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| A Typical IQ Bell Curve |
Out of curiosity though, after finishing the video I decided to check out the entrance requirements for Mensa, an international organization for the people whose intelligence is in the top 2% on the planet. While I was thinking that that would be somewhere around Einstein's level, (around 160), I was surprised to find out that it is only around 130. This was surprising to me because I had scored into the 120s before myself, and I didn't know that that constituted such a high level of intelligence.
A few years ago, while working at a friend's company to develop a better process for screening employees, I suggested EQ testing, and then to get a feel for the test, I ran myself through an online IQ and EQ test. On the IQ test, I outscored 87% of everyone who had ever taken the test, and for EQ, I outscored 93%. At time though, because it was just an online test and not officially administered, I didn't think much of it.
After seeing what the IQ scale was though, I went back and asked my mother if I had ever scored over 115 as a kid (the top 14% of world average) and she said, "Oh no, Chuckie you were way higher than that. But I don't remember what the actual score was."
From there, I thought it best to take another round of tests online to see how I did. Sure enough, except for on one test, I could score into the 120's, and was generally ranked as having "Very Superior Intelligence".
If that's the case, then it explains a lot. When I was younger, I often had a hard time relating to people because I was expecting them to make intellectual jumps and grasp concepts that they just couldn't. (Like for example when I would try to talk to people about books I was reading on Quantum Physics and how the concepts relate to psychology and philosophy).
It also explains why I've always had at least 3-4 completely different jobs at once, why I've always studied multiple foreign languages at once, and why I can study for 12 hours straight, and love every second of it. That's simply what it takes to keep me from getting bored.
It also explains, why, for the life of me, I could never find satisfaction in doing a regular job. For the longest time, I thought I had ADD or something, because I just couldn't stay focused on it. What I realized however, was that the issue was that most jobs just didn't require enough brainpower for me to hold my attention. Doing regular jobs was like trying to stay focused watching paint dry.
As I found out when producing Fists of Absinthe, what I am good at is being a leader, not a follower. In order to stay focused, I need to be at the healm of things that are extremely difficult to do, and/or that haven't been done at all. (Which also explains my career as Japan's first foreign action guy). Additionally, in general, I have a really hard time working in pre-fabricated systems, because I always feel as though I could make a better one myself.
Anyway, looking at my last score, (121) I am still 3 points short of ranking into the top 5% globally, and 9 points away from being smart enough to pass Mensa's entrance exam.
3 points isn't so insurmountable of a gap... But 9 is still fairly large. And that is exactly why I want to go for it. I want to see if it can be done.
If the human mind is as flexible and adaptable as the human body is (and I'm going to assume that it is - or even more so), than I see no reason why I can't simply raise my own intelligence. If the body can respond to a strength training regiment, why not the mind? If muscles can be stretched, shaped and densified for exacting purposes, why not the brain?
The prospect of the challenge of figuring out exactly how to do that is extremely exciting to say the least.
If nothing else, all the things I learn from the process I will be able to pass along to my son, Ty, in how I raise him and challenge him, so that by the time he reaches adulthood, his intelligence, aptitude, and reasoning skill will be far beyond my own. Particularly since he's got the same kind of genes from his mother- who is the same way I am.
Thus far, it has taken me 5 tries on the Mensa practice exam to achieve a score of 86%. (Which I am assuming is passing). As such, I am giving myself 6 tries (once a month for half a year) to pass the exam. 4 tries to figure it out, and 2 to try and pass it. If I do get in, I'm certainly not expecting to be the smartest guy (or person, I should say) in the organization. Quite conversely, intellectually, I will be at "the bottom of the barrel". At least in terms of the particular range of intelligences that IQ scores on.
... But I am hoping to be one of the most likable :).
Will post my mental training regiment as soon as I finish mapping it all out.
