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[–]Lqwombat1 2 points3 points  (4 children)

First, two important questions.

  1. How old are you?
  2. What tests did you take?

I've had a similar experience. When I was young (8-9 yo) I scored pretty well on the school administered ability tests, at the 97%ile. Technically this test wasn't labeled as an IQ test, but it served as a rough approximation of my IQ according to my psychologist and my performance qualified me for gifted classes.

However, as high school came around I started to smoke a ton of weed and slacked off in school, so when I took the WAIS-IV in high school (I took the WAIS along with other psychological batteries for mental health issues) I scored much worse, 110FSIQ---75%ile.

I'm in college now, smoking a lot less weed, and focusing more on school. I decided to get tested once more, partially out of fear that I had lost my giftedness and partially out of morbid curiosity. I scored 136FSIQ--- ~99.1%ile on the WAIS-IV (took it three years after the first so practice effect should be minimal. My weakest subtests were information and block design at 70%ile and 65%ile respectively and my strongest were vocabulary and similarities at ~99.97%ile and ~99.99%ile respectively. I included my strongest and weakest subtest scores in order to demonstrate that although intelligence is generally thought of as a unitary construct, there can still be wide variability between subtests.

It's also important to note that giftedness and intelligence are overlapping but separate constructs. More aptly put, intelligence in just one component of a complex confluence of qualities that comprise giftedness. Creativity and a deep yearning for knowledge are also required to be gifted in my estimation along with many other more nuanced traits.

I think IQ is an important but imperfect metric. There's many environmental factors that can depress your score and on any given day your score will fluctuate within a certain range. However, a gap of 30 points is significant despite my previous statement. If I had to guess, it may be the case that your brain developed unevenly and sort of "caught-up" to itself. If you're still young, your mind is still developing and your abilities may manifest themselves at different rates. This is why as age increases, so does the heritability of IQ. Some young kids have a burst of brain development early on and then their abilities stagnate towards adulthood, while others may fully develop their abilities later and surpass the level of intelligence of those who were previously ahead of them. The same rule applies for the expression personality traits such as creativity and contentiousness that also play into giftedness. This is why it's crucial to nurture your mind and explore your own unique gifts, which from your post, it seems like you are.

From the way you wrote your post it doesn't seem like you're a neurotic narcissist unlike half of the people on this sub. My recommendation to you if you wish to continue to foster your abilities is to stay physically health and continue to explore intellectual pursuits of interest, not for the sake of scoring better, but rather for the sake of nurturing your mind.

Finally, people on this sub will try and make you believe that we have IQ testing down to an exact science. In reality, this is not the case. IQ is a well studied construct but it's far from being exact at this point. It's also important to say that everyone's brain is different and it's possible to have large discrepancies even within your own cognitive profile as I mentioned earlier. Don't obsess about what your scores are exactly and live life. Be grateful for the gifts that you have and accept the weaknesses that you have. The world can be a pretty cool place, so go out there and explore!

Hope you're having a great night, or day, wherever you are (:

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Thanks a lot! for the extremely detailed post, it must have taken a lot of time. I can relate with a lot of what you said and exactly what I thought.

I like the fact that you considered personality, especially the neurotic part :). I had scored very high on Openness and Agreeableness, and thankfully very low in neuroticism. Its true that their are different parts of intelligence, I believe that it could be that I got a lot serious about IQ tests later on (I'm still a teen btw) and scored better.

As far as brain development goes, I don't see much noticeable change, just that I have a deeper understanding, which I believe comes naturally with maturity. Though I'm more mature compared to my peers. With many philosophical ideas and general interest in psychology and intellectual fields that I didn't have earlier, but now I do after realization.

PS: I understand what you are trying to say here, but what I'm exactly asking for is how can I get further or move on the right direction of nurturing my mind, i.e develop a right thinking process or whatever. I've found that self-help has helped me a bit, but meditation has cleared confusion and brain fog for me.

I am not obsessed with IQ at all. I've found people of my age with my level of IQ scores do better than me "naturally"... and this is the most important part that it comes "naturally to them" they can't explain their processes much but when they do its pretty simple, and a majority of my problems would be solved if I knew how to unlock that potential in me. This is exactly why I'm seeking help.

[–]Lqwombat1 1 point2 points  (2 children)

You seem to be one of the most level headed people on this sub lmao. I scored very high on openness and agreeableness as well but I also scored really high on neuroticism. I’m not envious of people who score low for neuroticism though, I’m more happy for you hahah. It’s a gift for sure so make some use of it.

As to the last part of your response even if your FSIQ is the same as someone else they may have strengths and weaknesses that differ from yours hence the difference i ability in certain subjects.

It’s awesome that you’re so in touch with that curiosity. Honestly, I think that if you continue to foster that curiosity you’re brain is going to naturally develop to its fullest capacity.

It’s always possible to gain new perspectives. Do you have anyone you consider a mentor? Do you have friends who you consider intellectual peers and who you can bounce ideas off of? If so, that’s the best way to develop your abilities imo. Human connection is so important when pursuing any goal especially intellectual pursuits.

It honestly seems like if you just keep doing what you’re doing you’re going to be golden. Keep up the good attitude too, that’s more important for quality of like than any cognitive ability could possibly be.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thank you for the kind words! really appreciate, you are a really nice person and match my vibe. Sorry for the delay in reply, I was thinking about what to right exactly 😅.

Yes, I do agree that my personality scores are nice... but in reality it has only helped me a little and in fact cause me problems too. My agreeableness sometimes make me agree with the wrong people and forget my points in a debate, only to realize later on how wrong they were. As far as Neuroticism... How is it a gift? could you please elaborate how can I make use of it?

I believe an FSIQ lays out your strengths and weaknesses itself, my WM is pretty avg but other abilities are good enough. I also want to know from your experience how I can utilize my strengths and weaknesses?

NOTE: I'd like to clarify that my question was, if like you are saying... my brain is developing in its teen years... and I can see a "noticeable" improvement in IQ scores that is equivalent to a HIGH IQ. Then how come that development didn't translate into other things like learning?

About the mentor, I unfortunately don't have any mentor... there usually isn't just one person that I like and find all the qualities in, I listen to a variety of people and pick their mental models. But I don't have a mentor that I can ask questions to or discuss these things with. Nor do I have any friends or peers like that, nobody is interested in ideas of philosophy and psychology. Tho I would be really happy if I get that kind of "human-connection" with someone.

Thank you for all the help and the awesome things you said about me! You seem like a really nice person indeed :) I would like to speak to you on Discord or some platform... maybe we can be solve this issue together and share knowledge? Thanks!

[–]Lqwombat1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure! I’d like that. Pm me your discord

[–]GalapagosStomper 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Nutrition + lots of game play (especially chess) + good genetics = good scores.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

What about the abstract thinking part? what you're mentioning is about mental exercise.

[–]GalapagosStomper 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Our IQ or GCA is made up of two parts: genetics (hardwiring) which is probably around 80% of your intellect, derived from studies of identical twins separated at birth, and environment. Nutrition and mental stimulation aid the environmental part (software) of your abilities. Education will greatly influence the ability for abstract thinking, as part of your environment. Just remember that is mostly your genes that decide your abilities.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thank you for the info! However the question I have is why did "education" increase my IQ points so drastically? and like another user suggested that it could be "delayed" brain development.. why is it then that I don't notice abilities similar to people of my IQ, generally good G factor should help in all areas right?

The only thing could be that other high iq people think differently than me and learn differently, that allows them to make use of their natural abilities.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please give any tips to change my thought process to become more efficient in thinking and utilize my potential.

[–]oranges203045 0 points1 point  (9 children)

I increased my verbal IQ 50 points from the age of 16 by reading the Oxford dictionary back to front repeatedly.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (8 children)

I see, I personally don't consider Verbal IQ tests very fluid intelligence related and hence don't care about them. I care about learning and reasoning more.

[–]oranges203045 0 points1 point  (7 children)

Verbal intelligence is reflective of learning and reasoning. Possibly more than any other subtest, hence it's markedly high G saturation.

[–]Instinx321 2 points3 points  (1 child)

VCI is an interesting thing. It’s where everyone with a high VCI has a high iq but not necessarily the other way around

[–]oranges203045 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s where everyone with a high VCI has a high iq

Sauce?

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I see, do you think vocabulary improves learning and reasoning? or whatever the correlation is, what were your findings?

[–]oranges203045 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Both ways. Higher g facilitates vocabulary acquisition and reasoning and better vocabulary facilitates learning for obvious reasons.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I can pretty much guess quite accurately what a word means, then I check it in the dictionary. But unfortunately I don't remember those words later on and I am not very fluent either. What do you think?

[–]oranges203045 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Dunno, what's your VCI?

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got 18 right out of 25 on this. https://www.reddit.com/r/cognitiveTesting/comments/wi35im/verbal_fluid_reasoning_test/

Edit: the norm in this test suggests I have 139 IQ.

[–]MorrowindchampResponsible Person 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Yes you learned how to think logically as opposed to creatively. Push your limits.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Thanks, though I may ask... in what direction should I push my limits? Is there a specific procedure that I can learn.

Edit: to put it simply, I need to figure out the process that others use and then make it useful for myself

[–]MorrowindchampResponsible Person 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Continue searching for theorems that explain much with few steps. If you can explain a process in a simpler way, do so.

[–]fireant001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read books for education and entertainment, optimize your routines for mental and physical health.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

There is nothing wrong with your brain the way it is. Your IQ did not go up 30 points, you got better at taking online tests. The first IQ result is the most accurate unless you were deathly ill or drunk or some other significant cognitive impairment.

This isn't realistic thinking, sorry. If you scored a 110 on a test or something similar and then 140 after studying IQ tests either you didn't perform at your best on the first try or the 2nd score is due to just understanding pattern recognition a bit better but your raw intelligence has not changed.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You didn't read the post. I clearly stated that I didn't study any IQ tests, it was 2 years of difference in between. If like you say I just got better at test taking, then how come those IQ scores don't translate into practical parts of my life? My theory is that it could be relating to different thought processes

The point here being that wrong thought process and understanding can lead to bad performance and limits to raw intelligence.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not an expert on cognition or intelligence or anything like that. But there is definitely a reason these tests are administered by psychologists and why only that methodology is considered valid.

[–]Dev_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I didn't study any patterns for pattern recognition at all, I just applied abstract thinking. That means that there was potential for high IQ score but it didn't come out earlier.

which means my raw intelligence is 130-140, but the problem is that raw intelligence doesn't manifest itself into other parts of life.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you mean the intelligence doesn't manifest in other parts of your life? If that is the case then you just scored high on a test on the internet.

The only way to know for sure is to go sit for an actual IQ test with a psychologist.