Commenter Ganzir wrote the following in some emails he sent me:
Have you been interested in taking the original Mega Test? If so, you’re semi-in luck because Bill Bultas’ alliqtests website hosts Brainbreaker, its nearly isomorphic predecessor:
Verbal section
Non-verbal section
Note that the auto-scoring norms are severely deflated because people can review the answers and retake the test. If you want to better estimate your IQ from this test, you can use the norms here, although Mega norms would probably work too since the tests are so similar.
I scored 19 on the verbal section. To my eternal regret, I rage-quit the non-verbal section partway through and looked at the answers, so now I can’t take it, but I think I would have scored 5-10. That would give me an IQ of 149-154, perfectly in line with my other scores on high-quality tests.
Note: the auto-scoring key answer for verbal item #24 is incomplete, although I can’t specify further without potentially giving away the answer……I forgot to mention that those norms have σ=16, so on the σ=15 scale that would be about 146-151, which is slightly more concordant with my other scores.
Note: You’re not supposed to use Google on the verbal section. Hoeflin intended it to be taken with the reference aids available to most people when the test was published circa 1985, e.g., dictionaries and encyclopedias found in a typical lending library. But just answering the items without researching them will probably cause you to underperform. Solution: use minimal Googling coupled with high-quality non-specialized online reference works, like the Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster dictionary. Don’t use Wikipedia or search through 10 pages of Google hits.
I endured Ronald Hoeflin’s Mega Test in antiquity – in 1999. I think it may have been my result that prompted the Mega Society’s and/or Hoeflin’s “That’s the last straw” proclamation. There were just too many high-end results coming in at the time. I’m guessing that some believed I’d resorted to cheating; however, the impetus for my taking the test had nothing to do with a yearning for recognition or the joining of a society. It was merely my way of dealing with doubts concerning my capacities, answering a call to put the matter to rest. I’ll go so far as to say that few, if any, followed the stated test-taking guidelines more assiduously than I. Moreover, most of my answers were yielded through two, and occasionally three, distinct strategies (I was obsessive in my pursuit of certainty). In retrospect, it’s rather funny that I’d viewed the test as the carrier of such gravitas, particularly given that it is now widely held to be of little (or no) psychometric value. Frankly, I wouldn’t know, nor care; I’ve proven myself – at least to my satisfaction – in real-world domains. Granted, I’ll attempt the occasional quickie, such as the recently posted “Verbal IQ Test”, but now it’s just exercise…a simple brain teaser. As for the Brainbreaker, no thanks!
What convinced me the mega test was valid was when I learned Chris Langan had a 25.5” head circumference. I also learned of 2 prometheans who had crania of 24.5” and 25.5”. Only anecdotal evidence but it seemed that the Mega Test was selecting for IQ so effectively, that it was also selecting for brain size by proxy
Yes, P, I knew of your Mega “conversion” (kidding, of course). I remember well the days when you’d felt differently. Regarding Chris Langan, I’ve viewed a few of his spots on YouTube, as well as some of his writing, but, thus far, I’ve only read about his CTMU. For what little it’s worth, he seems terribly smart to me. BTW, my head circumference is quite average.
Tell us your head size, pepe!
22.75”
Did you guys see Langdon’s controversial opinions? What do you make of that?
No, Fraz, I haven’t. I’ve been out of touch with that “world” for quite some time. Would you mind elaborating or providing a link? Sounds interesting. Thanks.
Look on Wikipedia. He believes in 911 truth and white genocide for example.
Thanks again.
22.75 inch circumference eh? That would be around 60 percentile based on the US military results than PP has on an old post and about 55 percentile based on a survey of US respirator users from 2004.
And in amerindian genocide
He believes?
Apparently Langan doesn’t necessarily believe in 911 truth conspiracy. This is what he wrote in a response to his own facebook post where that point was taken:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ctmurealitytheory/permalink/10155540326532486/
His response:
“Incidentally, in case anyone else was confused by my remark to the effect that 9/11 was “staged”, this should be read not as a sure statement of known fact, but simply as a perfectly natural conjecture that must be duly considered in light of certain things that have never been properly explained about the incident. I was within a hundred miles of it when it happened, I know people who now have breathing difficulties due to being on duty in the area (and are being stiffed for treatment), and like everyone else, I expected a thorough investigation. Instead, all of the evidence was destroyed as quickly as possible – much of it shipped to China for immediate reprocessing – and everyone who felt cheated of a full explanation was branded as a “conspiracy theorist” (the cheap and threadbare trick just used on me by little Gary here). Those who employ this kind of rhetorical trickery when a real explanation is due have an automatic credibility problem, and I merely invite them to clean it up right and proper before all of their credibility vanishes down the crapper for all time. Thanks for your attention.”
As for white genocide, from what I gather he doesn’t necessarily believe there is a huge concerted effort in that direction but more that it is a side effect… though he does seem to think that there is at least some conscious effort in that direction. Perhaps as it related to the promotion of diversity by many elites.
Langan believes a cabal of Zionist banksters is hybridizing European populations via lax immigration in order to combat the Flynn effect and strip goyim of their identities. It’s called the Kalergi Plan.
The highest-scoring female Mega testee, Marilyn vos Savant, is also right-wing and massive in the cranium department.
It’s ironic because in the general population IQ seems correlated with left-wing views. Does the correlation reverse at the extremes or are Langdon’s view actually just an extreme form of left-wing (right wingers worship zionists & rich folks)
Also a bit ironic as some extremists might consider Langan’s own marriage to be interracial 🙂
Langdons opinions are similar to those prevalent on the dissident right, eg on sites like counter currents and vdare.com. I think peter Brimelow of vdare is a mensan. What THOSE people would say, merely saying what I think they would say, not endorsing, mind you, would be that academics is dominated by Jews and hence it’s acolytes reflect strongly Jewish opinions on a variety of subjects, open borders , equality of the races, immigration, strongly Zionist, etc. people in college and graduate school tend to be higher in iq, as do ashkenazi jews.
I think ultra-high IQ may correlate with modern conservatism. Liberalism is contrarian, so it attracts certain intellectual types who nevertheless need to toe the pc party line so as to avoid losing precious sophistication points. Many people of truly great intelligence possess the mental fortitude to address and cope with illiberal, yet axiomatic and consequential observations about reality that are allergenic to many ‘danger zone’ folk. It may be more of a temperamental than an IQ thing, but personality has a lot to do with intellectual efficacy, and high-IQ conservatives aren’t pussies quite as often (though they’re probably more callous).
Incidentally: potentially the smartest actor and the smartest American politician, James Woods and John H. Sununu, are both Republicans.
I recall John Sununu during his “Crossfire” days (in the ’90s) on CNN. He came across as razor sharp. If I remember correctly, he scored a 44/48 (IQ 180) on the Mega Test.
My circumference is over 23”. I didn’t realize I had such a macrocephalus. I just had a hypothesis why circumference(if these data are right) might correlate so weakly with IQ; certain groups have really thick skulls. If the correlation was calculated for only certain subgroups, such as Scandinavians, for example, would a stronger correlation be found?
Autism test.
Hm, I got 11. I’m curious what the answer is for the one with Archimedean screw.
You can look at the answers from the scoring page.
I got at least one right on the verbal section. Maybe it was the first one I dunno but I didnt use any outside sources to try to find the answers.
That gave me a verbal intelligence score of 112 not far off from Finch’s test renormed by Pumpkin Person to express a score of 116 (27 correct.)
If you don’t permit yourself at least marginal access to reference aids, you’re almost certainly going to underperform.
Yeah. If I ever take it, I’ll only use the online equivalent of things I could find in a good public library.
One of the analogies refers to Gulliver’s Travels, so I’d look up the book synopsis.
How did you fake destructure’s random avatar puppy?
Huh?????
If autism is a form of retardation as philosopher says. and is based on a spectrum. then in what way am I autistic because it can’t be like I am retarded at everything. I can’t be generalized like that. I gent stuck on certain things but that does not mean I have no intuition. I am even more flexible in some ways that go unnoticed because of problems in other areas. Strengths and weaknesses seem to be highly variable.
my mom is developmentally delayed. It’s not the same as clinically diagnosed retardation. a diagnosis would be asymmetrical growth for retardation. It is more like premature birth or something for my mom. she was born normal but lost oxygen or something. it is not autism because autism is asymmetrical development.
asymmetry makes the brain stuck in many places in development. this can be detected and felt as unnatural about the person. Asymmetry is different in each autistic person. They each get stuck in a different way.
I listened to Lex Fridman’s latest podcast (I think 129) and the interviewee mentioned that autism might be related to actual sensory organs rather than more directly to the brain… I may have butchered that but the general sense was that autistic people could literally be more sensitive to stimuli in a way that’s less about how their brain processes stimuli and more about how it actually takes it in, like more sensitive ears in some more concrete sense.
I just finished the hardest final exam I’ve ever taken. It went four fucking hours.
I had to build 4 models and do a bunch of Monte Carlo shit with them. A couple of them were pretty involved.
One of the problems was about sending medical supplies to starving Africans which made me think of Phil.
The exam sounds like it was written by Bill Gates
1. only people with low IQs think the mega is an IQ test.
2. extremely high ceiling IQ tests include: GMAT, old GRE, old SAT, LSAT, ACT, etc..
IQists know less about intelligence than the avg Joey
Shocking
Intelligence’s concepts (not the ridiculously “summarized” ‘cognitive Ability’) are way more comprehensive to understand and apply what intelligence is than IQ Tests.
would you please delete the previous one? 23.8( 60.5 cm) poor me