Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: JonBoy on 13/07/2008 09:25:02
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i don't know if this is the right place to put this??
But anyway
i recently joined Mensa with an IQ of 160
but, the test that i did was the cattel lll B test, and the invigilator said that you can only get up to 161
so here the question, some sites i have gone onto say that the IQ levels can go up to 200> which is unmeasurable genius, so how can i compare with a 200 IQ person, if my test only went up to 161???
also 1 more point, you can convert the IQ levels into percentiles the website i went onto seemed to say that a score of 160 meant an IQ in the top 25% but in my Mensa test results it said that it was in the top 1% of the population
i am confused [???] [???] [???] [???] [???]
(i am only 14, hence inexperience)
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I think the problem here is ascribing any real meaning to IQ. It is a measure of how well you do in IQ tests; if the different tests don't agree then it's hard to see what use they are.
It was originally designed to identify those children who were lagging behind at school so that they could be given extra tuition. It seems that you are not in that group so you can stop worrying about it.
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i dont think you understand my question properly
i mean, i want to know how you can compare iq tests, i have only done one proper one!!
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you havent answered myquestion
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you havent answered myquestion
Ohhh contrar, I think he answered it quite well myself. I personally think true intelligence can only be measured by one's ability to solve complex problems and depends not on the amount of information one has gathered. The latter only measures one's ability to remember and not so much their ability to construct solutions IMHO....
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i don't know if this is the right place to put this??
But anyway
i recently joined Mensa with an IQ of 160
but, the test that i did was the cattel lll B test, and the invigilator said that you can only get up to 161
so here the question, some sites i have gone onto say that the IQ levels can go up to 200> which is unmeasurable genius, so how can i compare with a 200 IQ person, if my test only went up to 161???
also 1 more point, you can convert the IQ levels into percentiles the website i went onto seemed to say that a score of 160 meant an IQ in the top 25% but in my Mensa test results it said that it was in the top 1% of the population
i am confused [???] [???] [???] [???] [???]
(i am only 14, hence inexperience)
IQ tests clearly measure different mental skills. How those skills descern intelligence from one human to another is beyond me, and i don't agree you can necesserily use them.
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IQ is a very debatable topic. If you scored a 160 then yes you are in the top 1% of the population. However, IQ tests are simply standardized exams that measure how well you perform in various areas of logic and perception. They also vary depending on which test you take. Simply put, IQ is a measure of how quickly you can adapt and learn. The higher your IQ, the quicker you learn (potentially).
I'm not sure what you're asking when you say, "How can I compare with a person with an IQ of 200?" To begin, there would be incredibly few people that could score that high on an IQ test. Also remember, intelligence is an intangible thing, way too complex to measure with any written test. Just because you have a high IQ doesn't mean you're a super genius, far superior to anyone else. If you don't study, learn, and apply yourself you'll be no smarter than your dog!
I'm sure all of us have seen supposedly "smart" people who slack off and never go anywhere in life and supposedly "average" people who study and apply themselves to become known as great thinkers and scientists.
Regardless, if you scored that well on the IQ test you took then it is one indicator that you have the potential to do well, now go out and use it...and try not to dwell too much on what your IQ is, it's just a number!
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Looking back at your question again, I see now you were possibly asking why did your test only go up to a score of 161 when some go higher (200+)?
The answer would be because there is a lot of debate on what IQ tests should measure, what they should include, how high they should be scored, and most importantly - are they really worth while other than an ego boost if you scored well?
The test you took, cattel lll B test, was created by Raymond Cattell, who decided to cap it at 161. Probably because it is very rare to ever see anyone test higher than that. Other tests allow for higher scores, but it's debatable on whether they are accurate or even worth while to administer.
It is important to note that you could take 5 different IQ tests and get 5 different IQ results. It's also important to note that your results can vary from day to day, even hour to hour, on any particular test.
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i dont think you understand my question properly
i mean, i want to know how you can compare iq tests, i have only done one proper one!!
Simple, you get lots of people to do both tests and see if they get the same IQ on both tests.
However this just shows that that IQ tests only measure how well you do in IQ tests.