26 Firstborn Children and IQ Tests
Firstborn children usually have a higher IQ than their siblings.
27. With an IQ of 46, Joe Arridy, the happiest inmate on death row, enjoyed playing with a toy train that the warden had given him. Due to his lack of understanding, he smiled on his way to the gas chamber.
28. An IQ of 171 makes you one in a million (approximately).
29. The late actor Robert Forster, best known from “Jackie Brown” and “Breaking Bad,” was a member of the “Triple Nine Society,” reserved for people whose IQ is in at least the 99.9th percentile (which equates to a score of 146 or above on the widely-used Wechsler tests).
30. The average human IQ has been increasing. Time-transporting a typical person from 1910 to the present would result in a mean IQ of 70, on the verge of mental retardation.
31 Decline of “Genius” Classification – IQ Tests
By 1937, experts no longer used the term “genius” as an IQ classification. In 1939, David Wechsler specifically commented that “we are rather hesitant about calling a person a genius on the basis of a single intelligence test score.”
32. The world record for the highest IQ was 228, held by 10-year-old Marilyn vos Savant. Marilyn attained this feat due to the use of an insufficient scoring system by her IQ testers, leading to the eventual removal of the IQ topic from the Guinness record book.
33. A high IQ does not necessarily mean high job performance. Emotional intelligence (EI/EQ) has shown to be a better indicator of job success.
34. The stress of being poor is enough to lower someone’s intelligence from average to borderline mentally deficient, reducing their IQ score by an average of 14 points.
35. With an IQ of 178, Brandenn Bremmer was a genius. He read books at 18 months old, played the piano at age 3, and started college at age 11. Tragically, he committed suicide at age 14 with no signs of depression, suicide note, or pressure to achieve from his parents.
36 Sharon Stone’s Mensa Claim – IQ Tests
Sharon Stone maintained for many years that she had an IQ of 148 and was a member of Mensa. However, she admitted in 2002 that she was not and had never been a member of Mensa.
37. There is a negative correlation between IQ and religious belief.
38. Isaac Asimov was a long-time member and vice president of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly. He described some members of that organization as “brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.”
39. The higher your testable IQ, the less likely you are to develop schizophrenia.
40. A 2009 survey concluded that 65% of Americans educated to a high school level believe they possess above-average intelligence, despite data showing only 47% do. Alternatively, 73% of college-educated respondents feel they possess above-average IQs, while data shows 84% do.
41 Board Games and Children’s IQ
Playing board games with children can raise their IQ. Researchers played logic games (like Qwirkle) with 7-to-9-year-old children for 60 minutes a day, twice per week. Eight weeks later, the children increased their IQ test scores by an average of 10 points.
42. A lower IQ as a child correlates to a higher chance of obesity as an adult.
43. There is no correlation between a highly skilled chess player’s IQ and their chess rating. Moreover, two separate studies showed Korean Go experts had an average IQ of 93.
44. A woman with an IQ of 189 died after drinking 4 gallons of water in one sitting, trying to combat stomach cancer.
45. Young Hoon Kim currently holds the record for the world’s highest IQ at 276 (as of August 2024). He advises several organizations, including the World Mind Sports Council and the World Memory Championships, and is also the president of the United Sigma Intelligence Association (USIA).
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46 Hong Kong’s Average IQ Test Scores
Hong Kong has the highest intelligence of any country or territory on earth, with an average IQ of 107, followed by South Korea and Japan. The USA doesn’t even break the top 10.
47. Harvard conducted a study tracking the health of their students from 1938 to 2017. They found that for a healthy life, happiness and close family relationships are more important than IQ, wealth, or genes. Good marriages lead to less mental deterioration than stressful ones.
48. ‘The Mega Society’ is a high-IQ society exclusively available to those with an IQ in the 99.9999th percentile (one in a million). There are only 26 members.
49. Professor John Lorber discovered a math genius who had almost no brain because of a condition known as hydrocephalus. He went on to discover that many other people with 90% of their brains missing who had normal to high IQs.
50. At the age of four, January Schofield tested with an IQ of 146 and knew the alphabet at 13 months old. Additionally, she experienced hallucinations, displayed extreme violence, and received a diagnosis of child-onset schizophrenia.
RE: Fact #27 (Joe Arridy’s IQ and Death Row) – That’s seriously bumming me out.
RE: Fact #26 (Firstborn Children and IQ Tests) – Being a second child, I’m happy to say I’m not like everyone else.
RE: Fact #1 (Personality vs. IQ Success) – A lot of studies show that IQ is super important when it comes to doing well in life. But some reporters try to trick people by twisting the results. They’ll say personality is more important, but what they really mean is that personality helps predict success in addition to IQ. It doesn’t mean personality is more important than IQ. Sometimes they’ll even say things like, “Personality matters more than IQ” which is kind of misleading.
The effect of intelligence on your life gets bigger as you get older because it takes time for a high IQ to make a difference. This is why studies with younger people, like those using GPA data, usually show a weaker connection between IQ and success. This study seems to have people of different ages, but it’s not clear how old they were when they were tested. But since they have GPA, it seems like they were measured when they were kids.
The main thing to remember is that this study backs up what we’ve always known: IQ is the best predictor of success. You can get a better prediction by looking at lots of different things, but if you can only measure one thing, IQ is the one to go for.
RE: Fact #7 (Relative IQ Measurement) – Yeah, we’ve gotten smarter over time, probably because our brains develop and also because schools are more focused on standardized tests these days. When you take an IQ test, you’re compared to others your age.
Maybe it’s because we don’t put lead in gasoline or paint anymore.
RE: Fact #43 (Chess Ratings and IQ) – IQ tests are just looking for a specific set of skills, and that doesn’t have much to do with how good your memory is.
RE: Fact #30 (Historical IQ Increases) – What I mean is, the things we think of as “smart” have changed over time. We value book smarts and thinking things through, but our ancestors valued being able to fix stuff, build things, and work with their hands. Those modern IQ tests might touch on some visual skills and quick thinking, but they don’t really measure how good you are at fixing a leaky pipe or knowing when to plant your crops. Back then, if you couldn’t do those things, you were pretty much useless.
RE: Fact #15 (Tony Hawk’s IQ and School Life) – Reminds me of when that fact about Ke$ha being a “genius” blew up on factrepublic, with the top comment calling her “Basically Einstein.”
She’s way smarter than she acts. Nothing about her public persona seems real.
RE: Fact #19 (Lead Exposure and IQ Decline) – Apparently, adding iodine to salt made everyone smarter by 15 points. Then, adding lead to gasoline made everyone dumber by 15 points.
RE: Fact #45 (Young Hoon Kim’s IQ Record) – Remember that time a radio station had a “Hold your Wee for a Wii” contest? It didn’t end well, someone actually died from drinking too much water.
RE: Fact #25 (Dolph Lundgren’s IQ and MIT) – Talk about a wild luck. Robbers once broke into his place, but took off when they saw pictures and realized it was Dolph Lundgren’s house!
I’m putting Dolph Lundgren in pictures of my family and hanging them up everywhere.
RE: Fact #23 (High IQ Rejection in Police) – Yeah, I remember that happening in Rhode Island. The whole idea was that smart people would get tired of doing that kind of work and just leave.
RE: Fact #49 (John Lorber’s Brain Discoveries) – Seriously, how is that even possible? It’s totally wild, like seeing a bunch of hamsters doing the twist under a super-powerful microscope. If someone’s missing 90% of their brain, how could they even function? It’s like that part was just…extra.
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.
Your brain is super flexible – it can change how its wiring works. It’s not about size, it’s about how many connections are made between brain cells. These people’s brains are probably super connected, with lots of connections packed into a smaller space.
RE: Fact #21 (Francis Galton’s Innovations) – Bjerkness was just some jerk, I guess.
RE: Fact #34 (Poverty’s Effect on IQ) – So basically, it’s saying that how well people do on IQ tests depends on how focused they can be. If they’re worried about getting food or taking care of their families, they might not do as well. It makes sense, right?
RE: Fact #35 (Brandenn Bremmer’s Genius and Tragedy) – Maybe it’s depression, like everyone says. But I’m thinking maybe it’s just curiosity.
RE: Fact #12 (UK Court Ruling on IQ) – The court should really be looking into the person who agreed to have sex with someone with such a low IQ.
RE: Fact #44 (Death from Excess Water Intake) – Intelligence and wisdom are two totally different things, you know.
RE: Fact #14 (IQ Floor for US Armed Forces) – You know, those guys in the movie *Forrest Gump*, where Forrest and Bubba are together? That’s based on a real thing, and this article talks about how those soldiers had some serious problems.
Wow, I had no idea. That explains a lot. It’s really sad.
RE: Fact #20 (Down Syndrome and IQ) – This fact doesn’t really talk about it, but there’s this thing called mosaic Down syndrome. Some people with it have typical Down syndrome symptoms because of a chromosome problem, but they can also be really different in terms of how they look, how tall they are, how they talk, and stuff like that. Some people might not even know they have Down syndrome, you know? Maybe those people have mosaic Down syndrome.
RE: Fact #8 (Stephen Hawking on IQ) – He has a point.
RE: Fact #29 (Robert Forster and Triple Nine Society) – I figured out that in a city with a million people, about a thousand would be smart enough to join. But that’s not exclusive enough, I need to find something harder to get into.
A movie or TV show made that joke, I think. Like, “I’ll never get over her. She was one in a million.” Then someone’s like, “Well, there are tons of girls in New York, let’s find the other four!”
It’s way more exclusive than that. Only a tiny percentage of people even take an IQ test. And then only the super high scorers who are really into bragging about it join this group.
RE: Fact #38 (Isaac Asimov on Mensa Members) – That’s kind of their whole deal, right?
RE: Fact #8 (Stephen Hawking on IQ) – I was really blown away by this comment in the article: “Just last month a Gallup poll found that only 35 percent of Americans accept Darwin’s theory of evolution, while 45 percent prefer the creationist view. ”
Stephen Hawking’s response was, “Maybe it is because people in America have less sense of belonging to a tradition and culture than in Europe, so they turn to fundamental religion. “
RE: Fact #36 (Sharon Stone’s Mensa Claim – IQ Tests) – The only people I’ve heard bragging about their IQ are people who definitely aren’t geniuses.
Speaking of IQs… have I ever mentioned mine?
RE: Fact #25 (Dolph Lundgren’s IQ and MIT) – Calling him a Fulbright Scholar is a lot cooler than saying he studied Chemical Engineering.
RE: Fact #33 (IQ vs. Job Performance) – It’s more about playing nice with the boss and customers than actually knowing your stuff, right?
RE: Fact #34 (Poverty’s Effect on IQ) – I get it. When I was flat broke, couldn’t even afford a security deposit, all I could think about was that $500. You get so desperate, it’s hard to breathe. I’m okay now, but it really sucks to be poor. I feel bad that they don’t get much help or sympathy.
RE: Fact #3 (Money’s Effect on IQ Scores) – Being smart isn’t enough if you don’t put in the work. The test still shows how well you can use your smarts in real life.
RE: Fact #27 (Joe Arridy’s IQ and Death Row) – They say he smiled on his way to the gas chamber. He only got nervous for a minute, until the warden calmed him down.
RE: Fact #13 (IQ and Mental Health Issues) – I was a pretty smart kid, went to one of those fancy high schools for brainiacs, but then a whole decade of depression hit me hard. I feel like I was actually smarter when I was just 13. I guess things even out in the end.
I’m in the same boat. My grades are tanking because ADHD and depression are really messing with my focus and I can’t concentrate on assignments that need it.
RE: Fact #1 (Personality vs. IQ Success) – Been in tech sales for a while, and let me tell you, your network is basically your worth in this game.
Senior folks make bank, and they deserve it. It’s not just about being a super aggressive, winning sales machine. They’re good at knowing people. They remember faces, names, the whole deal. And that stuff builds up over time. At a certain point, your actual skills matter less than the contacts you’ve got in your head.
I’ve seen people get hired just because they know tons of people in education, consulting, and all that. If you’re good at remembering faces and names, and keeping up with those connections, you’re a gold mine, man. Every company you work for can tap into that for a long time.
If you want to succeed, get good at building relationships. It’s seriously valuable. Now, if you’re terrible with faces, you better have some seriously killer skills in something else.
Networking, schmorking. Just another day in the jungle, I guess.
RE: Fact #50 (January Schofield’s IQ and Schizophrenia) – That’s super interesting! What blew my mind was that both their kids have schizophrenia and autism. Is that a genetic thing? I mean, the odds of both kids having mental disorders like that seem crazy low. And hey, Michael Schofield is the dad of January – Prison Break anyone?!
RE: Fact #15 (Tony Hawk’s IQ and School Life) – Tony, in his book, said that being a pro skateboarder back in high school was like being a pro frisbee thrower today.
RE: Fact #25 (Dolph Lundgren’s IQ and MIT) – Lundgren says his IQ of 160 is a bit of an exaggeration, but he’s definitely a smart guy.
RE: Fact #11 (Sterilization Policies and IQ – IQ Tests) – That was a close one, Charlotte would have been empty otherwise.
RE: Fact #7 (Relative IQ Measurement) – That’s why the average will always be 100.
RE: Fact #30 (Historical IQ Increases) – The average IQ is supposed to be 100, so it’s not that people are getting smarter, it’s just that what’s considered “smart” keeps changing.
RE: Fact #34 (Poverty’s Effect on IQ) – It’s like, duh, right? Being poor isn’t something you choose, it’s a tough situation that’s out of your control. And all these rich guys who don’t want to pay decent wages just say, “Stop being poor.” How? How do you expect people to get out of poverty when you’re holding onto all the money?
RE: Fact #13 (IQ and Mental Health Issues) – The more you pay attention to what’s going on, the more stressful life can feel.
RE: Fact #9 (Dysrationalia and High IQ) – It’s crazy, but sometimes the smartest people can be totally wrong about things.
RE: Fact #40 (Survey on Perceived IQ) – That’s totally in line with the Dunning-Kruger Effect, you know? But it also makes me think about how much we value intelligence these days. Even if someone isn’t super smart, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t want to admit it. Not being smart isn’t exactly a cool thing to be.
The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know.