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IQ and success

Obviously you must have a certain level of intelligence to be successful, but it is no guarantee of success. What makes for success is intelligence plus opportunities. The world is full of highly intelligent people who never went anywhere in life because they had little or no access to opportunities or their opportunities were blocked by someone else's indifference. I believe that there are a lot of us on the spectrum who could really contribute something positive to society but unfortunately society doesn't give a damn. We're too difficult and too costly. When governments are broke they don't want to spend money on people like us.
 
i think spinning compass is correct with his/her response. i've always scored in the 99th percentile on iq tests and was in mensa for a few years. being
strange and having parents who couldn't/wouldn't help me in any way meant i barely passed high school, missing 35/40 % of classes, and joined the military when i was 17. i was a stranger in a strange land. clueless. when i left the military i had no where to go and no one to see and had to accept a really terrible job.

eventually i worked my way through all the ladders and ended up with an ok position. started going to night school but lost interest quickly. societal reject.

i wonder what would have happened if i had even one human in my life, as a child, who would have cared about me? i was so psychologically damaged
by childhood abuse i could not recover.

i believe we can look at some former u.s. presidents to determine that iq is in no way a measure of potential success. george 43 is certainly an
example of the 'peter principle' gone wild.
 
I partly agree about the opportunities part - it is true that you need the opportunities in order to get to a good position. Life, unfortunately, is not always fair. Some people get better cards than others, and this is a subject that gets me, really. I think every person should be allowed the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Anyways, that's a bit of a tangent and will probably elict a socialist rant from me, so I'll stop here :)

Intelligence and a high IQ, by itself, is not a measure of success. Even if a person is given good opportunities, having a high IQ isn't a guarantee of anything. I think in this world, where people are expected to have some sort of ability to work harmoniously with others, you also need a level of emotional intelligence. It's fairly common to see people with good, but not particularly amazing IQ, do very well in their career due to their ability to work with others, while others with a good IQ but less EQ do less well. It is very, very rare to find a job where you would have absolutely no interaction with other people, directly or indirectly. The majority of jobs require at least a smidgen of interaction in some way with others.

It's a bit like a computer. The IQ determines the processing power and speed of the computer, and the EQ is the amount of programs that a computer has. A computer with more decent, useful programs is going to be more useful than a computer with less useful programs.

I think that's where having ASD becomes a bit problematic, because we have problems with relating with people.
 
Well, therapy for me has helped me become more aware of social cues and social awareness. Basically, social skills training. Also, learning how to show you are listening when people are talking, paraphrasing to show you are paying attention, adopting active listening techniques...those have helped. I think once you can show to others that you are willing and able to work with them, life is smoother.
 
Measured IQ has little to do with success, not as much as knowing how to apply the smarts rather than just having them for show. Especially so when it comes to ASD, myself for example: my score is a tad above average, but my individual abilities are so skewed that the overall number doesn't mean much. Not to mention, I have about as much social intelligence as a goldfish, so in the workplace when it comes to interpreting people on a daily basis I'm at a great disadvantage.

I could probably find success if it was tailored to my strengths, but that's unlikely given my education and situation.
 
I remember reading an article that noted the various areas of intelligence, and I think the article noted that there was about 15 or so areas. Which made having one number for intelligence, which IQ basically is, a bit redundant. In some ways, your IQ is partly indicative of how well you know how to take IQ tests.

I think IQ is still useful in a limited setting, in that if someone is struggling academically, it can pinpoint whether or not they have a learning disability, or are gifted but bored, are developmentally delayed, etc. Sometimes people get really large variants in their abilities and that can really impact on how they process information and learn concepts.

Personally, I'm not interested in knowing what my IQ is. I'm more interested in working with my strengths than knowing what number I am.
 
IQ only relates to how well you solve problems.

Motivation (irrespective of IQ level) would have a much better correlation for sucess.

Most people with a high IQ level are actually under-utilising their skill. In general, the higher your IQ, the less motivation you have.
 
Yep. I know someone with a 150+ IQ wasting his life, lamenting on the lack of effort others put in their job, when he could well be doing the same. He's too smart, he can really do everything fast and nice, but I feel that he'd been under-utilizing his skills
 
I'm low average. I don't expect to be successful especially because I'm terrible at learning and can't even get a retail job.
 
I remember this one time years ago when my mother was really laying into me for not being more successful in college (and, in general, for not being more successful at life) and basically said that I had no excuse for that because my IQ was so high, which made so angry that I yelled at her (I think I said "That IQ stuff can go to hell!" or something like that). I wish it was easier to get people to understand that high intelligence doesn't always equate to success. In fact, I think it can probably be considered a handicap in some cases, especially if you're in environment in which conformity and "going along to get along" is valued more than thinking.

I don't think I've ever had it officially tested, but I think that my IQ has been estimated to be somewhere around the 130-140 range. I had a look at a sample MENSA test once just for fun, but I don't think I would do very well on it (I think there was lots of math stuff on it, and I'm generally pretty terrible at that). If it was free I would give it a try, but the expense and trouble you have to go to to take the MENSA test has always been a little too much for me. Has anyone here tried to get into MENSA?
 
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I am eligible for MENSA, my IQ is around 132-6. In addition, I feel I have lots of ideas (that might stem from my high, but not really that high IQ). but I chose not to join it - I know a few people with high IQs. I like interacting with them... They're good and like me, they've got lots of ideas.

In addition, I know people with high IQs. And I felt that as long as I set my mind and focus to anything, I can do it pretty well, given lots of preparation, and know-how in whatever I do. I am an ISTJ, so I really grill details as they are, and do them quite well. I may need more work on finding out the bottom line though.

I also feel that my intellect, high level of brain processes and all that, could hinder more than help me.

I speak in a disorganized manner, often leaving people in puzzlement.

I also feel more lethargic than other people, as I do not have the ability to find the energy levels to sustain things as they are.

Plus, I am not really social. I don't initiate talking to other people. I feel bad for not really presenting myself to my friends in a manner they find acceptable - and what's more, I am direct and blunt, y'know?

But I am still myself ~ Nothing can change me
 
i've been in mensa, a few years back. my last iq test yielded 135 and that was good enough to gain entry, without further examination. you just mail in the test results, signed by the examiner, along with your application.......and you're in. the particular test gave 135 as being in the 99th percentile. must be in top 2% to join. i joined in the hopes of finding a job that would make use of my particular talents. no such luck.

went to two parties, might as well as gone to fraternity parties on a university campus. certain i was the only one with a.s. in our chapter. not my thing.

i did have some articles published in the mensa international, the world-wide magazine. about travel, animal rights and why THEY hate us. received some way interesting mail from them. all over the planet.

left mensa for various reasons. your weirdness may be different than mine. you might be able to cope with the arrogance, and all the other stuff.

peace and love-----danandlouie
 
Typing doesn't mean much here, but thanks. XD

I often wonder if most people with Asperger's have high IQ's and I'm just abnormal or something. What's interesting is that I find the people with higher IQ's are usually the quickest to say IQ's don't matter.
 
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