You won’t be able to tell someone’s IQ by talking with them, viewing their interactions, viewing test scores or achievements. The best I’ve been able to understand IQ is it’s more akin to horsepower. IQ means you can get from thought A to thought B quicker, or you might be able to juggle more abstract concepts, but doesn’t imply you ever even made it to thought B.

Frankly I love IQ because it’s an instant sign when someone touts their IQ as a badge of honor they’re probably not the brightest or at least very arrogant. I like to laugh inside when people quote me their IQ’s.

Intelligence was of huge survival value, but it has evolved to such a staggering extent, and that was probably due to sexual selection as well.

Do you know why women say that they don’t like nerds? It’s because they are TRYING to sound smart. Nerds are people who act according to a stereotypical “smart” person. It’s just like the person who tries to be funny but isn’t. The funny person is like the smart person and the “nerd” is like the person who is trying to be funny. Trust me, intelligent people are well-adjusted, confident, are fun to be around.

I’m not venting here. I’m trying to say that there are so many stereotypes of intelligent people that apply to the people who try to mimic intelligence rather than actually intelligent people. Smart people don’t try to come across as smart just like funny people don’t try to be funny. Mimicking intelligence is obviously a very valuable evolutionary strategy, simply because it works. Think about what differentiates us from animals, what is our defining trait – intelligence. People keep talking about emotional intelligence, social intelligence, analytical intelligence, etc. Those things are PERSONALITY. And I’m not sure of this, but I’ll make a big bet that “personality” arises as variations in the cerebral cortex, the center of intelligence. Do animals have rich personalities? No.

Intelligence is like knowing how to talk, or being able to see clearly in full color and depth perception, or being able to walk bipedally. It’s such a defining characteristic of Homo sapiens that it’s easy to dismiss and downplay.

I personally have an IQ that is high enough that I hit the ceiling at virtually every standardized test (SAT, GRE for example). To me, the idea that these tests are actually “standardized” is hard to conceive because I’ve always scored at 99th percentile, and I’ve become very used to seeing that 99…I’d say that my IQ is 155.

From personal experience, this is how you can tell if someone has an IQ of 155: Sense of humor, both depth and breadth of knowledge. You’ll be able to talk to him about anything and he’ll hold an intelligent conversation and hold up his end of the argument. I hate it when people say that intelligent people are bad conversationalists. The difference between smart people and not so smart people in conversation: the smart person will recognize when the other person has said something intelligent, and that he needs to reassess his beliefs or rethink his position. The not-intelligent person will not respond to your statement, but will simply act as if “not listening.”

A huge complaint that people have is people “who don’t listen.” Listening = understanding. Understanding means intelligence.

If someone tells you that smart people are bad communicators, that person is not smart, and he’s not a good communicator because he’s spewing BS.