there is a fine line between high IQ and mental retardation

I used to belong to it. But I let the membership expire some years ago.
I never thought I was that smart, but I had a problem with no one understanding my jokes. I hosted a playreading group of theirs for a few years in SF. Interesting group of people actually.

He wrote the test?
 

Hey if I wrote the test I'd get a 200

one day me talk pretty. unfortunatley, the only test I am familiar with is the Rawshock test....i like the pitchers..

Well, you do tend to be rather shocking, in a raw sort of way, Mistress. A numer of years ago, I took the Roar-shock test and was found to be quite alarming whenever I got loud.:D

Not a dues-paying member, but have been extended the invite to join (confirmed) based on old test scores. Guess I was pretty smart, once!

They always do seem to get around to making sure we know. I never have to make it a point to tell somebody I'm not......:silly:

A good friend of mine is a mensan. I have never applied but I think honestly I would probably fall just short of the cut off based on past tests and my own honest self appraisal. My friend is very quick on the uptake, is self employed and very successful. He is also socially skilled and a pleasure to be around. Wait a minute, I really hate this guy!

:D
Well, it was in context of the conversation we were having at the time, so it didn't come across in any hoytee-toytee way. He's a heck of a nice guy actually(not that smart people aren't!) (was that a good save?;))
I think I remember my dad telling me his IQ score years ago, I seem to remember it was something like 140. Not sure if that would've qualified him or not for "The Club".
I'm not sure I actually want to know either way for myself. It would'nt really change anything in my life at this point. Might've 30 years ago. Probably would've have made me an arrogant *********.:D

I was always suspicious of any club who would have somebody like me as a member . . . .

The trouble with revealing your I.Q. score, is that people immediately think that your spelling ought to be perfect, and that you should be able to do their taxes faster with an abacus, than with a calculator.

I think what helps one to have a better than average I.Q., is to be able to have a wider range of thought. - Think of the visual fields of humans vs. cats....A human has a field of around 210 degrees (120 binocular (stereo)) and a cat around 285 degrees(130 binocular). The cat has a lot more visual information to help draw conclusions about what it sees infront of it, compared to a human. In the same way, I think that those with higher I.Q.'s have a wider field of thought - they can "widen" their mind to look at extra (and possibly useful) information to help solve a problem, understand a concept, or come up with new ideas/concepts.
Not always are high I.Q. people able to express what they are thinking - partly because thought is so much quicker than written word, and partly because written word is quite inaccurate compared to the thoughts in our heads.
Another problem that can be encountered is "distraction" by ones own thoughts - with this wider field of thought, comes the distinct possibility of becoming distracted with a newly discovered concept, that the original problem, suddenly takes a backseat, and this new concept is examined. In this case, some sort of mental discipline exercise should be implemented to help keep your thoughts "on track". -- This type of distraction is more distinct in younger people, partly because they haven't fully realized that they are letting their mind wander too much (while problem solving) and partly because they have so many more concepts and ideas to discover/realize in the first place; the fact that words (in plain english) suck at conveying thoughts (especially complex thoughts/ideas/concepts) doesn't help any either (having a large vocabulary does help, as many of the less often used words have been created to more accurately describe a concept/idea/thought).

As far as humor goes - there are times when a joke is only funny to those that can "relate", and there are times when something is so funny, it doesn't matter what your I.Q is, it is still damned funny. For example, Bill Gates getting a cream pie in the face, is funny. (However, even there, the higher I.Q. individual may "see" more humor in it, as he may "see" something that goes beyond the physical act of a pie in the face).

OK....I'll shut up now, before I bore you so much, that your brain will ask your spinal cord to strangle you to death.




PS: For those wondering about dogs...Their binocular vision is between 80-110 degrees, with a total vision field usually not greater than 250 degrees.

Anyone that could write that disertation MUST have a high(er) I.Q. than me(I?):D

Good perspective, though. Makes sense.:cool:

Sample Question - Mensa test.
 

This was given in Berkeley.

Explain the significance of the following numerical sequence.

8,5,4,9,1,7,6,3,2,0.


















...Answer:




The numbers are arranged in alphabetical order.


That is what they call today, "thinking outside the box", I guess

This friend of mine is constantly doing those kind of math puzzlers. Has books of them, I think. I've tried a few, and gave up, even though I'm fair with math. He eats 'em up!

Read. Read some more. Write. Write some more. Challenge your brain with new concepts. Push yourself outside the comfort zone. Even the subjects you've never held interests in; force yourself to learn more about them. You will benefit so much from this practice if you just exercise a little mental discipline.

Keep in practice everyday. It is more likely you'll retain whatever wits you have about you as you advance into your golden years if you follow suit.

If you keep your mind lax and uninformed, it will suffer. The mind is like a muscle: If you use it often, it will be strong and stable.

Socrates' philosophy is the best, IMHO. It goes along the line; "Never assume yourself to be the wisest. Once you've acknowledged yourself as such, you will remain an ignoramus." Socrates was claimed to be the wisest man in Ancient Greek history.