Comments on: Hyper Brain, Hyper Body: The Trouble With High IQ

By: Gill

Gill — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 09:45:42 +0000

Is there a tie-in here with Elaine Aron’s Research into ‘highly sensitive people’ – those who have heightened response to sensory inputs, deep cognitive processing and emotional response? It would seem reasonable to assume you would find a good representation in your sample.

By: Simon Hughes

Simon Hughes — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 17:58:02 +0000

Some recent research has shown possible causal links between immunity and intelligence – people with better immune systems seem to be more likely to have high IQ. The implication of this study is that high intelligence causes high stress responses. This could be conflating correlation with causation. It could be that different immune system characteristics give rise to both high IQ and also these other psychological and physiological factors. Some more experimentation should be done to tease out this relationship. I also agree with comments around selection bias – people who join Mensa are not an unbiased sample of highly intelligent people.

By: gareththomasnz

gareththomasnz — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 08:41:34 +0000

It is true – most high IQ people by far are not MENSA members & possibly those seeking some kind of social support would be more likely to join.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 17:25:12 +0000

The surveyed members of Mensa were asked to “self-report their experiences of both diagnosed and/or suspected” … *disorder(s) and disease(s)*

Questions:

1. Was the data for national averages *also* sourced from responses to the same questions asked in the same way from each member of the national population?

2. Alternatively, was the data for national averages limited only to confirmed formal diagnoses?

3. With answers for 1 and 2 how meaningful are the results of this study now?

By: tuesorensen

tuesorensen — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 05:35:47 +0000

I am a member of Mensa, and I don’t believe in this at all. First and foremost, ordinary people don’t use their brains properly; if they did, we would all be “hyper-intelligent” and that would be the norm. What this study shows must be other factors at work, perhaps for people who are borderline autistic or simply have physiological problems unrelated to intelligence. The real problem here, however, is the same that makes everything about “high intelligence” so problematic: We don’t have any proper scientific definition of what intelligence is! And/or, the definitions we do have are wrong. I am one of the few Mensans who don’t believe in the whole g factor thing. Intelligence is less about genes than about environment, and many disorders, whether related or unrelated, are also due to the social environment.

By: N

Sun, 15 Oct 2017 06:19:52 +0000

Mensa members are not necessarily (are not, in my opinion) representative of high-intelligence people. I found Mensans to be overly concerned with intelligence. And puzzles. The results don’t surprise me.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sat, 14 Oct 2017 12:20:51 +0000

We have taken out the factor of social conditioning and response in influencing overexcitabilities in these individuals or in anybody for that matter. This is only a very small part of the picture. Such a way to diminish the human/individual’s experience.

By: lionel

lionel — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 09:55:57 +0000

“To explore the premise, Karpinski and her colleagues surveyed 3,715 members of American Mensa”

There’s your flaw right there. People who join Mensa are more likely to have psychological issues than similarly intelligent people who don’t join. Could probably have nothing at all to do with their intelligence level.

By: Ruth Murray, RN BSN

Ruth Murray, RN BSN — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 02:46:39 +0000

The correlation is interesting, but I was intrigued to find that the overexcitabilities all have a plausible physiological explanation if you examine unlearned primitive and postural infant reflexes, particularly fear paralysis, Moro, and spinal galant. As yet-unlearned reflexes may, if desired, be treated to reduce the inconvenience and difficulties these ovexcitabilities present.

By: PJ Pires

PJ Pires — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 19:18:49 +0000

Ignorance Is Bliss.