[nick_charles]

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Yes, that's why my standards for what constitutes a "genius" is high. That IQ and those statistics would mean there are about 27,500 geniuses in the US, which sounds about right to me.
 

I'd be more inclined to judge someone a genius (or not) based on some achievement or great understanding rather than a score on a test
 

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

How about Stanford-Binet ? - that was the one we used in my masters degree in Occupational Psychology in the Psychometrics part, that was few years ago though. the problem with IQ tests is they are culturally bound, which is why we had all the horrible XXXXXX are less intelligent than YYYYYY debates back in the 1970s (Jensen/Eysenck) , amusingly Eysenck was for a long time a strong proponent of astrology...
 
Also people are differentially better at different types of cognitive activities, tests emphasise different types of "intelligence" - if your strongest skills match those of the test designer you are in luck...
 
My IQ is variously anywhere between 105 and 135, I have three advanced degrees (inc a Ph.D)  but the tests in this thread stump me completely

Standford-Binet is a valid test, also.  My understanding is that SB is better for determining the extremes - mental retardation, genius and is good for children.  For typical adults the WAIS-IV scale is considered a better indicator of intelligence. 


FYI, I only know this from my parents who were both psychologists.  I am not one myself and have no expertise in this area so take what I say with a grain of salt.  
 
"Genius" on one of these tests would actually be around 140, but as you said, the score on an IQ test really isn't that relevant.  It's what you do with your intelligence that really matters.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who have been considered "geniuses" by the general public because of a great accomplishment or achievement, who probably would fall below the actual "genius line" and others who tested very high who have done nothing with their lives.
 
These tests are used to measure one aspect of a person's psychological makeup and are just tools used by professional psychologists to help evaluate a person.  They are no indication of success or failure in life.

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

I'd be more inclined to judge someone a genius (or not) based on some achievement or great understanding rather than a score on a test
 

Quote:

Standford-Binet is a valid test, also.  My understanding is that SB is better for determining the extremes - mental retardation, genius and is good for children.  For typical adults the WAIS-IV scale is considered a better indicator of intelligence. 


FYI, I only know this from my parents who were both psychologists.  I am not one myself and have no expertise in this area so take what I say with a grain of salt.  
 
"Genius" on one of these tests would actually be around 140, but as you said, the score on an IQ test really isn't that relevant.  It's what you do with your intelligence that really matters.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who have been considered "geniuses" by the general public because of a great accomplishment or achievement, who probably would fall below the actual "genius line" and others who tested very high who have done nothing with their lives.
 
These tests are just to measure one aspect of a person's psychological makeup and are just tools used by professional psychologists to help evaluate a person.  They are no indication of success or failure in life.

Both very valid points. I score well on most tests, and yet I don't think that I'm a "genius" by any means. Some of the smartest people I know have far lower IQs or even learning disabilities. This is not to say that IQs are a totally invalid measurement of intelligence. They have their place, but there is no chance that all of the 27,500 people with 160 IQs in the United States will ever receive widespread public recognition or produce any great accomplishments.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

well I normally judge people intelligent or not based on how fast they can understand things and how they make good judgement of things, mostly simple trivia

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

well I normally judge people intelligent or not based on how fast they can understand things and how they make good judgement of things, mostly simple trivia

At Head-Fi it seems people are judged on their intelligence by how well they use the search function. 

 

[mcnoiserdc]

well then I must be Super-Intelligent, as I search a lot here, yes using this search engine that loves to give me threads from 2005. But it is informative as it lets me know how old things are, lol!
 
Quote:

At Head-Fi it seems people are judged on their intelligence by how well they use the search function. 

 

[ford2]

 
 
Bill Clinton has an IQ of 137 and look what happened to him,he did not even know if he had had sex or not.
 
Monica had a much lower IQ but she knew.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

lol!
That was because sex was a much more complicated thing to bill than to monica. lol
Quote:

 
 
Bill Clinton has an IQ of 137 and look what happened to him,he did not even know if he had had sex or not.
 
Monica had a much lower IQ but she knew.

 

[wink]

Bill was lying, which, in his position wasn't too smart at all.
 
But then, the most intelligent and wise people sometimes do the dumbest things. e.g. Wise King Solomon had 300 wives and 1,000 concubines. 

 

[chadbang]

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Bill was lying, which, in his position wasn't too smart at all.
 
But then, the most intelligent and wise people sometimes do the dumbest things. e.g. Wise King Solomon had 300 wives and 1,000 concubines. 

And 300 wives and a thousand girlfriends in dumb, how?

 

 

[logwed]

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And 300 wives and a thousand girlfriends in dumb, how?

 

Yeah, I think that he's just a winner...

 

[nick_charles]

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And 300 wives and a thousand girlfriends in dumb, how?

 

300 sets of in-laws

 

 

[Kirosia]

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And 300 wives and a thousand girlfriends in dumb, how?

 

Can you imagine waking up to 1300 women yelling at you and calling you worthless? 

 

[Radio_head]

18 is the max I could take.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

Quote:

Can you imagine waking up to 1300 women yelling at you and calling you worthless? 

I would imagine all of them trying to please me, not calling me worthless, lol!