Ask HN: resources for training for IQ test? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: resources for training for IQ test?

2 pointsroel_v5 comments

Spurred by someone in my social circle I've taken on the vanity project of trying to get accepted into Mensa. I've taken the preliminary test on the Mensa website which says that I could be a candidate. They host testing days where you take a different test which is then used to measure if you are really, IQ-wise and according to Mensa's testing standards, within the top 2%.

The online, preliminary test is a typical 'intelligence' test as I've taken before for assessments. It measures, from what I can tell as a non-expert in IQ testing, your spatial, numerical and verbal pattern-cognition skills. If you take that as a definition of intelligence that's fine I guess, but I do think (and judging from my online research this seems to be widely recognized by the experts) that this can be trained quite a bit. In particular, what I found irritating about the online test is that some questions were much harder than others, but there was very little indication on how the speed at which you take the test is weighed against the correctness of the answers. If I would've known more about that I could have made a better judgment on whether it was worth to spend a lot of time on one question (the test I did was 30 questions and took me 27 minutes; there were 2 questions that I spend more than 4 minutes each on).

So my question is: does anyone have any advice on how to best train for an IQ test? Books or websites or other resources. My use case is the Mensa test but I assume it's largely in line with the test as administered by e.g. HR assessment agencies. I've searched Amazon and the internet but most books or websites claim they will 'train your IQ' which to me seems nonsensical; I want to train 'IQ test taking' which is a different skill.

As a tangential question, any Mensa members here? Do you find your membership advantageous? Just for fun or has it ever helped you professionally?

I'm a long time HN user and a member of Mensa

Growing up, people around me always said I was very smart. Though deep down inside, I didn't think I was all that smart at all and always felt like an impostor. I took the test to prove to myself that I'm not a fraud.

Becoming a member helped eradicate any lingering insecurities I had about my intelligence, so it did have some therapeutic value. But I never renewed my membership after the first year because I couldn't seen any benefits in doing so. With the advent of the web, it's easy to interact with smart people with similar interests, and mentioning your membership can only hurt you professionally (see jeb's comment).

In my opinion, most college graduates could become members if they chose to do so. The requirements are not all that high and nothing to get a big head about. I walked out after finishing the first test (of two) and still scored high enough to get in.

One last thing. I think an obsession with your IQ suggests a subtle problem with your psychological attitude which may prevent you achieving success in life. Focus less on who you are" and more on what you do*, smart is as smart does.

You think most college graduates could get in? Perhaps we went to different colleges... :) I think you're being a bit too generous with the 'most' comment, or you might be biased based on your immediate peer group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkQ6XgXeNuY (I can't see the video right now) Yes, they might be cherry picking, and there's no indication all of these people are college graduates, but I suspect some were. One was a college professor.

I think you're in the minority (by definition of being in Mensa, you already are). But just because you aced it doesn't mean that most people - even most college graduates - can. I've worked too long with too many college graduates who struggle with basic concepts to believe that.

I'd never hire a person who was a member of mensa. If you feel the need to get a certificate proving your intelligence, then you're not intelligent enough for me.

Similar to mensamember on here, I'm also a member, or was, as I didn't renew. 20 years ago it might have helped me in social ways. As of now, it doesn't really provide any substantive benefits.

Unlike jeb and mensamember, I have it listed on my resume, at the bottom, in 'other', along with toastmasters experience, some public speaking activities, and other misc stuff. For me it wasn't so much wanting to 'brag' about it, but it felt like another facet of who I am (albeit a very minor one). It's also meant as an indicator that, objectively, there's a certain amount of quantifiable innate talent/skill I possess which can be harnessed for problems.

Specifically in the resume/job context, whether or not I completely understand the industry you're working in (perhaps I have no direct industry experience), ideally the Mensa qualification should indicate that I have the capacity to get up to speed quickly on the new industry and other facets of your company/business. If someone is that offended by me stating something like that about myself, they wouldn't like working with me anyway. I wrote a bit more about it here: http://michaelkimsal.com/blog/mensa-on-my-mind-and-resume/

All that said, I'm really not convinced that one can 'cram' or 'study' or 'game' the IQ tests all that much. I qualified for Mensa a few years back, but used tests scores from the 80s. A couple years ago I took some IQ tests (friend's wife needed to administer IQ tests to adults, and had a hard time finding volunteers). These tests were completely different instruments, administered by different people over 20 years ago, and statistically they put my 'intelligence' in pretty much the same spot. Not much had changed over 20 years. The tests seem to test something deeper than things you can 'train' for. If you took the same test multiple times, perhaps you'd get a better score, but that's not an accurate indicator then, is it?

"You scored NaN / 30"

Well, I wouldn't hire whoever made the mensa website test, that's for sure.

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