Christian is a Philosopher that comes from Belgium. What identifies him the most and above all is simplicity, for everything is better with “vanilla flavour.” Perhaps, for this reason, his intellectual passion is criticism and irony, in the sense of trying to reveal what “hides behind the mask,” and give birth to the true. For him, ignorance and knowledge never “cross paths.” What he likes the most in his leisure time, is to go for a walk with his wife.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is the point of IQ?
Dr. Christian Sorensen: The IQ is a measurement unit, that’s relative and intends to be an indicator of general intelligence, but is in no way representative of the last.
Jacobsen: What is the purpose of building high-IQ societies?
Sorensen: I think that partly, they have purposes that are for profit, as well as those of forming communities with people who have a strong need for social recognition, and who tend to share common interests and needs, such as the constantly validation of their IQ scores, by developing and rendering countless games, denominated high-range IQ tests, through which they claim to emulate the validity and reliability of scores that could be earned with professional IQ tests.
Jacobsen: Why do some form for profit?
Sorensen: Because the reality check is obvious, since some business lines of enterprises, are openly destined to the development of web pages which are connected with these matters, and additionally the ones who do so, recognize it as a business.
Jacobsen: Why do some feel the need for social recognition?
Sorensen: Since probably, they did not manage to consolidate in childhood, a sufficient self-confidence and personal autonomy. Therefore they developed feelings of insecurity, shame and doubt, that lead them to overvalue the expectations of others, and to express mayor affective dependence behaviours towards them, which lastly translates into a constant search for acceptance and approval from these, through such type of mechanisms as forms of crutches.
Jacobsen: What alternative tests seem like reliable and valid IQ tests? What test makers seem to make reasonable reliable and valid IQ tests?
Sorensen: The question is not about what alternative IQ tests seem reliable and valid, but rather it is which alternative IQ test seems to be valid, in order to be reliable… And the answer from my point of view in this regard, is none, due to the reason that all of them lack of sufficient technical and scientific fundamentals. The foregoing, does not means, that there are no experimental-games developers trying to do their best efforts, or that though currently they may be achieving only plausible and irrefutable results, perhaps in the future these will become scientifically valid. According to this context, I would highlight the works of James Dorsey and Jason Betts.
Jacobsen: Mensa International, Intertel, Triple Nine Society, Prometheus Society, and the Mega Society have been the most reliable high-IQ societies via Wikipedia filtration and prevention of fraudulent pseudonym warping of the record for personal benefit and individual organizational benefit. The World Intelligence Network of Evangelos Katsioulis and Manahel Thabet lists over 80 active societies on the WIN website. Thus, this is a substantial implication. What is the point of so many societies?
Sorensen: Many of the names of these societies, though they appear as actives and are listed somewhere, they no longer exist. In that sense, the cemetery of high IQ societies is large, because some of them were created, and as they did not give good outcomes, they remained on the lists as such, but currently they are paralyzed. Besides the aforementioned, another factor that influences the enormous number of these societies, has to do with the idea of ​forming communities that are suitable for different IQ score segmentations.
Jacobsen: Why do so many go to the junk heap?
Sorensen: I think that because, in some way or another, they aren’t sufficiently profitable, and therefore they are no longer a lucrative business. In this sense, it could be said, from a more generic point of view, that since the opportunity-cost equation is not any more beneficial, then it doesn’t make any sense, that they continue to exist.
Jacobsen: What is the different between in the cemetery and paralyzed in this sense?
Sorensen: The paralyzed ones, are sort of sleeping waiting societies, that expect hopefully for improved conditions, while those in the cemetery, give me more the feeling of having been obvious and resounding failures, or of being fouls of which someone is sorry about, and therefore is better to hide that dirt underground with a tombstone on top, so that the dead do not speak.
Jacobsen: What about tragic circumstances, as happened with the suicide of Nathan Haselbauer?
Sorensen: I think he feared the idea of ​​living a lonely life, and it seems to me, that what led him to suicide, was the fact of realizing that his fear, which until then was just an idea, at one point when he was subjected to extreme isolation, turned into his worst nightmare, came true and become reality.
Jacobsen: What societies seem the most reliable and valid to you?
Sorensen: Triple Nine Society, and Mensa International, though the requirements of the former, such as scores, are much more demanding.
Jacobsen: What other reasons other than being demanding?
Sorensen: The fact that they follow rigorous procedures, both within their internal operations and with respect to their members, that at the same time are provided with quality results. Additionally because they value discretion, and their organizational structure, is stable and allows a correct functioning within the Society.
Jacobsen: More high-range people exist outside of the societies than in them. Why?
Sorensen: I think that this occurs because high IQ societies, are expensive and they don’t offer proportional benefits. Besides currently are de-profiled, and therefore the fact of belonging to them has ceased to be a differential factor.
Jacobsen: What people seem to legitimately exist in the 5.4-sigma to 6.6-sigma, or 181 IQ to 199 IQ on SD 15, general intelligence range based on the large number of high-range listings available to date?
Sorensen: Sorensen 185+ SD 15 WAIS-R
Kirkpatrick 185 SD 15 Stanford-Binet
Katsioulis 180+ SD 15 WAIS-R
Jacobsen: What is the implication of the aforementioned“Why?”?
Sorensen: In my opinion, this has occurred, because high IQ societies have become too widespread, and therefore have lost their discrimination capacity in relation to really gifted people. At the same time, I believe the credibility of many of them, has been lost, since they exhibit innumerable high-range IQ pseudo-tests, that always lack scientific basis, and due to the fact that also they show exorbitant IQ scores, as a result of these fancy test-games, which strictly speaking, do not tolerate any realistic statistical analysis, not even regarding probabilities and general population parameters.
Jacobsen: What does this portend for the future of high-range testing?
Sorensen: I think it may be useful, that high-range testing, as a criterion of the comparative parameter, takes the methodology and the timing used by professional scales, as Wechsler, Stanford-Binet and Raven have done, especially regarding the first two, since at least for over seventy years, have been carrying out their normalization and standardization reviews. What I intend to demonstrate with the aforementioned, is that in relation to the high-range testing, so far there is evidence of a counter sense approaching, because what actually occurs is quite the opposite. Insofar, what is verified within the high-IQ community, is the predominant presence of dozens testing-games, that day after day, continue to appear as if it were due to spontaneous sporulation. Besides, these are developed by practically everyone, due to the reason that it seems that the membership to the high-IQ community, or the fact of earning a high IQ score, carries with it, ipso factum, the right or some kind of super powers, for developing psychometric instruments to measure general intelligence.
Jacobsen: Why should prospective members focus on mainstream societies? Why should prospective test-takers focus on the mainstream intelligence tests for serious measurements and alternative measurements for various degrees of seriousness and fun & interest (leaning far more towards fun & interest)?
Sorensen: From my point of view, the first thing to do is that prospective members and testees ask themselves about the meaning of all this tedious procession that they intend to initiate, and afterwards to take it nice and easy. I personally do not understand the compulsive need that many members of high IQ societies, have to constantly measure their IQ’s. In my opinion also is an incomprehensible mystery, the issue that the vast majority of them, take numerous high-range IQ games, but almost never give professionals IQ test, and therefore if their purpose is to be certain about their actual IQ, why don’t they take serious measurements in order to fulfill that end… Since if simplicity principle is claimed, and tautology is left aside, then this last should be the most straight and reliable path to follow. Hypothetically, I believe it is a way to blindfold and to inflate their egos with fanciful movie scores, since at least in WGD listing, which is a good sample ranking, it is possible to verify in all cases that the scores of listees with professional tests and high-range IQ games, is much lower regarding the former ones. Likewise, if the meaning of taking these games every two days, is not to have certainty of their own IQs, but only for having fun, then probably what we are talking about or facing is a sort of pathological gambling out of any range of meaning, since as occurs with every type of addictive behaviour, it is an issue that lacks completely any rational or reasonable explanation and understanding.
Image Credit: Dr. Christian Sorensen.