Chris Forever Young: Just got tested at 115 overall. 130 verbal. Like one of the other commenters, language based tasks are easy for me, but puzzles and spatial reasoning give me fits.
I finally, at age 49, forced myself to go for testing for ADHD when my inability to corral my thoughts and focus on work that no longer had the new car smell became out of hand. The IQ test was an added bonus to the process. I took the 115 overall score to mean about what I always assumed: I’m just intelligent enough to appreciate how much more there would be to comprehend if I was just a little more intelligent, and I admire those whose brilliance I can’t aspire to.
I share many of the traits I’ve seen discussed here. I have problems concentrating on things I’m not interested in, daydream at meetings or in conversations, and am super-interested in new ideas and ingenious ways of looking at the world. Have been told I’m a very funny guy also.
I’m also a loner, mostly because I feel like an outsider when people around me are talking about such tired mundane simple topics without looking deeper or trying to see anything other than what’s in front of them. I have often wondered how someone with a very high IQ (130) views someone around my intelligence level, because I’m sure there will be times I appear very insightful to them but at other times must seem as if I have no understanding of how the world around me functions.
Am glad I stumbled across this post.
Keep in mind than IQ of 115 is quite high. It is at the 82nd percentile. In other words, they are smarter than 82% of the population. And that’s not good enough? Why not? That’s pretty damn good.
I have an IQ of 147, so I am far above even the 130 IQ you discuss here.
I have known a number of 115 IQ types. I had a long-term girlfriend with an IQ at that level. I had to explain things a lot to her, but she understood pretty quickly when I did so and was very interested in high-level things. I used to talk about high level stuff a lot, and she would listen raptly. She called these “The Lectures.” That sounds a bit insulting but actually she meant it in a good way. I was like a college professor at the lecturn, and she was like a typical female university student.
She could come up with these amazingly funny little comments that were also rather sophisticated.
She had never taken an IQ test and she was smart enough, so I suggested she get one. Before she did I said, “I predict you have a 115 IQ.” She took it and that was exactly the score she got.
She did have a Masters Degree, so 115 IQ types can definitely get a Master’s. You could probably easily get a Masters with an IQ all the way down to ~107 IQ. Of course someone at this level can get a BA degree! 115 IQ is the average for all persons with a BA. So a 115 IQ person, if you want an example, is like the typical average person who has a BA degree. A 115 IQ person could even get an MD, though they would have to work their tail off to get it. MD’s with 115 IQ’s actually exist and are not uncommon.
I had another friend with a 113 IQ. He also had a BA. He could understand just about everything I could throw at him. We mostly talked about women and sex, but we also talked about being anti-SJW.
Have been told I’m a very funny guy also.
He was a decent writer and he could write these amazingly funny sentences that were on a pretty high level of brains. So these people can be blazingly funny in an intellectual way if they wish to be. I would suspect that a lot of standup comics have IQ’s around this range. They can be good writers and artists. The woman was a well-known artist.
I have problems concentrating on things I’m not interested in, daydream at meetings or in conversations,
The part about getting bored easily and daydreaming a lot are interesting. I thought it was only us ultra-brain types who did that, since those are actually two of the signs of gifted level intelligence, high enough to get into MENSA. So it’s interesting that signs of being gifted filter all the way down to IQ 115.
A better way to put it would be to say that 115 IQ display some of the signs of gifted level intelligence.
I’m also a loner mostly because I feel like an outsider when people around me are talking about such tired mundane simple topics without looking deeper or trying to see anything other than what’s in front of them.
It’s also interesting that even at at a 115 IQ, people are getting bored with average, everyday mundane conversation. Once again, that’s a sign of the gifted, but I have commenters with IQ’s of 120-125 who also say that everyday conversation bores the Hell out of them. So you only have to go one standard deviation above normal intelligence (100), and people are already getting bored with the quotidian.
I’m just intelligent enough to appreciate how much more there would be to comprehend if I was just a little more intelligent,
It is interesting that the commenter says that he is just smart enough to appreciate how much more he could know if he was a bit smarter. I have commenters with IQ’s ~120 who say much the same thing. Average conversation bores them stiff, but a lot of high level stuff leaves them dizzy, and they wish they were smarter. So these people are just smart enough to appreciate how fun and cool brains are, but they are frustrated because a lot of the brainy stuff they want to learn seems rather over their heads.
and admire those whose brilliance I can’t aspire to.
This is very important. At this level, people can finally appreciate IQ, frankly because they are smart enough to realize how important it is. At average level intelligence, most people are hostile to the very idea of IQ and even human intelligence. I remember once a 100 IQ friend of mine got mad when I said Ronald Reagan wasn’t smart enough to be president.
So what that means is that people of average intelligence simply see no value at all in human intelligence, probably because it hits their insecurities and makes them think that they are not all that smart.
Well, the only thing I can say to that is I am glad that 100 IQ are not running our society! I’m very happy that they are not at the top levels of government, business, nonprofits and the arts. Because as much as average IQ people fuss and bluster about it, modern society still runs on high IQ people. Take away the high IQ people and you don’t have much of a society anymore. You can Africa. You average IQ folks think Africa is the pinnacle of civilization? That’s what you get when you don’t value intelligence and let the brightest people run your country.
I have often wondered how someone with a very high IQ (130) views someone around my intelligence level, because I’m sure there will be times I appear very insightful to them but at other times must seem as if I have no understanding of how the world around me functions.
Well, I have spent a lot of time with folks at that intelligence level. I am 30 points above them, but still I find that they are perfectly adequate as acquaintances, friends, and even lovers and spouses. Yes, they can seem very insightful at times.
As far as having no understanding of how the world works, I’m not sure, but I have found that 115 IQ people are very curious about how the world works, and they love to learn this sort of information. So I would say that even if they appear to not have it figured out, they can be taught quite easily.
You don’t have to repeat things to them either. They get everything the first time around. Yes, sometimes you have to explain a lot of stuff to them, but they don’t feel insulted when you do so like many folks.
am super-interested in new ideas and ingenious ways of looking at the world
Instead they are curious and anxious to learn more about the world. They have “hungry brains,” like those at higher levels. I can’t remember the last time I threw an idea at someone at that IQ level that they couldn’t figure out. I’m sure there must be some things that are over their heads, but those are not things that I talk about.
In short, a 115 IQ is perfectly adequate to function in society and in fact, it is quite a bit more than adequate. And someone at this IQ can do most jobs, depending on their strengths that is. They are smart enough to be physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and veterinarians. I would not advise them trying to get a JD or a PhD. That’s really pushing the limits of their intelligence.
115 IQ people should stop fretting about their “low IQ’s.” It’s ridiculous! In short, a 115 IQ person is smart enough to do just about anything they want to do in modern society, within the limitations of their strengths and deficiencies. If you have an IQ at this level, go forth and stride headlong into society. The world is your oyster and it’s sitting there waiting for you to grab it. Go get some.
