Do you know your IQ?

You asked and people responded to the best of their ability. Were you asking for personal opinon or operating a test? lol Not everyone is aware of EXACTLY what the IQ "is," what it measures, what it's used for, etc. However, most people equate high IQs with extremely intelligent individuals, i.e. Einstein and the like. By that standard, which, for all intents and purposes, IS universal (geniuses have high IQs), it's not much of a stretch for people to assume that the IQ only measures knowledge and/or intelligence. I thought you were asking people what the IQ meant to them, as in, personally; not how closely their definition of the IQ matched your "correct" definition of the IQ. If your particular field of study has shed light on the subject, that's great. Do you have to remind everyone of just how wrong they are? Maybe this question was better for the Mensa crowd. :-)

i keep trying to explain to people that IQ tests do not determine your knowledge. Knowledge and intelligence are two separate things! Knowledge is the information that you have learned...or your so called, "book smarts". Intelligence is entirely different. Forget about street smarts and book smarts...intelligence does not depend on what you know! Intelligence means exactly this and only this: the ability to think and learn or the abiity to think and learn tasks and apply them. IQ does determine your intelligence fairly. It measures how you learn and think...not what you already know! Most of the people responding to this discussion are assuming that the IQ test is much like a standardized school exam. It is not like that at all.

This is a very good statement. It is said that those with high IQ are very adaptable and perceptive. I typically do not inform others of my IQ level but since my identity is concealed here on mylot, I didn't mind starting the discussion. I'd like to see how other people view the concept of intelligence quotiants and the way it relates to them. You are right though. One should not have to state their IQ score to prove their capabilities. Many people with high IQ probably do tend to take advantage of others...on the other hand, many other people with high IQ are probably using it to help other people. I like your opinion on the subject.

Thank goodness you're here to englighten us on the subject then. It appears as if you hold the IQ up to be a rather big deal. Myself, on the other hand, not so much. While the test may not deal in right or wrong answers, as you claim, I've found that one scores higher on the charts when one answers more questions correctly. To test this outlandish theory, I've just ran through an IQ test, intentionally guessing and scoring wrong on random questions, and my final score was 92. I guess they conclude my ability to learn is below average. Funnily enough, had I contained the knowledge, the scores would have been higher. So while I do not argue with your definition of the test, I do find that, for myself, common sense and "right" answers play a role in the outcome. http://onemansblog.com/2007/11/08/the-massive-list-of-genius-people-with-the-highest-iq/ -- where I quickly found a different scale. http://www.thesmartbaby.com/iq_chart.htm - another variation. http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq04.htm - another chart with a variation in "definition."

I'm not quite sure, either. As such, I don't--as I've stated--put much stock in them to begin with. I'm in my 20s and couldn't care less about IQ scores. I answered the question for one reason: When most people bring up the subject of IQ, their aim tends to be to rub their score/knowledge/w/e in your face. Braggadocio. The sites I listed are nothing more than examples of alternate charts and definitions that I found very quickly. The fact that there are so many alternate takes on IQ would reaffirm my position that they're pointless. I can't see hard scientific data being misconstrued so regularly by so many. But, then again, I found a site once with a guy claiming that the moon was a hoax. Maybe he needs to take an IQ test. If you know the real meaning behind an IQ and are privy to the one, legitimate test chart, then my hat's off to you. It may not be the fountain or youth or the secret of life, but it's close! lol

Where did you find the scale you are basing this judgement on? The IQ scale that I provided is universal. I am studying to be a psychologist and those numbers came straight from my text book. Where ever you are getting your information from is incorrect. IQ tests do not focus on common sense or any other subject. There aren't really any wrong or right answers. It simply shows how your brain functions and its capacity to reason and store information. It does not test the knowledge you already have, math skills for example. IQ tests don't focus on how well you perform in certain subject areas. It is just a tool to measure your ability to learn those things and others. People are very misinformed about this subject as I am coming to find out.

lol...you are so right. People at almost any level of intelligence are capable of either failing or succeeding. A person could have the highest IQ in the world and choose to never apply any of the knowledge he or she obtains. It all depends on the choices we make and opportunities we are given.

Book smarts and street smarts don't really apply to your level of IQ. Your intelligence quotiant or IQ is simply your capability to learn. It has nothing to do with the knowledge you possess. A high IQ gives you the abiity to learn things much faster than others and apply them as well. As for me...I call the two kinds of smarts life experience and education or academics.

You just said that a high IQ gives you the ability to learn things faster than others and to apply them as well. So book smart and street smart does depend on IQ. I wish I could take a real IQ test where I was given an exact number.

Yes. You are absolutely right! Streets smarts and book smarts do depend on IQ but that is not what I said. I said that IQ does not depend on book smarts and street smarts...the opposite of what you are trying to say. You have to have IQ to learn...the better your IQ, the better your book and street smarts will be. The reason I said that book and street smarts do not APPLY to IQ is because they don't. Your IQ is not based on what you know...it is based on how well you learn and think. IQ comes first...then knowledge. All people do not learn or perceive things the same way...this is due to varying IQ levels.