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A high IQ society is an organisation that limits membership to people who are within a certain high percentile of IQ test results, theoretically representing the most intelligent people in the world. The oldest, largest, and most well-known such society is Mensa International, which was founded by Roland Berrill and Dr. Lancelot Ware in 1946.[1] Other early societies were Intertel (founded by Ralph Haines in 1966), the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (founded by Dr. Christopher Harding in 1974) and Prometheus Society (founded by Dr. Ronald K. Hoeflin in 1982).

Purposes[]

Most high IQ societies aim to provide a way to facilitate interaction between members, either for research purposes or simply for social reasons. Some (such as Mensa International) encourage analysis on the nature of intelligence itself. Many societies publish a newsletter or journal, although newer societies such as the International High IQ Society and Colloquy are partially or totally Internet-based.

Many people with high IQ wish to share common interests and experiences, including special or abstract discussions, but also problems and difficulties, within discussion groups and meetings.

Entry requirements[]

High IQ societies typically accept a variety of standardized intelligence tests such as the Stanford-Binet test, WAIS-III (for adults) resp. WISC-IV (for children) and Cattell Culture Fair III test. Some conduct proprietary or alternative tests to determine membership eligibility.

The ceiling of most standardized (validated and normed) intelligence tests is at around 99.9th percentile. Measurements above this level need - for a credible result - a calculation, extrapolation and interpretation (including observations during the tests and subtests) by psychometricians being experienced in high IQ testing, and at least two differently designed standardized tests (among these at least one supervised) should be performed. Measurements above 99.9999th percentile are rather doubtful as no sufficient correlation studies and normings are available.

Differences, characteristics[]

Many high IQ societies have specific centers of interest, like creativity (ISI-Society), social activities (Top Five Percent Society, International High IQ Society, Mensa, Intertel), poetry (Poetic Genius Society), contributions to humanity (International Society for Philosophical Enquiry), broad and frequented discussion-boards (Civiq Society, Prometheus Society, Triple Nine Society, The Ultranet).

Some high IQ societies and organisations offer public areas in their boards where also non-members may participate (e.g. Cerebrals Society, Mega Foundation, World Intelligence Network, Milenija).

Two organisations represent a network with several independent high IQ societies:

  • Mega Foundation: with The Ultranet and Mega International Society
  • World Intelligence Network (WIN): with ePiq Society, Civiq Society, ISI-Society, Helliq Society, Pars Society, Olympiq Society, and Giga Society.

See also[]

References[]

  1. Percival, Matt The Quest for Genius. URL accessed on 2006-09-26.

External links[]

General:


High IQ Societies:







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