Well if you're using an IQ test seriously then you should be tested at least twice to account for differences like amount of sleep and so on. Ideally you shouldn't be able to 'study' for an IQ test - it is an aptitude test so is measuring what your raw ability is rather than what you've learnt and how good you are at taking tests. Tests like the Raven's Progressive Matrices are trying to do that, though as I mentioned they are very domain-specific so if you can't see patterns in matrices then you're really stupid according to that test ;) . Of course if you have a written test then it's practically impossible to have a measure that is independent of learning and test-taking skills. Basically IQ tests leave a lot of be desired, and what they're actually testing is a point of much contention.

I think you might be being a tad harsh, Cloudy, in saying that MENSA members are most likely social misfits. The woman you mentioned is not normal according to your own standards, but that doesn't mean that she's a life failure, and it doesn't mean that it's because she's super intelligent that her life is like that. There's certainly enough people with lower IQs who'd fit that description perfectly. I do agree though that they type of person who would join MENSA might not be someone that I would get along with too well ;) . It's not like a chess club or something where everyone there happens to have above average intelligence but are not there because of that, but they've actually come together because a very flawed measure of intelligence has scored them highly.

IQ tests assess your intellectual potential based on how well you answer logic based questions compared to the rest of your peers. From what I've seen, they leave a lot to be desired. I score high on them, but so what? I know plenty of people a lot dumber than I that have done better in their careers. There are too many variables to success. Another thing. If you're well rounded as a person, you probably won't be on the pinnacle of any single aspect of your talents. Yes, Einstein was a genius. One of the most admirable men who ever lived. He was not a good athelete, fashionable, or a great socializer. Just as the great atheletes were not physicists either. As a personality, he was very single faceted. Is that necessarily bad? No. Just a personal choice. Just remember that you can't be the best in everything and that being really good in any one thing isn't everything. When life is over and done with, how much you enjoyed it is the only measure of success.

Tell that to Bill Gates ;) , but then again it could be that wad he has in his pocket, or was that a pickle... but I digress