Answered on Quora.
Anywhere from most to almost all of them.
Usually with a very bright person, sometimes I might ask them, “Have you ever taken an IQ test?” with a twinkle of amazement in my eye. I comment something along the lines of, “Boy are you smart!”
I don’t think I am going to ask any more physicians. I asked three physicians so far, and none of them would answer the question. One told me he knew the answer, but he was not going to tell me.
Physicians are extremely susceptible to social rules and must behave in a conservative and dignified fashion, as they always feel they are on the spot. They are well aware of politeness protocols, and most don’t want to be rude.
Despite a lot of nonsense from IQ-haters, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with the subject per se. An IQ score shows how smart you are. On what grounds is human intelligence not an important thing to discuss?! Amazing! Your IQ score is more important than your height, weight, and many other things.
The only thing wrong with such discussions is that at least here in the US (possibly in other places too), you are not supposed to talk about how smart you. In other words, IQ talk or even talk about intelligence is considered rude, out of bounds, and a politeness violation.
Actually you are not supposed to talk about how smart or dumb anyone is! Most Americans think there is no such thing as intelligence, and everything is down to either dumb luck or especially hard work.
I was speaking to a man the other day, and the very notion that some people were not intelligent enough to get a BA degree was regarded as outrageous to him. I then told him about a woman that I knew who wasn’t very smart (it’s true) but still makes $700/day. The notion that someone was not very smart was outrageous and apparently offensive to him.
People like him believe that everyone should go to college and get a university degree. I told him that I had a Masters Degree, and he said, “Good, everyone should get a Masters Degree.” Yes, Americans actually think like this! Isn’t it amazing?
Back to subject. I’ve never met an obviously wicked smart person who did not know their IQ score. Some refused to tell me, others told me but acted like it was a faux pas to discuss such things, but I never met one who did not know their score other than one young college aged man.
Not only do they know their scores, but everyone who told me they had an IQ of 140+ was delighted to tell me this. So far most of them have been women. Women are a lot less uptight about this than men. Men tend to see it as a competitive thing and worry that their IQ is not as high as yours, so it becomes a dick-measuring contest.
In fact, I would say that the smarter the person is, the more likely it is that they know their IQ score.
I don’t even bother asking folks with average intelligence, and none of them ever offer the scores up anyway. Most people with scores in the 120’s know their scores, but they act embarrassed like they are too low, which is incredible, as a 120 IQ is in the top 10% of the nation. Around 120 is where you also run into some of the vehement IQ haters. Why they hate the subject when they are in the top 10% is a mystery to me!
People between 113–120 usually know their scores too, but they are also often embarrassed and think their scores are too low. Score in this range are are in the top 16% of the population, so why are they embarrassed?
America is a crazy place. Unless you are in the top 1–2% of the population, you are embarrassed. How ridiculous!
