I.Q.

[BoodaGazelle]

The reason I was able to succeed in my career and retire early was that it is far better to have the right combination of IQ, common sense, and work ethic. Any one of this triad, even if off-the-charts, is not enough. I interviewed and worked with software engineers from MIT and Harvard that proved this over and over.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

I put up a sign I made for my office: Proud member of M.I.N.S.A.

 

[kcowan]

I went to a couple of meetings and was bored silly. Probably I wasn't smart enough to appreciate the other people's scintillating wit, but they seemed like stuck-up weirdos, and that's putting it kindly. And one of the women made a sexist remark that sticks with me to this day. She said, "You're too pretty to be in Mensa."

My experience too. The one thing that stays with me is that IQ is no indication of success in life. Clearly that is a function of other personality factors.

 

[Amethyst]

Anyone else go to public schools where classes within a grade were labeled A, B, C, D, E (etc) and sorted according to "academic achievement," which basically translated to smarts? Ostensibly, a hard-working student could move "up," but I only recall one girl who did. She was smart as a whip, but there had been Trouble At Home (so I heard) and she had only recently started paying attention in class.

We were all Caucasians, but segregated. Unless they were neighbors, or in some outside activity together, "A" class students rarely mingled with "B" or below. "E" class was what you'd call "special ed" today. Shades of Huxley's "Brave New World," without the genetic engineering.

One year, there was an outcry from some parents over a perceived stigma attached to being in certain letters. The school reacted by reversing the letter order. My cohort were now "E" instead of "A."

 

[Amethyst]

What about people skills? Or maybe that falls under common sense. Don't p* off the wrong people.

The reason I was able to succeed in my career and retire early was that it is far better to have the right combination of IQ, common sense, and work ethic. Any one of this triad, even if off-the-charts, is not enough. I interviewed and worked with software engineers from MIT and Harvard that proved this over and over.

 

[Nemo2]

Don't p* off the wrong people.

Or on them, for that matter.

 

[MichaelB]

Or on them, for that matter.

Good advice indeed

 

[Rianne]

My niece has a photographic memory. She's inquisitive and highly social. Her last semester report card at the University of Illinois, straight A's. That semester, she got married (large wedding, 200+ people) she got her car, auto, home, life and financial insurance licenses. Worked @ 20 hours/week in that insurance company securing agent of the month as a part time agent. Moved out of her parents house into an apartment with her new husband.

Her favorite shows..."Housewives of Beverly Hills, New York and Atlanta" "Jersey Shore" "The Bachelor." and reality shows that would make any intelligent persons skin crawl. Her IQ? I have no idea.

 

[CoolRich59]

I am a member of Mensa, but was smart enough to marry a woman with "street smarts".

Agreed. I scored a fairly high IQ, but shudder to think how I would have ended up if I had not married my wife.

 

[Huston55]

Anyone else go to public schools where classes within a grade were labeled A, B, C, D, E (etc) and sorted according to "academic achievement," which basically translated to smarts? Ostensibly, a hard-working student could move "up," but I only recall one girl who did. She was smart as a whip, but there had been Trouble At Home (so I heard) and she had only recently started paying attention in class.

We were all Caucasians, but segregated. Unless they were neighbors, or in some outside activity together, "A" class students rarely mingled with "B" or below. "E" class was what you'd call "special ed" today. Shades of Huxley's "Brave New World," without the genetic engineering.

One year, there was an outcry from some parents over a perceived stigma attached to being in certain letters. The school reacted by reversing the letter order. My cohort were now "E" instead of "A."

Yes. I moved a lot (Army brat) and had this system at several schools (typically A, B & C). Then, in the high schools I attended, AP classes were also offered.

Regarding a perceived ‘stigma’, there are two ways to view this. One is as a stigma for slower learners; the other is to provide an appropriate learning environment for the students in the classes (fewer students left behind or, bored to tears). I tend to favor the second view.

 

[Bestwifeever]

DD had a hard time in school being smart (no idea or care to know of her IQ) and turned very quiet to hide it; one friend always called her Einstein to be nice but she hated it. It can be tough being smart for kids these days.

 

[MRG]

IQ is vastly overrated. Common sense is vastly underrated. I'd prefer to see a common sense score than an IQ.

+1

I remember a guy, he was illiterate and had more common sense than most people with genius IQ. He didn't have a chance for a formal education and did the best he could.

 

[Amethyst]

Those goofy shows sound like a hobby and a relief valve for someone so driven and gifted.

Although I don't care for the "reality" genre, I have other "lowbrow" tastes, such as celebrity gossip magazines. I won't buy them, but avidly read any free copies lying around. I get a big kick out of "Who wore it best?" and similar features. I also enjoy "superhero" movies even though I can practically write the script from the first scenes.

Everything doesn't have to be Dostoevsky and Einstein.

My niece has a photographic memory. She's inquisitive and highly social. Her last semester report card at the University of Illinois, straight A's. That semester, she got married (large wedding, 200+ people) she got her car, auto, home, life and financial insurance licenses. Worked @ 20 hours/week in that insurance company securing agent of the month as a part time agent. Moved out of her parents house into an apartment with her new husband.

Her favorite shows..."Housewives of Beverly Hills, New York and Atlanta" "Jersey Shore" "The Bachelor." and reality shows that would make any intelligent persons skin crawl. Her IQ? I have no idea.

 

[Lewis Clark]

The score we obtain on any test is not a measure of the value of our lives. In any way.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I recall our High School Valedictorian who was good at rote memorization but not so much with figuring things out. I thought she must be smart because she had all A's, but when she asked me for help with her math homework I quickly realized she was of about average intelligence and was only taking easy classes. Nice girl, though.

On another note:

As the comedian Gallagher once said, "The TV has a brightness control but it don't work!"

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

When I was an instructor in the Air Force, it didn't take long for me to figure out that I *much* preferred a student with good common sense over one that was "book smart" any day. I am not saying that being smart is a bad thing, but whenever I gave a student an issue (usually in a flight simulator) that took some thinking that wasn't necessarily addressed in the flight manual, the "common sense" kids would figure it out pretty quick. The book smart kids on the other hand would pontificate for an extended period of time about the intricacies of the malfunctioning system(s) and what might be causing the issue...but could hardly figure out WHAT TO DO to fix it or formulate an effective workaround.

I have a family member that is quite smart...has a master's degree in mechanical engineering. At one time went out and figured out how heavy a plane could be to land on a certain runway...but lacks any common sense. Case in point? Once he was unable to get the oil dipstick back into the engine block...so instead of trying to figure out why, he just cut the stick off.