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They were testing against a specific and predetermined subset of the population (e.g. the people who have previously taken their test), then. I know I'm wasting my time providing these links since, if you were actually interested in learning what IQ actually is and how it is actually calculated, you'd have spent the 5 seconds to google it yourself, but, here is the requisite Wikipedia link, as well as one to a more reputable source. In case you're more interested in unreliable and unverifiable sources (which wouldn't surprise me, given your unwillingness to do your own research), here's a Quora question about IQ, as well.

Some highlights:

From Wikipedia: When current IQ tests are developed, the median raw score of the norming sample is defined as IQ 100 and scores each standard deviation (SD) up or down are defined as 15 IQ points greater or less,[2] although this was not always so historically.
(Norming Sample: Synonym for Standardization Sample: a large sample of test takers who represent the population for which the test is intended. This standardization sample is also referred to as the norming group.)

From the MENSA website: Standardized tests, including the tests American Mensa offers, are “normed” to provide a “bell curve” distribution of scores in the general population, with an average (mean) score of 100. Norms are statistics that describe the test performance of a well-defined, broad population. Normed tests compare a person's score against the scores of a large group of people who have already taken the same exam, called the "norming group."

From Quora: Meh. Really nothing useful there, I just figured it might be more your speed.

The point is, a given IQ test is scored against a norming group. In the broader population, IQ tests are normed by age, sometimes also by gender or race; though, if the group you are looking at is too small to be broken into smaller groups (such as, say, the software development industry), the group is taken as a whole.

As for where you can find tests geared toward, say, a specific industry? Simple: take any standardized IQ test, have your sample group take it, then normalize the results.

And, as for the test you took? You might want to find out whose scores you were being compared against, so you know what your score actually means. For reference, my last IQ test, which was very recent, was normalized by age group and geographic location and placed me in the top 5% of Americans age 32-35. The score itself is meaningless as a comparison of my intelligence against yours, unless you also took the same version of the same test and fall into the same norming group as myself.

However, that you couldn't be assed to do a little basic research before opening your mouth (via your keyboard) would indicate that your score on the same test might be much lower than mine. Intelligent people tend to only speak up when they actually know what they're talking about; and, when they speak out of turn, quickly learn from their mistake and admit they were wrong, often thanking the person who corrected them.

If they were that smart they would know that the IQ test is neither a valid no reliable test for comparisons between groups, only within groups.

In all fairness, Mensa accepts scores on a variety of tests to become a member, including SAT, ACT, and Military tests. Mensa has even created their own test to eliminate the verbal-bias inherent in so many other IQ tests.

That being said, I joined Mensa because I liked being part of the same club as Isaac Asimov and Buckminster Fuller, but, like my heroes, I also found that just because somebody has a high-IQ, doesn't mean they aren't an idiot. I am shocked in many Mensa publications to find many members believe in alien abductions, are anti-vaccers, and are suckers for many other pseudoscience scams and conspiracy theories. Like Asimov and other Mensa-members, I find I get much more intellectual stimulation from my membership in the American Humanist Association of free-thinkers and rationalists.

If they were that smart they would know that the IQ test is neither a valid no reliable test for comparisons between groups, only within groups.

In all fairness, Mensa accepts scores on a variety of tests to become a member, including SAT, ACT, and Military tests. Mensa has even created their own test to eliminate the verbal-bias inherent in so many other IQ tests.

That being said, I joined Mensa because I liked being part of the same club as Isaac Asimov and Buckminster Fuller, but, like my heroes, I also found that just because somebody has a high-IQ, doesn't mean they aren't an idiot. I am shocked in many Mensa publications to find many members believe in alien abductions, are anti-vaccers, and are suckers for many other pseudoscience scams and conspiracy theories. Like Asimov and other Mensa-members, I find I get much more intellectual stimulation from my membership in the American Humanist Association of free-thinkers and rationalists.

From Mensa International Click to start the quiz, then click Grade at the first question to avoid having to answer the questions. Scroll down about half-way and you'll see the questions in question (pardon the pun :-).

he wrote that his ambition was to kill God

A couple members of an X'th percentile society, where X is close to 100, and percentile obviously refers to their IQ scores, that I had interactions with, suffered from the notion that they where in fact God. Now one could argue that they made these pronouncements purely for the sake of argumentation, but their actions often left one with the distinct impression that they, at least, where True Believers in their religion. Combine the notion that you are God (which I'm not saying Ligesh necessarily suffered from) with the ambition to kill God, and you've got some very depressed individual....

I believe MENSA requires an IQ of 160 or higher.

No, just the top 2% but they do say that tests vary. IIRC an intelligence test should be tailored to the range that you are expecting the candidate to score in, they must be able to get wrong answers because all questions correct only indicates the test was too easy.

Also, intelligence of young persons varies as they mature, this boy is nowhere near finished with his development and could be a hard pushed early starter or a true star in the making. Its not really possible to know at this stage and there is plenty of time to fall by the wayside..

That is to say, the average, everyday median MD IQ at ~125 is already halfway to official "genius" level.

Mensa accepts applicants with a Henmon-Nelson score (the IQ by which MDs are apparently measured according ah your link) of 132 (see http://www.us.mensa.org/Content/AML/NavigationMenu/Join/SubmitTestScores/QualifyingTestScores/QualifyingScores.htm)

I suspect Henmon-Nelson has sigma=16, based on that observation. Then ~125 is more than "just" halfway to genius.

(Although, to me the bar seems to be at ~121, not ~125. Am I looking at the wrong data or not reading the caption?)

- Jonas

This is a joke of a test. It has some of the basic concepts down - visualization, pattern matching, logic puzzles - but the layout and the other sort of questions is not apt. I was asked about the Chunnel - sure I knew it, but local geography should not be applicable.

If anyone wants a real IQ test, take some of the mensa fun tests. That will show what a real test is like.

Mensa wants ~132 or better, not 142+, depending on the test:

http://www.mensa.org/index0.php?page=10

Basically, they consider themselves to be the top 2% by intelligence.

They took the revised SAT (the 90's version that was supposed to be weak), I don't know if they take the new one, but they haven't been particularly choosy about the tests in the past.

Catell. Otherwise about 130-132 for Mensa. And remember, you're talking about a normal curve so the sample becomes progressively smaller with each point above that.

That said, I'd say 142 is low. _Really_ smart people don't bother with on-line fun tests perhaps?

I was under the impression that SAT scores were normalized, so the distribution was the same between years. Am I wrong? Anyone have any sources?

Insofar as the IQ test is concerned, I was under the impression that IQs were measured in 10s, as in you could get a score of 100 or 110 but not 103. Correct?

Incorrect. 10 is about 2/3rds of a standard deviation in most IQ tests, which is an extremely coarse increment. My (supervised test) IQ ended in a 5; the American Mensa entry requirements also have single-digit precision.

Dense is good?

Could be the same confusion some people suffer over the term "mensa". Or is it "mensa"?

unless maybe the actor is also a member of Mensa; for example: Geena Davis, James Woods, etc. Then I will read the quote. I guess getting my news from the Internet for over a decade has really made me question "any" single source of information. Headlines and celebrity quotes are just attention getters: assumed false until verified.

Well, at least they use Unix :)
(but PHP 4.1.2 ? wtf?)
-----------------
Response Headers - http://www.mensa.org/
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:14:46 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.27 (Unix) (Red-Hat/Linux) mod_ssl/2.8.12 OpenSSL/0.9.6b PHP/4.1.2
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.1.2

Response Headers - http://www.cerebrals.com/board/
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:13:52 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.33 (Unix) mod_auth_passthrough/1.8 mod_log_bytes/1.2 mod_bwlimited/1.4 PHP/4.3.10 FrontPage/5.0.2.2634a mod_ssl/2.8.22 OpenSSL/0.9.7a
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.3.10

Response Headers - http://www.smartgroups.com/group/group.cfm?GID=139 378
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:15:34 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.27 (Unix)

Response Headers - http://www.iqsociety.org/boards/
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:16:12 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.33 (Unix) mod_auth_passthrough/1.8 mod_log_bytes/1.2 mod_bwlimited/1.4 PHP/4.3.10 FrontPage/5.0.2.2634a mod_ssl/2.8.22 OpenSSL/0.9.7a
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.3.10

Thank you, Firefox Web Developer Extension!

My IQ was rated at about 190 when I was 12

I've compiled a list of websites that you may want to spend more time on than slashdot:
http://www.mensa.org/
http://www.cerebrals.com/
http://www.smartgroups.com/
http://www.iqsociety.org/

You may feel more at home there ^_^

*dons flaimsuit*

Psst...I think you mean MENSA

You might want to consider joining Mensa (The High IQ Society). Most local groups have the kind of activities that you are talking about. If your local group doesn't have the activities that you want, you have a framework in which to start your own meetings and a newsletter that hits many local people who are interested in intelligent and intellectual activities. One out of every 50 people is qualified to join; which probably means that ~70% of /.'ers are qualified (SWAG alert!)

AC: There is no way to "memorize" the answers to most standardized tests.

You do realize there are ways to test for actual intelligence, which includes, of course, problem solving and ability to memorize?

A lot of I.Q.-ish "standardized" tests do test things that are presumably useful in any "brain-work" situation, like

• fast arithmetic ability
• pattern-matching
• vocabulary
• ability to make inferences
• However, as one who has taken a lot of standardised tests (most recently the LSAT, a GRE subject test, and the ASVAB), I can say that a lot of the questions really are "trick" questions. Look at
• the MENSA sample test (you may not get the exact same set of questions). How many times have I seen a short sequence of low powers of prime numers? How many times have I had to know that 2 squared plus 3 squared is 5 squared? People regularly "study for" the SAT by memorizing pages from a thesaurus... Am I a better writer if I contemplate, ponder and pontificate using only the most erudite prose, or should I just say what I mean using words that my audience will understand immediately?

  By the way, I didn't vote for Bush, but I did volunteer to serve in his army, and was turned down. I earned a high ASVAB score and passed the medical exam/drug screen, but a security interviewer allegedly thought I was "too honest".

I plan on using a variation of these bullet points for my presentation. If any of you slashdotters happen to be at MensAGumbo, please come and cheer me on, say hi, etc.

My gut instinct was to say that the purpose of the salt was to balance the (artificial) sweetness of something too good to be true. However, after some research, it turns out I'm wrong.

The phrase apparently stems from ancient times. It was apparently first written as "Cum Grano Salis" by Pliny (23-79 AD) and apparently intended to either counteract bad taste of a poison remedy -or- to help fight the poison. Read the following and draw your own conclusion.

Some references: 1 2 3 4

Every year, Mensa USA releases a list of their favorite games from the past year. I found it to be a very good gift list for my geeky friends.

http://mindgames.us.mensa.org/participant/past_win ners.php

Past winners of the Mensa Select seal can be browsed by year here. Have some fun while exercising your brain.

Previous winners include Taboo and Magic-The Gathering.

MENSA's cut-off is about the top 2 percentile. In a country of say 250 million, there would be 5 million eligible. Honestly, I don't think it is that big a deal.

In a sense you are right - the vast majority of those who attempt the entrance test do pass it, and a lot of the people you know may already have qualifying scores on some other test. However, since only a small fraction of the eligible population joins any "Hi-IQ" group, the groups more exclusive than Mensa tend to be awfully small. If you're joining just to say you qualified, pick any. If you want to actually meet some reasonable people (yes, and a few amusing twits too), check out your local Mensa chapter. http://us.mensa.org/local_groups/find_region.php

Sigh.

I work with a couple of people like you!

I can't stand them.

I am a "highly intelligent" person (don't ask me, ask the people I know, who also happen to be "highly intelligent").

A lack of diversity can almost be directly equated to a lack of knowledge. I fail to see how your approach to so-called "stupid people" is any different than a racist bias.

Who defines intelligence? At least racists made it clear who they hated - but you provide nothing more than a loophole which you can manipulate to your will.

"I don't like him; he must be an idiot".

Heck, if you wanted to say you didn't like hanging out with uninteresting people, that would make sense. Heck, I'm not fond of uninteresting people either, but my definition of uninteresting is different than yours.

But trying to plant your statement as objective when it's obviously subjective is some kind of logical fallacy (and if it isn't, I'll be taking my nobel prize now), one which I can't remember at this time.

What's funny, is that most of the job skills that I apply today that really make me stand out (other than my technical skills), are the skills I learned working jobs for shit pay like being a clerk at a convenience store or *gasp* working at McDonalds.

Some of the smartest people I know are engineers. They are also spend 90% of their time trying to avoid work, never apply themselves to their fullest potential and occasionally outright refuse to work with team or accept team members' ideas.

Nothing requires you to learn these skills when your technical knowledge and ideas are put on a pedestal. On the flipside, everyone knows how to flip a burger or work a cash register - you are competing for something significantly more real (like your cash flow) and might actually learn a thing or two.

P.S, did you know that there are Truck Drivers that are in MENSA? Don't believe me? Look at their Web Site, here's the quote:

As far as occupations, the range is staggering. Mensa has professors and truck drivers, scientists and firefighters, computer programmers and farmers, artists, military people, musicians, laborers, police officers, glassblowers--the diverse list goes on and on. There are famous Mensans and prize-winning Mensans, but there are many whose names you wouldn't know.

Get real.

Hmmm... sounds like someone got rejected.

Seriously, though, I joined Mensa just so I could say Mensa is for losers and not sound like I was shouting sour grapes.

Of course, now that I'm in, there are always greater heights to achieve.

Put gifted kids together.

Yep, that is the best way (from my personal experience).
It not only helps them to gain some social skill from the interaction with similar kids, the moral support I got from these groups was very healthy too. You are surrounded by a bunch of kids who all have the same problems, and that helps you to deal with the bullies. I developped a "I am more intelligent than this jerk, so I dont care what he says"-attitude that helped me survive school.

Granted this is arrogant and needs to be overcome when you reach adulthood, but IMO it's still better than what other people I know have experienced. Not knowing that they were more intelligent, they felt as "cheaters" because they performed well on tests without learning, something that was preached by their teachers to be "impossible". Thereof their whole succes in life seamed a lie to them and they lived in fear that this lie will be discovered one day. Also they felt isolated because nobody understood them.
And they were the lucky ones that did well in school instead of malperforming because they got bored.

The day they first joined a group of very intelligent people generally comes to them as a relieve and sometimes even as an "enlightenment". I literally saw a woman in her fifties burst in tears on her first Mensa meeting. Having contact to other kids that understand and respect him will not only teach him social skills but also show him that he's not alone in the world, but that there are others just like him.

So dont wait for him to make this discovery later in life, but get him in touch with similiar children now. Contact the gifted children program of Mensa or a specialized organisation like the American Association for Gifted Children to see if they have a local group of gifted children.

BTW, from my experience gifted children are far more likely to accept someone much younger or older in their groups than "normal" children. I guess they are happy to find someone that understands them at all, so age doesnt matter that much. (I still wouldnt advice to put a 5-year-old in a group of 16-year-olds ;)

I also was a member of a chessclub which is important as it gets you in touch with "normal" people. Not hyperintelligent, but not the typical school bullies either. But it didnt gave me the same emotional satisfaction as the gifted children group.

Finally, dont expect wonders. I still wasnt "Mr. Popular" in school, but I always had some few, but good friends, even some (even fewer) girlfriends and was happy. But even then, and despite the fact that I got to a highschool for "better" students, it was sometimes pretty rough at school. But when I got to (I guess the US equivalent is college), I fund it very funny that the same people that bullied me before became very nice to me. Suddenly they were concerned about their marks and guess who they did turn to with their problems in Math ;-p
I didnt abuse my new power and didnt let them abuse me with this new promise of "popularity" either, but kept friendly and acquired a nice middle position in the hierarchy. I suddenly got invited to parties and became a somewhat more normal, but rather shy student.
Now, at university, I'm almost on the top of the food chain ;-p

Put gifted kids together.

Yep, that is the best way (from my personal experience).
It not only helps them to gain some social skill from the interaction with similar kids, the moral support I got from these groups was very healthy too. You are surrounded by a bunch of kids who all have the same problems, and that helps you to deal with the bullies. I developped a "I am more intelligent than this jerk, so I dont care what he says"-attitude that helped me survive school.

Granted this is arrogant and needs to be overcome when you reach adulthood, but IMO it's still better than what other people I know have experienced. Not knowing that they were more intelligent, they felt as "cheaters" because they performed well on tests without learning, something that was preached by their teachers to be "impossible". Thereof their whole succes in life seamed a lie to them and they lived in fear that this lie will be discovered one day. Also they felt isolated because nobody understood them.
And they were the lucky ones that did well in school instead of malperforming because they got bored.

The day they first joined a group of very intelligent people generally comes to them as a relieve and sometimes even as an "enlightenment". I literally saw a woman in her fifties burst in tears on her first Mensa meeting. Having contact to other kids that understand and respect him will not only teach him social skills but also show him that he's not alone in the world, but that there are others just like him.

So dont wait for him to make this discovery later in life, but get him in touch with similiar children now. Contact the gifted children program of Mensa or a specialized organisation like the American Association for Gifted Children to see if they have a local group of gifted children.

BTW, from my experience gifted children are far more likely to accept someone much younger or older in their groups than "normal" children. I guess they are happy to find someone that understands them at all, so age doesnt matter that much. (I still wouldnt advice to put a 5-year-old in a group of 16-year-olds ;)

I also was a member of a chessclub which is important as it gets you in touch with "normal" people. Not hyperintelligent, but not the typical school bullies either. But it didnt gave me the same emotional satisfaction as the gifted children group.

Finally, dont expect wonders. I still wasnt "Mr. Popular" in school, but I always had some few, but good friends, even some (even fewer) girlfriends and was happy. But even then, and despite the fact that I got to a highschool for "better" students, it was sometimes pretty rough at school. But when I got to (I guess the US equivalent is college), I fund it very funny that the same people that bullied me before became very nice to me. Suddenly they were concerned about their marks and guess who they did turn to with their problems in Math ;-p
I didnt abuse my new power and didnt let them abuse me with this new promise of "popularity" either, but kept friendly and acquired a nice middle position in the hierarchy. I suddenly got invited to parties and became a somewhat more normal, but rather shy student.
Now, at university, I'm almost on the top of the food chain ;-p

These groups include:

• The MegaGuild (IQ 180+)
  
• The MegaBoard (IQ 164+)
  
• The Ultranet (IQ 164+)
  
• The Prometheus Society (IQ 164+)
  
• The Triple Nine Society (IQ 150+)
  
• Mensa (IQ 132+)
  

How do I qualify for Mensa?
Membership in Mensa is open to persons who have attained a score within the upper two percent of the general population on an approved intelligence test that has been properly administered and supervised. There is no other qualification or disqualification for membership eligibility.
The term "IQ score" is widely used but poorly defined. There are a large number of tests with different scales. The result on one test of 132 can be the same as a score 148 on another test. Some intelligence tests don't use IQ scores at all. Mensa has set a percentile as cutoff to avoid this confusion. Candidates for membership in Mensa must achieve a score at or above the 98th percentile (a score that is greater than or equal to 98 percent of the general population taking the test) on a standard test of intelligence.

On behalf of myself and all of the other slashdot idiots, I apologize.

Apology accepted.

Sadly, not everyone is as educated or intelligent as you are.

Sadly, indeed.

Wow, get off yourself buddy. Slashdot is not a mensa meeting.

I think Slashdot could learn quite a lot from Mensa meetings. Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately?) most of the people from Slashdot would never be allowed to enter such a meeting. (By the way, it's Mensa, with capital M. Please show at least some respect, thank you.)

In real life, people smile when someone makes a joke.

In Mensa life (I suppose it's not "real" for you, because of which I can only say, that I'm sorry) we do smile (or even laugh, mind you) when someone makes a good and intelligent joke. (Please notice "good" and "intelligent" keywords.)

Please read the Mensa Constitution and you will see there is nothing about what you are poorly trying to implicate, i.e. that intelligent people cannot have any sense of humor.

btw, could you imagine a beowulf cluster of these?

You mean a virtual honeynet running on VMware, which in turn runs on a beowulf cluster? Actually, due to the virtualization overhead, it would be much smarter to run a standard (i.e. non-virtual) honeynet, if you have many computers to run it on, now wouldn't it?

After reading this last post, it got me to wondering that if I make a post in slashdot with lots of random random references and questionable assertions will I get moded up because it looks like I am smart?

I've played MUDs and I've talked on BBSes and I've collaborated on all sorts of projects with AIM and cellphones (anyone catch the reference to "smart mobs" in the linked BBC article?). But I can't see how this could be fun, since the individual's efforts are always subjugated to solving someone else's computer-aided puzzle. The BBC article compares this online fake problem-solving effort to EverCrack, perhaps unfairly:

Already multiplayer games such as EverQuest struggle to cope with the groups that play and the creative communal tactics used to tackle each challenge.

But really, this isn't special. It's just people seeking an outlet for their otherwise desperate life-empty frustrations; they'd be far better off contributing talent somewhere worthwhile rather than playing with someone else's hacked-together Flash animation. It's nothing to write home about--just Internet puzzles that take away your individual exploration and innovation and replace it with someone else's idea of a good time.

No offense, of course, intended to anyone who does in fact derive a good time from this kind of thing; but please remember if you're that desperate to express your smartness, there are much more productive and creative things you could be doing. Read... Write. Scram.

he cited article claims that when males are young, the show offs are actually the ones who are least likely to succeed later on. This causes a "revenge of the nerds effect:" the football players burn out but the nerds become sexy!"

Yes, but in Darwinian evolution, it doesn't matter when you get laid, it just matters that you get laid. In fact, gettin' it on, earlier in life, technically makes you more reproductively successful because any number of things could cause your early demise, the earlier onset of sexual activity would (assuming a condom-less world) pass on your genetic material to the next generation before the opportunity for premature death to occur.

Although it is an interesting fact. And in modern society, where human mating isn't random, etc. Its probably a good sign for the future of our species. I seem to recall reading about another study that showed an inverse relationship between the IQ of an individual and the age at which they first engaged in sexual activity. So if you are a 30 year old virgin, rejoice, and join Mensa!

You mean Mensa doesn't have its site at high.iq?

It depends on the IQ test being used. According to Mensa, an IQ of 132 on some tests qualifies the person for membership. To join U.S. Mensa (which accepts the top 2 percentile, check this page for acceptable test scores.)

For more information on genius in general, check out Estimated IQs of Greatest Geniuses.

I think this is something that has largely been ignored in the world at large. Remember that the IQ is a bell curve. An IQ of 130 is as rare as an IQ of 70. An IQ of 147 is as rare as an IQ of 53. (According to the Estimated IQs site, an IQ of 147 is equivalent to 99.83 percentile. Your child is "smarter" than 99.83 percent of the world.)If you think about how rare it is that a person has an IQ of 53, you begin to appreciate how special your daughter really is.

Personally, my biggest problem was motivation to work hard. All the way up throgh Sophmore year of college, I didn't have to work hard to get good grades, relying on just my memory, I could do very well. But when college got harder, I didn't have the patience to work through harder problems.

I think that you have to push your child so that they never become intellectually lazy. The problem you get is burn-out.

ADHD does exist, but I think it is rarer than is actually diagnosed. An incredibly gifted child may be labled ADHD merely because she is bored with what is, to her, very easy school work. Get a second opinion.

It depends on the IQ test being used. According to Mensa, an IQ of 132 on some tests qualifies the person for membership. To join U.S. Mensa (which accepts the top 2 percentile, check this page for acceptable test scores.)

For more information on genius in general, check out Estimated IQs of Greatest Geniuses.

I think this is something that has largely been ignored in the world at large. Remember that the IQ is a bell curve. An IQ of 130 is as rare as an IQ of 70. An IQ of 147 is as rare as an IQ of 53. (According to the Estimated IQs site, an IQ of 147 is equivalent to 99.83 percentile. Your child is "smarter" than 99.83 percent of the world.)If you think about how rare it is that a person has an IQ of 53, you begin to appreciate how special your daughter really is.

Personally, my biggest problem was motivation to work hard. All the way up throgh Sophmore year of college, I didn't have to work hard to get good grades, relying on just my memory, I could do very well. But when college got harder, I didn't have the patience to work through harder problems.

I think that you have to push your child so that they never become intellectually lazy. The problem you get is burn-out.

ADHD does exist, but I think it is rarer than is actually diagnosed. An incredibly gifted child may be labled ADHD merely because she is bored with what is, to her, very easy school work. Get a second opinion.

"She's sat through an IQ test, and the result was 147, which means she's better at doing IQ tests than 99.9% of 6 year olds...Whatever the cause, she is quite different than most kids her age."

Most IQ tests have a standard deviation of 15 or 16. Thus, 130-132 is about 2 deviations above the norm, representing the 98th percentile (this is the threshhold used by MENSA for admission). 145-148 is 3 deviations, or the 99.9th percentile. Want to meet people at that level? Try the Triple Nine Society, or search Google for 99.9 percentile intelligence. At 146 you're in the 99.8th percentile -- 1 in 500 people have the same IQ or higher. At that rate, there should be more than 12 million people on the planet for you to pick from. Rare, but not that rare. We are out there.

people are willing to pay money so others can write newsletters telling them how smart they are. I would not be surprised if many people pay money to be told that their contributions are making things A-OK...

i mean -- look at all the charities out there: MS foundation; AIDS societies; make a wish foundation etc etc etc. not saying they are not worth donating to -- but they do operate on a principle of "your money makes things A-OK".

on the other hand -- I bet if i contribute $$ to WHOI -- the money will be comming back to me in a way of "Well we are still fucked, but at least now we know how fucked and what we did to get ourselves there"...

Oh dear me, yes. You are much too clever for us. You should spend your time here mensa.org
rather than waste your brilliance on us.

I bought a Philip Glass album about 15 years ago and listened to it once. I still have nightmares about what I heard, but the headaches only come once a week now.

No kidding. Don't forget about Asia Carrera, who is a member of Mensa. I imagine that would make for some very nerdy pillow talk.

It is a well known fact that AMD Duron processors are made in a sweatshop in Maylasia.
- i have never read anything about AMD making their processors in sweatshops...do you have any information to back that up? even if they are, does that mean we should stay away from all stores that sell AMD processors...jeez, i dunno where i'm gonna shop for electronics anymore...

A large portion of Wal-Mart's merchandise is produced in third-world countries under sweatshop conditions
- i dunno about your Wal-Mart, but in my Wal-Mart they sell tons of brand name merchandise...the same brand name merchandise that you can find in any mall, toy store, electronics store, etc...if you have a problem with the business practices of a particular brand of merchandise (e.g. Nike), then i suggest you protest their company in particular, rather then make a dangerous blanket statement like you did...

-if you were gonna slam Wal-Mart for anything, you could've slammed them from not hiring union workers (atleast i don't think they still do)...that would be a legitimate complaint (although, i don't have a problem with it)...that is one of the ways they keep their prices down, in fact...but instead, you came in with unsubstantiated claims about AMD, and a bunch of "evil" talk about Wal-Mart...nice try...

here's a link to the MENSA comment form, i think we should send them a copy of your post, and protest your membership...

The program in the previous reply calculates it as 27,000,001 and the following link shows the shortcut method I used: http://www.cpa.us.mensa.org/solutions.html

The sum of digits in the 6 and 7 digit numbers, aka sum of digits of natural numbers from 100000 to 9999999, inclusive, is 312749999.

Why am I replying to an abusive AC again?

Currently I speak 5 languages, 3 with no appreciable accent. Sometimes, on occasion my finger get lazy, it is not so much matter of perfect spelling as it is getting my point accross.

I know very well how to spell, that has no bearing, Slashdot is not that damm important in the whole scheme of life, it is as many things these days a simple distraction, and spelling here is not exactly my first priority .

Besides with an IQ like mine, I just love when people call me an idiot, it make my day. Are you in the top 98 percentile as well ?

The branch you select depends on what you are looking for: job training & experience that's usable in civilian life, college money, quick promotion, quality of life & working conditions, or adventure.

If you are after the adventure factor, the Marines have the market on macho bullshit pretty well wrapped up. The Marines' reputation speaks for itself. Remember that the USMC's philosophy is that a Marine is a Rifleman first, and a $WHATEVER second, and plan accordingly -- don't be suprised if you spend more time doing grunt work and PT than you spend doing your nominal job. Probably not the best choice if you value physical comfort or independent thought. From an IT perspective, the USMC is probably the worst choice you can make.

The Navy likes to bill itself as high-tech, and while they do have pretty good training for basic electronics, general IT training (that would be applicable to a civilian job) is marginal at best. Quality of life and working conditions are the worst of any of the branches, however, particuarly if you are single and enlisted. Promotions can be pretty rapid if you stay out of trouble and are reasonably smart; the people you are competing against are (ahem) generally not of the highest calibre. Based on my personal observations (I did several TDY's to Navy facilities) and the experiences of family members who served in the USN, I would have to say that you should avoid the Navy like the plague.

The Army is the biggest branch, and probably has the most choices, career wise. Living & working conditions are (on average) a bit better than the Navy, but not nearly as good as the Air Force. They can give the Marines a pretty good run for the money in the Macho Military Bullshit department when they put their minds to it, but this is minimized if you are in a non-combatant job. Army IT is generally pretty close to what you'd find in the corporate sector, except the users are dumber and will usually outrank you.

The Air Force is probably the best choice from an IT perspective. The working and living conditions are the best of any of the branches, and the Macho Military Bullshit is barely noticable once you are out of training. The downside is that it's harder to make rank than any of the other services. IMHO, the USAF is the best choice if you want to prepare yourself for an IT career in the corporate world. (It's a pretty good choice if you are planning on a military career -- they are more family-friendly than any of the other branches). My experience was exactly the opposite of the parent poster's: I too had to work on some Navy systems and I found them far worse than ours. The people I worked with were generally top-notch. (although I was in a software development shop, not lan & desktop support)

Definately heed the advice in the parent post: DO NOT TRUST RECRUITERS. They have a quota to fill, and they could care less what happens to you once you sign up. Enlisting with "Open/General" as your job choice is like putting a "kick me" sign on your back. However, at least in the Air Force, if you have good ASVAB and EDPT scores you have a very good chance of getting an IT job. The EDPT -- electronic data processing test -- is (or at least was in '89) the test you must take to qualify for any computer-related job. The higher your score on that test, the more likely it is you'll get an IT job -- they have a very hard time finding enough people who can pass the test to fill all the available slots. The EDPE doesn't test any technical computer knowledge -- it's actually an IQ test (identifying patterns, sequences, etc). To prepare, do tests like the Mensa Workout.

I didn't think so. I'm formally trained in niether psychology nor psychiatry, nor have I met Eric Yang; but I am a member of MENSA and a student of human behavior. I think I know a sociopath [slashdot.org] when I see one.

And DAMN you know how to pound your dick on the table to try and convince everyone you are right!

Being a student of behavior doesn't really make you any more qualified than anyone else to make the observation of if someone is a sociopath or not. And a MENSA membership doesn't qualify you either - which kinda makes me question your wisdom of posting that you are a MENSA member. Plus, anyway - 2% of the world can be a MENSA member. If you would have said you were a IQuadrivium member, I might have been more impressed ;-) (only .1% of the world can qualify for that one. And there's ones with even more stringent restrictions on IQ - of course, there's certain problems with quantifying extremely high IQ's in the first place!)

In other words - please, if you are going to try and use something to prove your point, how about I dunno... use the wonderful ability to hyperlink to relavant information instead of trying to turn this into an "I'm smarter than you" style contest. More people listen when relevant information is presented, while attempting to make people believe you have a bigger dick really doesn't do anything but make people scoff at you, and totally disreguard your statements completely.

What's really IRONIC (damned if I'm not havin' some fun now!) about this is that you've claimed Eric Yang to be a sociopath. However, you've already exhibited at least one sign of a sociopath - excessive boasting. More likely than not based on your MENSA comment, you could also potentially have a second problem that's commonly exhibited: Grandiose sense of self-worth.

So quit callin' people names and flingin' terms when you think the ignorant masses don't really follow what you are saying. You might be surprised - a really large number of us are actually somewhat intellectual ourselves, and do know the definition and meaning of large words.

(Ok, I SWEAR - that's the only time I've ever used the term 'intellectual' attached to a group of people that includes myself. Sheesh.)

Never could pass up a challenge :)

Mensa

If quality mattered, we'd have MENSA MEMBERS and ETHICS SPECIALISTS in our elected offices, and we'd pay attention to the legislation that they offered.

The overwhelming majority of Slashdot readers are smart enough to be in Mensa. Do you want the world run by Anonymous Coward? ;-)