PM: One of your sites that you mentioned earlier, alliqtests.com, is entirely devoted to IQ tests. Why so much interest in IQs -- that is, in devising ways to quantify individual intelligence?

BB: Actual IQ tests and intelligence research interest me a little, but I think of the tests more in terms of puzzles, and improving one's ability to solve them.

Here's why I have so many tests: people like to see how well they can do. Until recently I would give "guesstimates" on Puzz.com, but alliqtests.com was built to give more in the line of "estimates."

PM: Are you concerned in your IQ tests about cultural bias? For example, some would argue that analogies discriminate against those for whom English is not their first language. Even nonverbal tests could conceivably be biased. How do you test for true intelligence without such bias?

BB: You don't. I have some culture fair and language fair tests on alliqtests.com to address this, but culture always plays a part. I have read that the way that people manage time in various cultures can affect how they perform on timed tests. In part this is why most of my tests have no set time limits. I believe that certain cultures teach their kids to take school and thus standardized tests more or less seriously, and this can have a huge impact on actual standardized test scores.

I always take tests and scores with a grain of salt, and sometimes you have to use the entire shaker. Still, it is better than nothing, and much research by universities and employers has proven this to be so.

One of the issues I address in What Do IQ Scores Mean? is whether or not intelligence can be increased. I believe that to some extent it definitely can be. And working with puzzles like you'll find on my sites should increase your vocabulary and knowledge base, sharpen your math skills, etc. etc. Even if you do poorly on a test, you can review the answers afterward, and learn from your mistakes.

PM: You're not only a member of such associations as Mensa, the International High IQ Society and Glia, you're also the current president of The One Percent Society. How many of these groups are you in, anyway?

BB: All the current groups I'm involved with are mentioned in the About Us section of alliqtests.com. I note some of the differences on the High IQ Societies page and eventually need to add some articles related to this when IQSocieties.com goes live. Politically, for example, the discussion list of the Top One Percent Society is probably a little left of center, and Intertel's Top1 list is right of center a bit more. Some groups are democratically organized, and some are not. There are lots of similarities, and many, many differences. They can be great if you are "missing something" in your life. That's probably the best way that I can put it. Mensa is great for in-person meetings, while most other groups have few or no meetings. I plan to soon organize some meetings for a few of the non-Mensa groups in St. Louis, however.

I stay active in a few of the groups because I have found many interesting people through them. There are many negative stereotypes, but those generally relate more to the "fringe" of these societies, and not to the long term members, several of whom I count as friends. At meetings or in the journals and e-mail discussion groups I'll find myself thinking about various social problems in totally different ways, and encounter all kinds of things that I'll later research on the web or in books. I feel pushed to learn more. Plus there's no small amount of silliness, and that's what I generally find the most rewarding.

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