4 ms·

Why should that be off-putting? Standardized tests are pretty much the only way to objectively measure intelligence. Writing ability doesn't capture stuff lik

Why should that be off-putting? Standardized tests are pretty much the only way to objectively measure intelligence. Writing ability doesn't capture stuff like mathematical skill. Yes, yes, tests are imperfect. Everyone understands this. But they're the best measurement we have -- short of getting to know someone over the course of a few months or years. Also, tests, because of the way they establish some people as "better" than others, can be very bad for maintaining social harmony. But social harmony isn't a good reason to beat around the bush when one's intelligence is essential to the conversation. People should accept reality. Edit: And, no, I'm saying this because I have a super-genius level iq. I don't.

jheriko 17y ago
I dunno about others but when I read it sounded a little arrogant. For example, I have a Mensa gold certificate saying that I scored in the top 0.5% percentile on a test (actual IQ scores vary based on the type of test but mine was 143.5). Sounds pretty arrogant, eh? Generally any statement that equates to "I am intelligent" gets taken this way.
- wtallis 17y ago
  Any sentence containing the word "Mensa" is arrogant.
  - waterlesscloud 17y ago
    Once in college, I was meeting with my advisor, who was also the department head. He had all my school records, including my test scores. He said something about me qualifying to join Mensa if I wanted, and I said something about not liking Mensa since everyone I'd met who had been in the organization seemed arrogant. It was only later that I realized he must have been in Mensa himself and was recruiting me. Proving I wasn't nearly as smart as my test scores indicated.
  - portman 17y ago
    My initial reaction was "Mensa?! Are they still around?". So I head over to http://www.mensa.org/ http://www.mensa.org/ ... If there are any Mensa members reading this, you really need to update your website if you want to be taken seriously. OnMouseOver/OnMouseOut makes it look like you're stuck in 1998.
- mortehu 17y ago
  I think IQ tests sound arrogant because they are always given as rank in the population, rather than in absolute terms. "I can recognize any of 9 fundamental patterns in less than 10 seconds, perform 0.3 FLOPS and know the 10 most common heuristics for beating IQ test problems" doesn't sound nearly as arrogant in my opinion.

jheriko 17y ago

I dunno about others but when I read it sounded a little arrogant. For example, I have a Mensa gold certificate saying that I scored in the top 0.5% percentile on a test (actual IQ scores vary based on the type of test but mine was 143.5). Sounds pretty arrogant, eh? Generally any statement that equates to "I am intelligent" gets taken this way.

wtallis 17y ago
Any sentence containing the word "Mensa" is arrogant.
- waterlesscloud 17y ago
  Once in college, I was meeting with my advisor, who was also the department head. He had all my school records, including my test scores. He said something about me qualifying to join Mensa if I wanted, and I said something about not liking Mensa since everyone I'd met who had been in the organization seemed arrogant. It was only later that I realized he must have been in Mensa himself and was recruiting me. Proving I wasn't nearly as smart as my test scores indicated.
- portman 17y ago
  My initial reaction was "Mensa?! Are they still around?". So I head over to http://www.mensa.org/ http://www.mensa.org/ ... If there are any Mensa members reading this, you really need to update your website if you want to be taken seriously. OnMouseOver/OnMouseOut makes it look like you're stuck in 1998.
mortehu 17y ago
I think IQ tests sound arrogant because they are always given as rank in the population, rather than in absolute terms. "I can recognize any of 9 fundamental patterns in less than 10 seconds, perform 0.3 FLOPS and know the 10 most common heuristics for beating IQ test problems" doesn't sound nearly as arrogant in my opinion.