Poll: How smart do you think you are compared to other people?

[CouchCommando]

I voted average so stfu.

 

[Collymilad08]

I vote slightly above average.

You only need to look around to see how stupid the average person is.

 

[Smoochy]

I know, that I don't know anything.

It got Socrates the title 'smartest man alive', so I guess I'll follow his lead!

 

[AnneSQF]

I'm much smarter than the people I meet very day :S, but compaired to the whole world only a bit above average. But seriusly wondering who this people get their shoes on keeps me awake at nicht

 

[j1-2themax]

Hm... over 80% polled say above average. We either need a new definition of average or a little more honesty.

Or this site could be populated mostly be mensa members.

 

[Spitfire175]

I suppose being a mensa member makes me marter than most people.

 

[Sisyphus0]

Compared to people I know outside university, as well as my relatives and parents especially, I am significantly more intelligent. I am often very frustrated by their ignorance (my parents) and inability to think beyond what they're told. In my university circles, above average, but not significantly. Most of those that I converse with regularly are high achievers like myself who feel like a failure when they get an 80%.

However, the problem here is that there is no universally agreed upon definition of intelligence. As well, there is no accurate method to measure said intelligence, IQ tests are especially misleading and are inadequate measures of ones cognitive potential and ability.

 

[Rossmallo]

I feel quite a fair bit above average, if only because im one of the few normal people i know in the sea of sexually-fixed, alcoholic, uneducated chavs that make up this country.

 

[Skeleon]

Hm... over 80% polled say above average. We either need a new definition of average or a little more honesty.

Honestly, considering how many university students and whatnot we have here, I'm not surprised that most people vote for one of the "above average"-options. I'm surprised so many people see themselves as "considerably above average", though.

 

[Nomad]

I have proof, I passed an IQ test that proved I'm a genuise, but I kinda think IQ tests ae flawed so I'm hypociritcal.

Which IQ-test? Was it on the internet? Then no, you don't have proof. If it wasn't, then please specify via what organisation or psychologist you took the test, and what specific test version and scale was used.

IQ tests tend to be inaccurate and biased due to most of the questions (and answers) being focused towards a white, middle class background (at least this is theorised to be the case in the UK anyway) so I'd hardly call it proof (although you did realise this so credit to you for pointing it out).

That's true for most of the "IQ tests". It is not, however, true for IQ tests without the quotation marks. Because for an IQ test to be considered serious, it has to be "culture-fair". Examples of serious, culture-fair IQ tests include Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM), Cattell Culture Fair (CFIT) and Figure Reasoning Test (FRT). These tests include no verbal or numerical components, and are instead completely based on deducing the next figure/shape in a progressive series. This has been proven to have absolutely no connection with cultural differences, as all that is required is an ability to understand logic and complexity - commonly known as the G-factor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_intelligence_factor]. Culture-fair IQ tests do not feature "questions" as such, only series of figures, where your task is to identify the next logical addition to it.

IQ tests are especially misleading and are inadequate measures of ones cognitive potential and ability.

How so? Please motivate. The G-factor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_intelligence_factor] is a scientifically accepted attribute, and IQ has been shown to correlate with G at 0.9, if I remember correctly.

At the risk of sounding extremely arrogant, I'm significantly smarter than the average person. My IQ was tested when I was 5 years old, with the result being 155. (According to this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IQ_curve.svg], it's literally off the scale.)

... What scale? And where did you get it measured? Because there are very, very, very few tests that measure that high up on the standardized (Wechsler) IQ-scale. Because the Wechsler-scale has a standard deviation of 15, results above 140 are nearly impossible to measure accurately, as they would require a freaking huge test-group in order to get a reliable average. Which would cost insane amounts of money.

Now, I realize that as a 5-year old, you wouldn't get to take a standardized IQ-test because your brain wasn't fully developed. Which poses another problem. Accurately measuring the IQ of such a young child is even more difficult, and even closer to impossible on high levels. If you did, indeed, get that result on a serious test by a legitimate psychologist, then it was most definetly on the Cattell scale - which noone uses anymore because it's pretty much crap. Anyway, a 155 on the Cattell scale would translate to something like 135 on the standardized Wechsler-scale. Which puts you in the top 1%, but certainly not off the scale.

I suppose being a mensa member makes me marter than most people.

Join the group, then! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Mensa-International]

whilst others have used IQ despite all the evidence to suggest the number is meaningless.

What evidence is this I keep hearing about? I've said it before, and I'll say it again... IQ measures G, which is a scientifically accepted attribute. Psychologists and scientists everywhere make use of it in their studies, because it has been proven to correlate with all major cognitive abilities. The only conclusion I can come to is that you people look at all the random "IQ" tests found on the internet and scowl at the fact that every man and his uncle is given outlandish results... But hey, guess what? The internet is not a reliable source. If you want a true measurement of IQ, or G, then take a standardized, supervised test. Either find a psychologist that offers testing, or contact Mensa. I suggest the latter, because those psychologists are unfamiliar with the concept of numbers with less than four digits in terms of billing.

 

[Wadders]

I am of distinctly average intelligence. Although sometimes I have moments of extreme stupidity, and at other times I can be quite clever, so I guess it all evens out.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I am utterly retarded in some ways (for example, if I was asked to operate a coffee machine or something) but I find I'm above average in the traditional sense.

 

[Kollega]

Slightly above average,or at least above neccesary. I'm no Albert Einstein,but i am creative,and i do have something many people lack - common sense.

 

[Nomad]

I have proof, I passed an IQ test that proved I'm a genuise, but I kinda think IQ tests ae flawed so I'm hypociritcal.

The very concept itself is flawed, the test doesn't come close to testing all aspects of intelligence.

Please specify your criticism towards the G-factor mentioned in my earlier post. G does measure general aptitude, and is a scientifically accepted attribute.

 

[Ammadessi]

I'm bad enough at the things I'm not good at to negate anything I'm good at, so, average, and really there's no shame in that.

 

[CIA]

I haven't seen any results yet, but I am going to make an educated guess. A much larger portion of people voted above average than average or below average. This shows how egotistical and self indulgent you are. Maybe it's true, maybe it just happened that a large amount of intelligent people saw and viewed this. Maybe the viewers of this website are more intelligent than most. This is very unlikely, as most of you would do poorly on an internet-based test to ascertain your intelligence. In fact, most of you would do poorly enough to be considered mentally handicapped. So what do you, O Intelligent One, think of this? I ask because your thoughts matter so much that I would be delighted to read your elegant and insightful prose on the subject.

Thank you for the invitation. I voted "slightly above average" because the question was "How smart do you think you are compared to other people?" How smart I think that I am can be different from how smart I actually am.

"Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues..."
The Great Gatsby

This is why so many of those in your sample group chose above average.

 

[Spaghetti]

Considerably Above Average

Personally I don't think I'm the sharpest biscuit in the bread tin...but University grades kind of say another thing.
Plus I'm living in the US at the moment and my British accent tends to lull people into thinking I'm a boffin.

 

[[zonking great]]

Considerably above average. Last tested was roughly twice of average. That was in a foreign language, too, so I missed a few points here and there too.

 

[Cylem]

I know I'm not particularly above average, so I know not to make an ass of myself trying to prove otherwise. Does that make me smart?