Meh. I scored better than this kid when I took an IQ test when I was five. Tests at that age are notoriously inaccurate.

/don't ask what it was or what it is
//BTW, the requirement for joining Mensa is the 98th percentile. 130 is the 97.9th percentile.

What the Hell is banalities?

Oh my God. I spewed my coke reading that headline.

hmmmm. Me not Mensa level. Me have IQ of 97. I feel bad I cant brag like other Farkers that take stupid internet IQ tests that say they smart. Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Ouch. Good headline.

omg depafeo, i'm not the only one... i get the two confused too.

Jimbo the Slightly Impressive

My understanding is that IQ scores take age into account, so a 23yr old w/137 IQ is smarter than a 3yr old w/ 137IQ

Top 2% of 3 year olds? How many 3 year olds take tests anyway?
Why dont they test newborn babes while they are at it?

This sounds more like an overly aggressive mother to me.

" "We're incredibly proud of him. We knew he was a gifted child but we had no idea quite how gifted until now."

Ohhh BS. Only a really pushy mom would force the kid to take the test (what 3 year old cares about mensa?) and she acta all surprised.

God I hate mensa freaks.

These people are some of the most annoying representatives of asshattery on earth, who often wear their IQ and Mensa title as though it were a badge of authority. I can't tell you how many of these people I've booted from messageboards and chat rooms for harrassing other users.

Realistically, I bet they 're just compensating for the fact they have no real life outside of their brains and their precious IQ test.

And speaking of IQ tests... they are totally relative to the context of the person taking the test. Ask a someone living on the streets about items related to that lifestyle, and they'll score just as well as a science nut answering questions related to his interests. It's just a matter of asking the right questions in the right way.

Bones3D_mac: Hum no. There are indeed various types of IQ test, some are more established then others. The well recognized ones are not biased. There are even some that do no require you to know how to read.

Still, I doubt that the Mensa test is rigorous. What smart person would join this club anyway?

Stop discussing the story, that's quite disrespectful to the headline.

i'm currently on an IT certification binge. this sounds fun. i won't even have to study, just take some practice tests to get the right feel. What do they charge and where do i sign up?

Congratulations admitter, not only for the clever headline, but for making it so wrong on several levels. I humble myself before you.

In other words, Mensa is so desperate for money, attention and/or members that they think admitting a 3 year old is a good idea.

Maybe it makes sense in bumfark nowhere but I can't see much of a need for Mensa now. Better just to go outside, have a life and find people with whom you can have an intelligent conversation with.

I just hope the kid brings a pie, not quiche to the Mensa meetings.
/watches way too much Simpsons to function in normal society.

On second thought, maybe the parents are figuring it'd be cheap daycare to drop off the kid at a Mensa meeting.

Gotta say it: Asperger's brat.

Bad form on the headline, bad form.

/still laughed

Best reason I can think of to join Mensa:

You're stuck living in a red state or a rural area or wherever that woman who sued those cookie delivery girls lives, and you would like to meet some people who actually have a brain.

If you live in a college town or an urban area or you get along well with the people you work with, then you would have less reason.

Some might say that looks and brains are inversely proportional, but Mensa would be the best place to meet that exception.

WTF he is only in the top 2%.

And as if you would let him start school at three. While it would be nice to stream kids according to their abilities puting a three year old amongst five year olds is so wrong.

BTW Nice headline.

For those who express disdain for Mensans, is it all Mensans whom you look down upon, or only the top 2%?

Its 200x funnier once you say the punchline in that mono tone robot voice

Mr Logo:

And as if you would let him start school at three. While it would be nice to stream kids according to their abilities puting a three year old amongst five year olds is so wrong.


I've been in classes with high school seniors since I was 11. I'll graduate two years ahead of my age with just under twice as many classes under my belt as many of the people I will graduate with.

Of course 3 vs 5 does open up some basic developmental issues that might make it hard to teach him in a traditional classroom with 35 morons and one overstressed teacher... not that I'm bitter or anything.

Really, there must be some private school that will better suit his needs than public school. In fact, I think it would be "so wrong" to make this kid go to a regular public school, regardless of whether he is the same age as his classmates or not.

p424c
I had the same sort of thing. I went to school never worked, and did well. I went to uni, never worked and did well until I started doing quantum field theory and stuff where I had to work. But I never learnt how to. So I failed.

Anyhow you are right, the first few years of education are hardly suited to accelerated learning.

That's the hardest I've ever laughed at a Fark headline. Period.

I'm in MENSA to compensate for my biggest shortcoming...

Yeah, you guessed it. No need for me to state it here.

/My IQ is big enough to give most Mensans brain envy
//My shortcoming, on the other hand...

MorteDiem:

I routinely test around 165

Really - what IQ test is that?

AgonistAlex: Would you really put something like Mensa on a resume?

BTW I don't mean to insult anyone who posted in here, but people's IQs are rarely as high as they think. Go to any forums/chatroom/whatever and talk about Mensa or IQ tests... virtually everyone will claim to be at least 130, usually over 150. Somehow I don't think everyone on the internet is really in the top 1 or 2 percent.

Most people don't even realize that the average person's IQ is 100, and the vast majority of people are within 15 points of that. I can only guess that people are taking those 10 minute online tests that tell you you're a genius no matter what you do, in hopes that you'll pay them money for more detailed results.

I noticed one person say he "routinely" scores high... how do you routinely take IQ tests? At one point I was curious and was actively searching for a way to take a valid IQ test, and it seems the major part of it is just finding out HOW you can take a valid IQ test... I couldn't do it. Anyone know how you would be able to take a real test if you wanted to?

*golf clap for the headline*

chocoboat:

There are several claims which I immediately and completely ignore, particularly online.

1. I make $____ a year.
2. I have _____ IQ.
3. I made _____ on the SAT.
4. I drank _____ beers one night.
5. I have had sex with _____ women.

As Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I don't even ask for proof, I just ignore it.

Still, I would like to know what generally applied IQ test goes to 165. And what is the maximum on that test?

I agree with God-is-a-Taco.

/groan

If their high IQ group is as smart as they think they are, they wouldn't have a name that sounds like JarJar Binks coined it.

Driver

I can outdo you on that one. "Menso" is spanish for stupid.

Methinks our founders were english speakers.

/archie esta menso!

chocoboat: A psychiatrist or psychologist could refer you to someone who does those tests.

I have personally taken three IQ tests: one when I was five, one as part of a standard psychiatric evaluation, and one as part of an inpatient evaluation. And since everybody else is whipping theirs out, I might as well. The childhood one was "140+"; the other two were "at least three standard deviations past norm," i.e. 145+---and the wording suggested that the upper bound was a good deal higher.

Most IQ tests become more inaccurate once you go past two standard deviations, so numbers above 130 aren't necessarily comparable or representative.

Furthermore, I am an example of how IQ alone doesn't matter: I quite obviously am intelligent; but if I never feel that way and go around being depressed all the time, I am rather incapable of performing many scholarly tasks (and many social tasks), which induces more misery, which makes me more incapable. Yay destructive positive feedback!

MENSA sounds like the "National Dean's List" (something like that, I don't remember the exact name). Apparently only 2% of all college students are accepted and it's absolutely free to have them print your biography (and for the low price of $10 they also throw in your picture). Of course you'll also want a copy of the book and they have many options available the lowest option starting at $52 per copy. I'm totally going to sign up for it!

/not really
/I don't even think they looked at my grades "top 2%" ha
/wait... maybe they did

Bones3D_mac

Don't forget about such tests that are designed in that sort of way, like the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity (biatch). Its a test designed to show intelligence, but it uses words and scenarios more often found in the culture it intends to test.

Brockway

I make $10,00 a year
I have a 139 IQ
I made 1520 on the sat
I drank 0 beers one night (i dont drink)
I have had sex with one woman (but I will state for the record that it was for a regular basis. Thats over now)

Yeah, I'm a sad creature. What can ya do?

stupid filter. Its an actual acronym for a real test.

biatch

I made the Dean's List at my university - besides a letter in the mail it got me 2 things:

Jack and Squat!

I would prefer to meet/work with people who have common sense rather than intelligence (if they can't have both)

you sir earned yourself a golf clap

My IQ is 2 billion.

I routinely test at 165 also...if I've been eating a lot I get 170 or 175. After a big shiat sometimes I get only 160 or so.

80 bucks per year to have a group of people tell me I'm intelligent. No thanks

bersl2: Furthermore, I am an example of how IQ alone doesn't matter:

...agree. Being "above average" (or 'mean' for you stat freaks), ain't all it is cracked up to be.
I like beer.

Submitter, you deserve a hand.

I joined Mensa when I was 15. I liked the community. No one there was really terribly snobby. Mostly they just had parties, sat around and watched movies, talked, and ate. True, some of them ate a lot. Also, there were a disproportionate number of middle aged men that hit on me. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun, and really helped me get through high school. In college now, and don't really need it (nor do I know the community in this area anyway).

I don't even know my IQ. I don't remember if I put my membership status on my college apps.

You probably know people in Mensa. They just feel no need to brag about it, so why should you know about it?

Hay guys, I'm the only person on FARK who scored less than 100 on an IQ test.

My peanus is also ridiculously miniscule.

~Bob

Wow. That headline gave me one of the greatest laughs I've ever had. Good one, whoever you are. I love you.

/if you are a boy, I mean that in a completely heterosexual, non-committal way.

Brockway:

Still, I would like to know what generally applied IQ test goes to 165. And what is the maximum on that test
The most commonly applied IQ tests go up to 200.

Big farking deal. When I was two I

(a) was smart enough to know that I would never want to join Mensa, and

(b) had diapers at least as big as Steven Hawking.

/I agree completely with Groucho: I would not want to belong to any club that would have him as a member, either.