotherapy and lots of vitamins.

My mother had them done by an ed psych when we were teens. I think mine was 130 odd, my brother’s was 140 odd and my sister not a lot over average.

My brother has fucked up royally on all fronts, I have done well in my career and a couple of others things, but not in other key areas, my sister runs her own business alongside a successful family life - she loves what she does and she makes enough. I think she was a late developer which probably skewed her lower, but she is the least academic/clever of the three of us - but if you were measuring a balanced life, she’s come out on top.

No idea. My ego likes to think it’s about 140, in reality, it’s probably more like 120. I’m above average/ quick in the uptake, but by no means a genius. But IQ score is just not information I need.

162 but I find in now losing my memory, I usually say I've forgotten more than half the things I ever learnt. Luckily my husband likes having an intelligent wife.