[Azred]

Don't think of scores and results in terms of "smart" or "dumb", because those terms are so relative. If I have such a high degree of intelligence, why did I stay in a bad relationship for so long? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

You can score higher on analogy tests if you are well-read. Numeric/spatial tests are where math/engineering types score the highest. There are logic, pattern recognition, and sequencing tests. In short, psychologists these days recognize a much wider variety of "intelligence" than the classical "math and verbal" tests.
The only type of test that can truly measure your mental acuity is the type that tests all of these, mixing analogies, number problems, logic puzzles, and pattern recognition into one set of questions. A real IQ test has to be done in person at a testing center or psychological clinic and will usually incorporate spatial designs, like the test where I had to arrange patterns from some colored blocks I took as a child.

The problem with IQ is that people equate IQ with personal worth. [img]graemlins/nono.gif[/img] I know plenty of very intelligent people who aren't worth knowing. Also, those who get a "normal" or "low" score think less of themselves. *sigh* There are many virtues in life much more important than mere intelligence. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

edit
I forgot to add this: many of those tests are normed or standardized to an IQ higher than 100, so the score you get isn't necessarily the score you have. If the test is normed to 130 and you score 110, the fact that you might be a little below "average" for that test means you are probably above average on a test normed to 100.

[ 05-16-2003, 01:20 AM: Message edited by: Azred ]