Re: IQ Crap

CAVEMAN -- San Bernardino, Calif. USA (cjcoker@CSUPOMONA.EDU)
Sun, 23 Oct 1994 12:45:01 -0700

I've been reading all this crap about IQs and the other stuff. I feel the
urge, now, to put in my two cents worth.

My IQ has been measured at 164. At first, I thought: Wow! I must be a
genius! Then, I started thinking about myself. I can explain Einstein's
Theory of Relativity (I'm not a physicist, either). I can often do
complex mathematical calculations in my head (I'm not a mathematician).
On the other hand, I wear cowboy boots because it's hard tying shoes. I
forget to eat (luckily, I have a wife that reminds me). I get on the
freeway to go somewhere, and quite often, about halfway there, I find that
I don't remember where I am going. I have trouble grocery shopping.
Basically, when it comes to the simple, everyday things people do, I
don't fare so well. I seem to fall into the stereotype of the absent-minded
professor.

So what does having a high IQ number do for me? Nothing. I like doing
puzzles of all kinds, from "logic" puzzles to "aha reaction" puzzles to
plain, old crossword puzzles. (I work in ink, too.) My opinion is that
an IQ test simply measures how good someone is at solving puzzles that
have absolutely no relevence to everyday life. (I don't know what my hat
size is.) The only thing I have found a 164 IQ good for is impressing
uneducated people -- I hope there are none on this list -- they don't
know that the number is meaningless.

Yours in forgetfulness and stupidity,
Chuck Coker
CJCoker@CSUPomona.Edu

==============================================================================
There have been no dragons in my life, only small spiders and stepping in gum.
I could have coped with the dragons.
Anonymous (but wise)
==============================================================================