The Australian mathematician, the author of the Green-Tao theorem, has the highest IQ level, his name is Terence Tao. Getting results over 200 points is a very rare occurrence, because most of the inhabitants of our planet barely score 100 points. People with extremely high IQs (over 150) can be found among Nobel laureates. It is these people who move science forward, make discoveries in various professional fields. Among them are the American writer Marilyn vos Savant, the astrophysicist Christopher Hirata, the phenomenal reader Kim Peak, who can read a page of text in a few seconds, the Briton Daniel Tammet, who memorizes thousands of numbers, Kim Ung-Yong, who already studied at the university at the age of 3, and other famous personalities. with amazing abilities.

How is a person's IQ formed?

The level of IQ is influenced by several factors, including heredity, environment (family, school, social status of a person). The age of the test subject also significantly affects the result of passing the test. At the age of 26, as a rule, a person's intelligence reaches its peak, and then only decreases.

It is worth noting that some people with exceptionally high IQ in everyday life turned out to be completely helpless. For example, Kim Peak could not fasten the buttons on his clothes. In addition, not everyone has such a talent appeared from birth. Daniel Tammet gained his ability to memorize vast numbers of numbers after suffering from a terrible epileptic seizure as a child.

IQ level above 140

People with IQs over 140 are the owners of excellent creative abilities who have achieved success in various scientific fields. Famous people with an IQ score of 140 or more include Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking. Such geniuses of their era are known for their outstanding abilities, they make an incredibly high contribution to the development of knowledge and science, create new inventions and theories. Such people are only 0.2% of the total population.

IQ level from 131 to 140

Only 3% of the population has a high IQ. Among the famous people who have a similar test result are Nicole Kidman and Arnold Schwarzenegger. These are successful people with high mental abilities, they can reach heights in various fields of activity, science and creativity. Want to check who is smarter - you or Schwarzenegger?

IQ level from 121 to 130

The intellectual level above the average shows only 6% of the population. Such people can be seen in universities, as they are usually excellent students in all disciplines, successfully graduate from universities, realize themselves in various professions and achieve high results.

IQ level from 111 to 120

If you think that the average iq is about 110, then you are wrong. This indicator refers to intelligence above average. People with test scores between 111 and 120 are usually hardworking and have a life long pursuit of knowledge. There are about 12% of such people among the population.

IQ level from 101 to 110

IQ level from 91 to 100

If you passed the test, and the result turned out to be less than 100 points, do not be upset, because this average is in a quarter of the population. People with such indicators of intelligence study well at school and universities, they get jobs in the field of middle management and other specialties that do not require significant mental effort.

IQ level from 81 to 90

One tenth of the population has a level of intelligence below average. Their IQ test scores are between 81 and 90. These people usually do well in school, but most often do not graduate. They can work in the field of physical labor, in industries that do not require the use of intellectual abilities.

IQ level from 71 to 80

Another tenth of the population has an IQ level of 71 to 80, which is already a sign of mental retardation of a lesser degree. Individuals with this score tend to attend special schools, but may also graduate from regular elementary school with average grades.

IQ level from 51 to 70

About 7% of people have a mild form of mental retardation and an IQ level of 51 to 70. They study in special institutions, but are able to take care of themselves, and are relatively full members of society.

IQ level from 21 to 50

About 2% of people on Earth have an intellectual development level of 21 to 50 points, they suffer from dementia, an average degree of mental retardation. Such people cannot learn, but are able to take care of themselves, but most often have guardians.

IQ level up to 20

People with a severe form of mental retardation are not amenable to training and education, they have an intellectual development level of up to 20 points. They are under the care of other people, because they cannot take care of themselves, and live in their own world. There are 0.2% of such people in the world.

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IQ tests - KNOW YOUR INTELLIGENCE LEVEL!

We have collected BEST FREE IQ TESTS . In the allotted time, answer all 40 questions and identify your strengths and weaknesses. Make the intellect your main ally to achieve your goals!

Choose any of the IQ tests below and get to work. Good luck!

Looking for free texts on intelligence? You found them! Typically, the structure of each "IQ" test is a list of questions that include both fairly simple tasks and very complex ones. For example, the test subject is asked to cope with tasks that will help determine the quality of your spatial and logical thinking. We have prepared a whole series of tests for you. Choose any free IQ test (we do not charge paid ones :) and start brainstorming! You will succeed!

How celebrities passed IQ tests

What is this mysterious “IQ Test”?

All people are different. Therefore, it is not surprising when one person has a more developed level of intelligence in comparison with another. Each of us has a certain idea of ​​our capabilities. But how exactly do you measure them? In this case, in most developed countries of the world, it is the IQ test, expressed in points, that comes to the rescue.

Translated from English, the abbreviation IQ means "intelligence quotient". This indicator is a quantitative assessment of the level of intelligence of an individual in comparison with the same indicator belonging to the average person of the same age as the subject. You can determine Aikyu by passing the tests presented above, which (as experts point out), although they do not assess the knowledge that an individual has, they determine his mental abilities. Our IQ tests are free chances to find out how developed your intelligence is!

The structure of each IQ test is a list of questions that are both simpler and more difficult. The subject is invited to cope with tasks related to determining the quality of spatial and logical thinking in humans. Variations of questions are very different. As practice shows, the higher the experience of passing these tests, the better the results. The Eysenck test has become the most famous among such tasks “on IQ”.

Scientists note that half of the people have an IQ in the range of 90-110 points, the rest are either below 90 or above 110 (about 25% each). According to American researchers, the average score for this test among university graduates is 105 points. For excellent students, it is 130-140. It is believed that work on improving mental abilities is necessary when the IQ is below 70.

In recent years, IQ tests have gained incredible popularity among the entire population of the planet. They are used everywhere: when applying to universities and colleges, in job interviews, when passing driver's license exams, and so on. Russia also did not stand aside. The population of our country is entirely interested in knowing the level of their own intelligence, which is why many residents try to learn as much as possible about tests to determine intellectual abilities and are not averse to passing them. A big plus of such tests for determining intelligence is their availability. If you search the Internet for IQ tests, you will certainly find free ones. Moreover, not all of them will be correctly compiled. The uniqueness of our site is that we give the opportunity not only to take a free IQ test, but to try to pass the test, which was compiled by an experienced specialist. So we have real IQ tests.

It should be noted that the average IQ of the population of a given country depends on the efficiency of the state machine and the level of the gross domestic product. In addition, a study was conducted that found the relationship between the factor of social intelligence and the average results in the Unified State Examination (foreign analogue of the SAT).

IQ Tests: How They Are Built

There are other types of questions as well. As practice shows, the higher the experience of passing these tests, the better the results. The most famous among such tasks was the Eysenck test. Good accuracy is demonstrated by tests bearing the names of their creators: D. Wexler, J. Raven, R. Amthauer and R. B. Cattell. At the same time, to date, no one has yet introduced a single standard that existing IQ tests would adhere to.

All tests are divided into age groups in order to give an accurate assessment of the intellectual development of a person, corresponding to his years. In other words, the results of IQ tests can be the same - for example, a child of 11 and a master of mathematics. This is because they are equally developed for their age. If you take the Eysenck test, the creator developed it to determine the level of intelligence in people over 18 years old.

History of IQ and what influences it

Back in 1912, the German scientist Wilhelm Stern for the first time presented to the general public the concept of “intelligence quotient”, unusual at that time. In carrying out his research, he turned his attention to the shortcomings inherent in one of the indicators of the Binet scales, namely, mental age. To determine an accurate estimate of an individual's intelligence, Stern proposed dividing mental age by present age (also called chronological age), and taking the remainder of this operation.

The first appearance of the term IQ dates back to 1916, when it was used in the Stanford-Binet scale. But today (perhaps due to the greatly increased interest among the population in IQ indicators) there are several other scales, the validity of which has not been proven. Therefore, it is now quite difficult to compare the results shown by different tests. Therefore, psychologists often recommend referring to classical tests to determine the coefficient of intelligence development. These are the tests we have selected for you.

Causes affecting the IQ score

Naturally, one of the main reasons that have a serious impact on the level of IQ is heredity. The main emphasis in ongoing research on determining the relationship between these two indicators was placed on children. The results of these studies was a fairly strong spread in the testimony: some scientists stated that IQ depends on the available genes by less than half; while others even cited data reporting almost one hundred percent dependence. The rest of what could affect the results of IQ tests is the environment and setting, as well as all sorts of errors inherent in such measurements. That is, according to such studies, it turns out that the level of IQ largely depends on hereditary genes.

Another reason that affects IQ scores is individual genes (the brain activity of an ordinary person depends on about 17,000 genes). Research shows that individual genes affect an individual's existing IQ level, but in fact, such an effect does not have a strong effect. Such a dependence, revealed in the course of the ongoing research, turned out to be at the level of a statistical error.

At the moment, studies have begun to look for differences in the genome in people with high and low IQ levels. If someone manages to find out the genetic causes of "braininess", then perhaps there will be a tool that allows you to increase the level of IQ in a person. States with such knowledge will move ahead faster in terms of economic and technological development.

The third reason that can affect the level of IQ is the environment. Of course, everything that is around a person (especially the family) has an impact on his development. In the course of research, many factors of such dependence have been identified. They included family income, the size of the house and its price, the developing relationships between all family members, and so on. This dependence is characterized by a coefficient equal to 0.25-0.35. But as a person grows older, this influence gradually decreases until it reaches zero at about the age of majority (these studies concerned only a complete family with two parents and two children).

Improper nutrition can also tell on the level of development of IQ. Thus, recent studies have shown that eating fish products by a pregnant woman has a beneficial effect on the intellectual development of her unborn child.
Another study, involving about 13,000 people, determined that breastfeeding also has a positive effect on the infant's intelligence. True, it should be noted that immediately after the publication of this study, it was criticized. The reasons for the scientific "attack" were an incorrect analysis of the data obtained, a complete disregard for existing theories.

IQ Differences by Human Groups

According to most experts, on average, there is no significant difference in the level of intelligence development between men and women belonging to the same age group. But it is in the male population that the most striking variation in this indicator is observed: that is, there are a lot of men with a high level of intelligence and also a lot of those whose IQ is quite low. In addition, this indicator is expressed in women and men a little differently. This is especially noticeable after five years. Upon the onset of this age, boys begin to show superiority over the beautiful half of humanity in terms of spatial intelligence and manipulation. Girls show better verbal functions.
Leadership in the field of mathematical abilities also departs to men. One of the American researchers came to the conclusion that for every 13 men who have excellent abilities for mathematical operations, there is only one woman equal to them.

Racial differences

Numerous studies have been conducted to identify differences in the average level of IQ among residents of the United States of America led to the following conclusion: for the representatives of the African American population, this indicator was equal to 85 points, for Hispanics - 89, for the white race - 103, for the Asian - 106, and for the Jewish - 113.

At the same time, the average level of IQ, if we consider data from tests half a century ago, shows some changes. So, today, the IQ of the Negroid race in 1995 corresponds to the IQ of white people who lived in 1945. Therefore, it seems impossible to “blame” everything on the genetic characteristics of people.

It is not necessary to dismiss such an important factor as the influence of society on the development of intelligence. This is especially noticeable in orphans. For example, in the same USA, the IQ level of children whose upbringing was carried out by representatives of the white race is about 10% higher than that of those who lived in a black family. And in the UK, the difference is even more interesting: in boarding schools, black children have a higher IQ than their white peers.

In the course of research, scientists have discovered a pattern that lies in the existing difference in the average level of IQ between residents of different countries. According to certain data, this indicator is affected by the current size of the GDP, the practical use of democratic principles, the levels of crime and the birth rate of the population, the percentage ratio between believers and atheists. In countries belonging to the developing group, in addition to the above reasons, it also affects the average level of IQ and poor nutrition, coupled with numerous diseases. In this regard, we ask you to familiarize yourself with an interesting map ...

Relationship between health, age and IQ

A properly composed diet, especially in the early stages of human development, has a beneficial effect on the development of intellectual abilities. An example is the iodine deficiency factor in the body: in its presence, the average IQ score decreases by 12 points. Those who have a sufficiently high IQ live longer and get sick less often.

IQ acts as a measure of a person's intellectual abilities, which reach their maximum values ​​at 26 years of age. Then they gradually decrease.

The IQ of an adult, to a greater extent than that of children, is determined by genetic heredity. In the latter, this indicator is influenced by the environment. Some children, due to certain life characteristics, are initially ahead of their peers in terms of intelligence, but over time their indicators level off.
School success

Representatives of the American Psychological Association noted that children whose results on IQ tests have high rates are much better at absorbing the material presented at school than those who received lower scores. Such a correlation reaches 0.5. Intelligence tests allow pre-selected naturally gifted children to teach them in a separate, accelerated program.

Income, fromcriminal propensity and IQ

Part of the research on the impact of IQ on human performance shows that higher intelligence increases the productivity of an individual - and his income increases accordingly. Moreover, this indicator does not depend on the social environment of a person, including his family.

The American Psychological Association in one of its reports noted that the level of intelligence has little to do with a person's propensity to commit crimes. The correlation in this case is only 0.2. It is important to note here that causal relationships are indirect. That is, poor school performance is not always explained by a low level of IQ, but it often influences the possibility of a person becoming a criminal.

Arthur Jensen cites information according to which the largest percentage of crimes occurs in people with IQs ranging from 70 to 90 points.

Scientific achievements, etc.mining activity

According to some studies, it can be concluded that success in the scientific field of activity is more dependent on such character traits as purposefulness and innovative thinking. But Dr. Eysenck cites other data, according to which the level of intelligence of successful scientists is lower than that of their colleagues who received the Nobel Prize. The average IQ test scores were 166. At the same time, some scientists demonstrated the highest possible level, equal to 177 points. Spatial IQ was 137 points according to the scientist, although at a younger age it should have been higher. And the mathematical average IQ is 154.

Two scientists, Frank Schmidt and John Hunter, came to the conclusion that with an equal amount of experience, the person with the higher IQ will be more productive. According to the researchers, the development of intelligence has an impact on all types of human activity, but its level differs depending on the chosen field of activity. From this we can conclude that a job that involves long-term brain work will not be available to those who have a low IQ. And at the same time, activities associated with physical activity will not be seriously affected by the size of this coefficient.

Text: Ilya Yanovich

The idea of ​​measuring human intelligence appeared over a hundred years ago with a relatively simple test and has since fallen into different hands. There is no single and universal test for IQ, but a similar technique is still used by some employers in interviews, and supporters of the far right, who are trying to scientifically prove the theory of racial superiority.

However, some time ago, scientists noticed that the average IQ in developed countries from the UK and Denmark to Australia began to fall, although it has been growing steadily for the past 80 years. We figure out whether the IQ indicator is important at all and what it really says about a person.

What affects our
mental development

New Zealand political scientist James Flynn was the first to notice the relationship between standard of living and IQ. The development of science and education, new inventions, improvement of living conditions, health care, nutrition, reduction of crime - these are some of the factors that affect intellectual development.

The so-called Flynn effect is confirmed by almost all local studies. For example, in Denmark, all people preparing to become military men must pass an IQ test - and this has been the case for more than 60 years, and the test, adapted in the middle of the last century, was updated only a few years ago. At the same time, the average result grew every year: with those scores that were considered the norm in the 1950s, today you may not be accepted into the service. Growth continued until the end of the 1990s, in the 2000s the numbers froze, fluctuating slightly in one direction or the other, and now they have gone down. And not only in Denmark: many universities and research centers around the world report similar results.

At first glance, there is no logical explanation for this: according to the Flynn effect, growth should only gain momentum. Moreover, scientists from the University of Otago - the one where Flynn conducted his research - add information flow to growth factors. The number of newspapers and magazines in the middle of the 20th century increased many times over, at the same time television appeared, and people, constantly passing large amounts of data through their heads, learned to absorb any new information more easily. The drop in numbers coincided with the massive spread of the Internet, which is even more confusing.

Flynn himself has two explanations for this phenomenon. The first version - according to statistics in developed countries, wealthy and relatively successful couples are increasingly having one child, while many families with many children live near the poverty line. Parents there have not received a proper education and cannot afford to pay for college or university for their children, and poor living conditions, according to the same Flynn effect, lead to a drop in intelligence. This hypothesis, firstly, requires additional research, and secondly, is consistent only if the genes really affect the level of IQ.

Genes do influence IQ levels, and significantly, according to the results of a study by American psychologist Robert Plomin. But this assumption has many opponents: allegedly Plomin and his colleagues did not provide convincing evidence in favor of the fact that smart children come out of good families precisely because of genetic ties, and not because of their comfortable environment.

Flynn's second version: a high standard of living has long become the norm for most developed countries, this level is growing slightly or not at all today, which is why the average IQ is no longer rising.

What IQ Tests Really Measure and Why They're Not Universal

A test very close to what we now understand as an IQ test was developed in 1912 by the German psychologist William Lewis Stern. He took various problems and puzzles of the 19th century as a basis and tied them to his system of studying child psychology - the result partly resembled the psychological test developed by Alfred Binet in parallel. In essence, Stern wanted to create a methodology for assessing developmental potential in children, but all subsequent IQ tests (including tests by the controversial British psychologist Hans Jurgen Eysenck, which popularized the very idea of ​​​​measuring IQ) suggested variations for adults.

The test, during which you need to answer 40 questions in 30 minutes, is too outdated and inaccurate. But it has penetrated universities, research institutes, and now the Internet so deeply that it still cannot be weathered. If you took an IQ test at school, it must have been one of the many variations of the Eysenck test. At the same time, a standardized test has not appeared for more than 100 years: there are several dozen main options (Kettel, Wexler and other psychologists), as well as several hundred of their modifications - and this is if we take into account only the tests used by major scientists, and do not take adapted versions for different ages.

Most likely, each of us passed the IQ test, at least out of interest, but many find it difficult to answer what exactly it measures. The most popular answer is some kind of conditional "mind". In fact, an average IQ test measures your ability to analyze new information (both using and not using old information) relative to your age. At the same time, tests are specially designed in such a way that the average value is equal to 100 points. It is believed that a result below 70 points indicates problems in mental development, but the so-called genius threshold varies greatly from version to version: somewhere it starts from 140 points, somewhere from 160.

The man with the highest IQ in history is considered to be the American William Sidis, who was born in 1898. A writer, asexual, political activist, he read the Iliad in the original at the age of three, knew several dozen languages ​​by the age of majority and invented one of his own, was incredibly capable in mathematics, published several fantastic books and monographs on various topics. Exact data on his IQ was not preserved, but, according to unconfirmed reports, reached a corridor of 250-300 points. Nevertheless, his only pragmatic invention, the “perpetual calendar”, is not used by anyone today.

A smart and successful person in all visible respects with an ordinary
or even low IQ is far from an exception

Taking the same test with short breaks can give you different results because your concentration is significantly affected by your physical and mental state. But even under potentially sterile conditions, IQ tests are far from being highly accurate. For example, a variant of the Eysenck test, long used in the United States to test preschoolers between the ages of 3 and 5, asked what color an apple was. The correct answer is to say that there are many colors and name some of them, but it is highly likely that a three-year-old child could see only red or only green apples, and this does not affect his mental abilities in any way.

Some versions of the Rudolf Amthauer test even ask erudition questions (“what is measured in joules?”) - the answer can be found in a second on the Internet or in a directory, which is why you will not become more capable. Psychologist W. Joel Schneider, in an interview with Scientific American, also recalls that the average IQ test gives not only a very approximate, but also a very average value, because it consists of several subtests, each of which tests different types of thinking. Thus, a person with outstanding abstract thinking and weak verbal thinking is more likely to get an average result.

Research centers use more advanced systems that produce not only an average score, but also very detailed statistics. Schneider himself developed one such program called the Compositator, although he admits that it is far from the required accuracy, and a smart and successful person in all visible parameters with an ordinary or even low IQ is far from an exception. In his blog, largely dedicated to measuring IQ, Schneider notes that public interest in IQ tests and their results is declining: they are no longer taken too seriously. This is especially noticeable in American employers: in the 50s, when IQ measurement became popular, large companies wanted to hire only people with high scores and even arranged tests right at the interview, but by the 2000s, this practice was almost completely abandoned.

Finally, another important problem with IQ tests is strict timing. It is known, for example, that Albert Einstein thought extremely slowly and did not fit into the allotted time for exams, but hardly anyone would doubt the level of his intellectual abilities.

Is high IQ important?

There are several organizations that bring together people with extremely high IQs. Mensa International will accept those whose score is higher than 98% of the population (that is, two out of a hundred people). Although you still need to pass not a standard IQ test, but a specially revised one. The Prometheus Society is much stricter: their tests are designed in such a way that only one person in 30,000 can pass them. The organization is growing very slowly: in 2013 it had only about 130 members.

The Mensa site allows you to participate in an intellectual exercise - take a test of 30 questions per hour. This is not a traditional IQ test, nor is it an admissions test for Mensa. You are warned that the test was created for entertainment purposes only, but based on the same questions and methods for assessing intelligence as the real Mensa exam, which is not in the public domain. Many tasks resemble the Eysenck test, but at the end they will describe in detail the methods for solving questions and the most common mistakes you made.

There are no extraordinary achievements among the members of Mensa and Prometheus. 68-year-old American journalist Marilyn vos Savant, member of Prometheus and Guinness World Record holder for IQ scores from 1986 to 1989, writes a column for Parade magazine, solves logical paradoxes, published several books and wrote several plays. But you might not have heard of her at all, although according to the test results, she is the most prominent woman in history. The last Guinness Book record holder, Korean Kim Un-young, quickly mastered mathematics and foreign languages, solved speed problems in local television programs, but by his 51st year he also did not mark anything really significant. In 1990, the Guinness Book of Records stopped including IQ champions in their publications at all, explaining that there were too many tests, they all give different results, and it was impossible to determine the winner.

While the average IQ is indeed falling across the developed world, it hasn't really affected anything, says Thomas Tiedl, a professor at the University of Copenhagen and the same scientist who noticed the decline in the average IQ of the Danish military. The number of scientific publications is growing, an increasing percentage of people are getting higher education, the pace of technology development is increasing every year, and it is not very clear whether the average IQ value can even affect anything other than statistics. So one should not attach too much importance to some conditional figures.