Having a "high IQ" is meaningless and is nothing more than a way for insecure people to feel smart, amirite?

Sign of a low IQ - thinking every issue is binary

by Anonymous 8 months ago

So....you're saying issues are either binary or they're not? :D

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Only a Sith deals in absolutes!

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I don't think being open about things is the only sign of Intelligence yeah it is probably one of the signs. But it makes me really mad when people are not very open about the suggestions and the factors.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

And they love binary

by Anonymous 8 months ago

There are 10 types of people in the world...

by Anonymous 8 months ago

This is actually true though. Something can't be partially binary. At best, things can be nearly binary, but still not binary.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah that is a very big size I don't think that you should think that there is only two possible sides to a conflict. There can be a lot more issues and factors and you should be open about them.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Actually black and white thinking is a sign of autism and might not be a sign of low intelligence. Of course it doesn't make someone right but also don't assume someone is low IQ just because they think an issue is binary

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Why is autism trending so hard these days

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Vaccines, they are the direct cause for more autism cases. They contain stuff that let people living longer and having more children, so more people=more autism

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Better medical care necessarily means better survival, longevity, and lives for people with disabilities, leading to more people in general, and therefore a higher number of people with disabilities, but also a higher concentration of people with disabilities since before, those people would die much earlier.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Having children at an older age also = more autism.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

it's also a symptom of borderline personality disorder

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I don't think anyone take the issue on the face value I think we should think about it I think we should think about all the possibilities which are probably contributing to it and also all the factors.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I think that's mostly a low emotional IQ

by Anonymous 8 months ago

computers must have a low iq then.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Weird that it correlates pretty well with so many things, though. But sure being all smug about IQ is uncouth.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I remember reading a book on intelligence a while back, and one of the chapters basically went into this (examined correlations between IQ and stuff like lifetime earnings etc.). I remember the key takeaway was basically that for all the shade people throw at IQ tests, they're generally pretty strong predictors of "success" elsewhere in life.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

> all the shade people throw at IQ tests It's amazing how IQ tests are so awful, yet no one has come up with some better. They are positing a grand conspiracy among psychometricians.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Well I guess those people know the reality for what it is. They are not playing the game select other people which is probably going to help them in the success.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

that's because IQ is not truly an "aptitude test". People with more academic/educational resources are more likely to perform better on these tests. Thus people coming from more wealthy backgrounds, and who are equipped with tools to succeed, will perform better on them. Whatever book you read either mentioned this or is out dated. the IQ test is not highly regarded in science/psychology these days.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Thata not true, because you can correct for socio economic background and it still has added prediction. You also have tests like raven progressive matrices that are culture and language independent

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Or maybe people from wealthy backgrounds are more likely to have inherited intelligence as well as money?

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I don't know why people hate hearing this, even if it's true.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's a predictor over averages, and a robust one. If you just take one person you can say that if he has high IQ he's likely to do well in life... but the outcome "deterministic". IQ also depends on education and training, so it's not just some innate potential and nothing else. There are also other factors involved... and if we ignore those.. well we can get in pretty shady and racist pitfalls, like Nobel prize winner James Watson did.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I always viewed it as a neat number that represents your potential, but if you're not doing anything with it, you're still a loser lol High IQ is cool only if you're actually leveraging it to accomplish things IMO

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah it isn't an accomplishment on its own, that's kind of the point; it's trying to gauge mental abilities compared to peers without leaning on something with many more variables like GPA. It's supposed to be something more objective and which doesn't really reward studying very much, to test intelligence without things like effort and willpower being involved (which are potentially a huge component of GPA.) It does take other attributes to get much out of a high IQ, but all else being equal, IQ is a meaningful difference between people imho.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

And if you tell that to a kid they would probably thing of them very proud and they would probably not even be able to utilise it. So in the end I think they will also end up becoming kind of idiot.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

This is such a good way to put it.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

You can say that about intelligence itself. Nice to have, but doesn't matter if it isn't being used.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

High IQ is as random as any other trait. How many people with extra webbing in their fingers/feet are losers because they don't swim? Are they losers because of how they wasted their "potential"?

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Not just pretty well, it's one of the single most robust and reproducible predictors of success in a huge variety of contexts. While it's not a perfect measure of "intelligence," a rather nebulous term, the idea that it is meaningless has been utterly disproven again and again.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah it has been proven long again and again and still people believe in it and fall for it. Well I guess people truly or kind of very Idiots because anyone with a little bit of common sense would realise what is the mistake that they are making.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I like how you used "uncouth" to raise your high IQ flag to add a further FU to all us low iqites.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I'm just no good with words and nothing more apt came immediately to mind.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I think the bragging about IQ is what comes across badly in conversation. But yeah it correlates with success (earnings/career) more highly than any other trait that can be measured currently, shockingly, including being a hard worker, and studies done on this all seem to say the same thing ; IQ is the single biggest factor that determines your success in life

by Anonymous 8 months ago

You forgot about being born wealthy.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

to high-IQ parents

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Somebody with an average iq who's self motivated and hard working will have more success on average than people with high iq's who don't have the same work ethic. You don't need a high iq to excel in majority of career fields.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

People can probably the book smart but that does not mean that they are going to be smart in the real life as well. Interest me I know multiple people like that in my life I am not saying that I am smart I am very dumb I just think that they are not also very smart.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

People with high IQ usually don't brag about it.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Can confirm also if they're bragging they probably in Trumps IQ range

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Can confirm

by Anonymous 8 months ago

If you have a high enough IQ you are smart enough to know that bragging about your IQ is stupid.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

And if you are bragging about it then you probably do not have high enough IQ. Because it is not the kind of thing with you would want to tell to the other people and at least I would not.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

After all, why would I need or want to impress morons??

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Some people do like to prove that they are better than other people it can be in anything. It is almost like that some people have got something to prove to everyone out there and it is a very miserable way to live.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Some politicians made a carreer out of it though.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Most people have no idea what their IQ is. They get it from those online "tests" which are bogus

by Anonymous 8 months ago

If an online test gives you a bragworthy result, be very suspicious. If it says a realistic result, it is probably reasonable.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah they like to do it just like Michael Scott did it in the office. However I think we don't know how is not the Michael Scott was actually. Apparently at least more smart than a lot of people that I know of.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I have a relatively high IQ. My wife knows the number. No one else does. There is no reason for anyone else to know. There really isn't a reason for me to know. It's not like I could do much to change it. It's like feeling proud for having blue eyes. So yeah…you are right.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

IQ is something you can't fake. You can legacy your way into Harvard, con your way to a "smart people" job, charm your way to good grades, and a million other things we thing help us discern intelligence. But you can't fake the test.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Practicing IQ tests makes you 10 or more points better because you are able to do them faster due to predictive timing differences. Once you know what question types are looking for and how to weed things out faster, you get faster. There are some flaws in them too; for instance, things that require anything more than basic arithmetic to solve quickly or anything that uses more than an elementary vocabulary favor people that have gone through more school. Someone with a high natural IQ will figure out area logically by looking at something for a while, but it will be slower than someone who naturally knows the equation, as an example.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Well when you have already got a very low score I don't think 10 points is going to make a very big difference in that. So you kind of need to be smart to begin with that is all I am saying.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I mean, you can study for a test. Best to just accomplish all those things you listed to cover your bases.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah and even then what is the guarantee that you are going to be very good at that test? I just feel like that there are a lot of other things which we should be considering at least.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

IQ tests are notorious for being trainable people who have been tested a few times in a row score significantly higher the last time compared to the first.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

People brag about innate qualities all the time. Natural musculature, height, penis or boob size, having a good singing voice, etc. Is it wrong across the board to take pride in innate qualities or is it only wrong if it's intelligence?

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Boasting is poor behavior in general.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

That's why I never do it, I'm too humble

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Well that is very good for you because people are not going to think that you are dumb. People should at least be smart enough to know that they do not have to prove anything to anyone they can be who they really are.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah and absolutely no one is going to like that kind of behaviour. Honestly it just makes you look like an idiot and I don't know if anyone would like to look that way.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

In the corporate world it is called selling yourself

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Whenever I get a compliment on my penis, I just say, "Thanks, I grew it myself."

by Anonymous 8 months ago

This is a question I've been asking too ever since I learned about the social stigma around being perceived as intellectually arrogant. I think it's because our society places a lot a emphasis on intelligence as a determining factor for your potential/worth as a person. Most people don't care that they aren't 6 feet tall, but everyone would care if they struggled in school.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Yeah I think and it is overlated I don't really think that people should be worried about it like this. I mean you are going to be something about it then you can at least be humble.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I'm sorry that you didn't get the results you hoped for.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

My Unpopular opinion. When you try and downplay the statistical relevance and longvity against outside criticism that IQ has continued to have in scientific studies. You are insecure and trying to sound smart.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's about as useful as BMI. It has a place, but is far too reductionist to apply to everyone in every situation. Just because things correlate and are predictive at a population level doesn't mean it applies to everyone. I would actually be interested in seeing statistics on the predictive value. R values, confidence intervals, SD, for the tests and outcomes being discussed. Scientific literature is notorious for misrepresenting p values with effect.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's the same as people saying "I'm classy". Usually it's the trashiest people

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's meaningless but not for the reasons you say. I actually believe it is a decent test of intelligence, however raw intelligence is meaningless unless you do something with it. Intelligence is a tool not an end product, if you have it and do nothing with it that is pretty disappointing and sad. It's like bragging about owning a Stradivarius or being 6'10 except you never put in the work to play violin or basketball. An average intelligence person who works very hard and carves a decent life for themselves is way better and more impressive than a genius who never moves out of their mom's house or does anything but retail.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I think this is not very unpopular opinion I think it is very popular because I have met couple of guys who are very book smart and they always do good at school and the universities. But I don't know if all of them Street smart as well.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Highly educated is not the same thing as highly intelligent.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Having a high IQ is a huge advantage in life, but not a guarantee of success. Bragging about having a high IQ on the other hand is a foolproof douchebag indicator.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It isn't meaningless, it just isn't as important as most people think. It just measures how well someone can use pattern recognition, information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. I doesn't measure intelligence in a more general sense.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I always like to think of it like the "absent minded professor" stereotype, you can be brilliant along one axis but be completely incompetent along another axis.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

The smartest people I have ever met in my life are usually the most stupid ones.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Wisdom and values matters more than intelligence usually

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's about as meaningless as being aesthetically pleasing. Nothing to hang your pride or identity on, but it does impact your life.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Hm it often seems like people who are more interesting, funnier and better to hang out with have higher IQ's

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I am sceptical of anyone who actually knows their own IQ. Why would anyone care enough to get tested? If you know your own IQ it is a red flag.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's not meaningless but you're absolutely right about the second part.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I literally have no idea what the IQ test was asking, so, I don't know what the IQ is actually testing. I still got a MS in STEM, sooooo.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's like having a large mug with nothing in it.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's fine to have a high IQ. But the second anyone starts talking about how high their IQ is, it's such a massive red flag for what kind of person they are.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I sell products to people with very high IQ's, engineers, scientists, etc. I always laugh when I'm in some nerds office having a meeting looking at all their degree's and listening to them talk about how smart they are. It means nothing, I make more money and have been more successful with zero degree's. On paper I'm always the dumbest person in the room but I'm almost always the most successful, it's funny how that IQ thing actually works in the real world.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's like the BMI. Overblown and doesn't actually say much

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I remember taking an IQ test when I was younger, it was in English, that's my second language but sure, I can do that. When I got to the general knowledge section, a good portion of the questions were American general knowledge, and I definitely did not know the answers to any of those questions. I never trusted IQ scores since.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Thing is that IQ don't score intelligence anyways, and anyone think that it does is pretty much wrong about it.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

IQ means nothing for the vast majority of people, and only test for a specific type of "intelligence".

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Ironically, simplifying a persons entire intelligence into just a single number is pretty dumb.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

The original Stanford-Binet IQ test was imported to the US by a eugenicist to demonstrate the 'superiority of the white race' and ended up being condemned by it's original creator.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

My son is incredibly gifted and the one thing I try to teach him is "it doesn't matter how smart you are unless you're also nice..no one cares of you're smart if you're also a jerk, being a jerk is what they will remember"

by Anonymous 8 months ago

My Mom instilled that in me as a kid and trust me, it's worth it. You're doing a great thing.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Empathy empathy empathy I want him to use his brain to do great things, and to remember to love people along the way

by Anonymous 8 months ago

I agree with this more the older I get. I do think it's a thing that younger people seem more concerned about and then u grow up and live life and realize it doesn't really matter and anyone who talks about or brings up iq is a total douche bag. Also, I don't see a big difference with outcome as far as careers, wealth, etc. go with people who were identified as gifted and talented or high IQ as opposed to people in the "average" classes growing up. In fact, it's pretty clear to me that hard work and determination pays off more than a naturally high IQ, because most people with high IQ rest on that thinking it will propel them thru life. But let's be honest, the people with the best outcomes are the people that come from wealth. So it's all a wash in the end.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Do people brag about that…? I have yet to meet someone in real life, personally or professionally, that ever brought up the issue of their own personal IQ. I only ever see it in niche internet discussions.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Exactly what someone with a low IQ would say

by Anonymous 8 months ago

definitely not meaningless, definitely not something you should mention about yourself

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Things like Mensa still have a lot of value for the members in it. The further your intelligence deviates from normal the more difficult normal friendships become. Average IQ people don't befriend mentally challenged people. The same IQ difference between an average person and a genius exists between an average person and a mentally re*arded person. People want to associate with people who can match them intellectually, this is perfectly fine.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Having a high IQ is mostly a useless ‘parlor trick'. I say that as someone who tested quite high. It's useful for a few specific careers, if the individual has the passion and other soft skills for the job. In reality, many factors determine success and some are necessary even with a high IQ. I equate it to having a V8 under the hood. It doesn't do you much good if you have sloppy steering, a slipping differential, a flat tire, and the wrong map. For example, I've got a cousin who was admitted into Mensa. That fact is a major portion of her identity. Yet, her marriage is a mess, she's in financial hell, she practices nearly every major logical fallacy, and is a sucker for conspiracy theories. She's taken the label and internalized it as proof of her superiority so there is little self reflection.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

You are misunderstanding what that score means. It doesn't mean you're smarter so much as have potential.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Well, how else will you measure intellect? School grades, which can be biased against those whose learning styles are atypical, much less those who see less purpose to what school is teaching? Argumentum ad populum, which has been wrong before? Or are you arguing there is no purpose to measuring intellect in the first place? If so, how do we counter those who make claims about others' intellect or lack thereof, and make it out to be relevant to what to think of their ideas?

by Anonymous 8 months ago

You sound like you have low IQ

by Anonymous 8 months ago

You're also insecure. Let me prove this. Tell me, how much did you score in the test? People with high IQ usually don't brag about it. I'll bet it's a low number.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

It's worth keeping in mind two things. One. IQ tests only examine a very narrow definition of intelligence. It doesn't include social or emotional intelligence. Two. Your score on an IQ test can be affected by any number of different environmental factors, including culture and education. Apparently, your motivation can improve the score, too. And this is to say nothing of the fact that even people with high IQs are technically no more intelligent than anyone else. Despite Mensa membership requiring a relatively high IQ, many members still believe in irrational things, including the supernatural. Truth be told, I don't put any stock in IQ tests. It just seems like another way of stratifying society.

by Anonymous 8 months ago

This is definitely the take of someone with a low IQ

by Anonymous 8 months ago

Not at all unpopular

by Anonymous 8 months ago