> I'm in the same 150+ group. I really think it doesn't mean much on its own.
You're right but the things you could do with it if you applied yourself are totally out of reach for me; for example it's quite possible for you to become an A.I researcher in one of the leading companies and make millions. I just don't have that kind of intellectual capacity.
You could make it into med school and also make millions.
I'm not saying all this matters that much, with all due respect to financial success, but I don't think we can pretend our society doesn't reward high IQs.
High IQ alone isn't a guarantor of success in demanding fields. Most studies I've read also show that IQs above 120 stop correlating with (more) success.
The intellectual capacity is a factor for sure, but indeed there is more to life than that. Things like hard work, creativity, social skills, empathy, determination, ability to plan and execute are as much factors as high IQ.
Went to the equivalent of a mensa meeting group a couple of times. The people there were much smarter than me, but they all had their problems and many of them weren't that successful at all despite their obvious intelligence.
Not particularly. There's a baseline intelligence required to become a (medical) doctor but no it's much more about grit and hard work among other factors [1]. Similarly for PhDs as well IMHO.
Searching and IQs FOR doctors seem to average about 120 with 80th percentile being 105-130. So there's plenty of doctors with IQs of 105 which is not that far above average.
That also means that it's prudent to be selective in your doctors if you have any serious medical issues.
> Searching and IQs FOR doctors seem to average about 120 with 80th percentile being 105-130.
Where are you getting this from exactly ? Getting in to a medical school is very difficult to do in the U.S. Having an average IQ of 105 would make it borderline impossible - even if you cram for SAT and tests twice as much as everyone else there is so much you can do - these tests test for speed and raw brain power. In my country - the SAT equivalent you need to have to get in would put you higher than top 2%, it's more like 1.5%-to 1%, because the population keeps growing but the number of working doctors remains quite constant. So really each high school had only 2-3 kids that would get in per class. I know a few of these people - really brilliant kids, their IQ's were probably above 130 and it's impossible for me to compete with them in getting in - I am simply not exceptional - at least not that far high in the distribution.
I was maybe in the top 3-5 best students in my class but never the best, so lets say top 10%, these kids were the best students in the whole school - that's top 1%-2%.
One caveat to all this is that sure, in some countries it is easier to get in. People from my country (usually from families who can afford it) go to places like Romania, Czechoslovakia, Italy etc where it is much much easier to get in to med school (but costs quite a lot and also means you have to leave your home country for 7 years).
Now is it necessary to have an IQ off the charts to be a good doctor - no, probably not, but that's not what I was arguing, that's just how admission works.
> Where are you getting this from exactly ? Getting in to a medical school is very difficult to do in the U.S. Having an average IQ of 105 would make it borderline impossible
I agree it'd be almost impossible, but apparently not impossible with an IQ of 105. Could be folks with ADHD whose composite IQ is brought down by a smaller working memory but whose long term associative memory is top notch. Could be older doctors from when admissions were easier. Could be plain old nepotism.
After all the AMA keeps admissions artificially low in the US to increase salary and prestige. It's big part of the reason medical costs are so highly in the US in my opinion.
You're right but the things you could do with it if you applied yourself are totally out of reach for me; for example it's quite possible for you to become an A.I researcher in one of the leading companies and make millions. I just don't have that kind of intellectual capacity. You could make it into med school and also make millions. I'm not saying all this matters that much, with all due respect to financial success, but I don't think we can pretend our society doesn't reward high IQs.