Andrew Nierman, although not a household name, holds the title of World’s Smartest Person. He was awarded the honor earlier this year by the International High IQ Society after completing the Haselbauer-Dickheiser Test for Exceptional Intelligence. Nierman answered 22 out of 25 questions correctly, including counting the maximum number of one-inch diameter spheres that can fit into a box, and solving a complex problem about breeding strategies of the Furble, analyzing their territorial habits, attitudes, and characteristics regarding bravery and cautiousness.
Nierman is an American and was one question cleverer than Hakan Yilmaz from England, Carvin Toy from Canada, and four questions cleverer than Loh Zhi Jun from Singapore. Two of the three questions he got wrong have never been answered correctly by anyone. These include determining the side length of a shaded square embedded within a larger square consisting of 21 other squares of varying sizes, and deciphering a cryptogram of a well-known phrase. Despite over 60,000 attempts to solve these problems online, only the test’s creators, Nathan Haselbauer and Mike Dickheiser, know the correct answers.
Haselbauer, once a successful Wall Street stock trader, found his work intellectually stultifying. Seeking companionship with like-minded people who enjoy discussions on books or religion, he considered Mensa membership. However, he found the cumbersome process of applying unenlightening. Thus, he founded the New York High IQ Society, an internet-based venture that uses online puzzles as means of connecting the world’s most intelligent minds.
The Society rules specify a pass rate of 126 or above on its online tests for eligibility for membership. This score equates to being within the top 5 percent of the world’s population in intelligence, which is lower than the IQ score necessary for Mensa’s entry requirements, which equate to the top 2 percent. The series of puzzle tests ranges in difficulty, from simple to highly challenging, depending on different topics such as verbal, spatial, and language.
Nierman’s journey into the world of high IQ began with his inherent gift for academics, athletics, and his aptitude for retaining vast amounts of numbers in his mind simultaneously. At 18, he gained his first internship in Wall Street, and at 19, he started making serious money from trading stocks. Despite the occasional bad trading days, Nierman persevered and earned a management position when he was 25. Running the New York High IQ Society from his bedroom in his spare time, Nierman created a series of online tests that provided instant gratification to test-takers, as the results and eligibility were available to view as soon as the test was completed.
You may have doubts about the authenticity of this initiative, deeming it unworthy and deceitful. The prospect of falsifying test results and exploiting the naive to extract their funds could seem alluring to some. However, you may also find yourself wishing you had thought of it first.
Nathan Haselbauer and I conversed over a warm bowl of lobster bisque at a trendy hotel in Manhattan, where he divulged that he abandoned Wall Street when his new pastime became an obsession. "Working for a corporation can limit your potential, but with the IQ site, I knew I could truly make a difference. It was the legacy I wanted to leave behind," he stated. It was essential to him that his enterprise didn’t stagnate for another reason; Haselbauer declared that he has invested a total of $350,000 on its promotion and design.
Despite being a highly intelligent individual, Haselbauer did not display any manner of elitism. He spoke on a variety of topics, moving away from the stereotypical fascination with science fiction movies. He explained how the New York High IQ Society evolved into the International High IQ Society when people from other countries inquired about joining. Haselbauer reported that he has 7,000 paid-up members, with an additional 20,000 who have completed at least one test, albeit lacking credit card details. Moreover, his software experience almost 360,000 distinct visitors on a monthly basis, with one out of every three visitors taking one of the IQ tests. A whopping 17% of test-takers pass, with 10 to 20 new members joining every day. 26% of his members are women, and a significant 80% are 35 or younger.
I enquired why, despite having numerous intellectual members and large internet traffic, he still had the clunky moniker IHIQS rather than a catchy one like Mensa, which symbolises an "equal round table society." He responded by stating that they had considered the name change, but it is still under consideration.
IHIQS bears the burden of being labelled elitist because of its high IQ standards, but according to Haselbauer, it is less elitist than others since its admission bar is lower. To Haselbauer, the IHIQS is not remotely elitist; nevertheless, there is an element of exclusivity involved in joining a prestigious community. He believes that people will realise that IHIQS is genuine after joining, and he emphasised this passionately.
"We are the gold standard for online intelligence tests," Haselbauer stated. "Most of the other online IQ tests are fake because they overinflate scores to sell intelligence profiles. If they name you a genius, you are more prone to want their profiles." I even attempted to join IHIQS by deliberately providing incorrect answers to the tests, and I failed miserably.
Haselbauer’s aspirations were ambitious, and intricate puzzles were the key to a thrilling experience. However, the path to exciting opportunities required membership since the forums were the true essence of the society. These forums were devoted to enlightening individuals about insightful ideas and the dissemination of intelligence. Theoretically speaking.
Haselbauer announced, "We have 26 different debates going on right now around the world. Several hundred posts on 65 different subjects every day. We’re covering everything from science, politics, and religion. Recently, we obtained our 75th member from Greenland. How often do you get to interact with a brilliant mind from Greenland and ask them about their opinion on Iraq?" He claimed that the forums were moderated but rarely had to delete any posts.
His surveys indicated that 22% of IHIQS members suffer from mental disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder, and their typing behaviour may be marked by their condition. He commented that "they don’t have the same sort of social filters that you or I do, so that when they’re typing, they’re really insulting someone without even realising it."
The forums’ latest topics included the Australian dollar’s ceiling, the top ten geniuses of all time, and the true definition of humanity. In the literature group, members debated on whether Tolkien’s work was classified as science fiction or fantasy. Meanwhile, the therapy group talked about melancholy.
Last week, one of the posters showcased was Ewan McNaught, a 42-year-old concert and nightclub promoter from Dumfries. During a previous encounter in London, McNaught informed me of his somewhat unconventional induction into the IHIQS. In September the year prior, he had published an article on Acciesworld.com, a website that focuses on Hamilton Academical football club. The article consisted of McNaught’s experiences in the realm of high IQ societies, which he became interested in after watching the BBC show Test the Nation. After months of research, McNaught produced an article brimming with condemnation towards snobbishness and psychometric testing.
McNaught chanced upon numerous "bogus IQ sites eager to push feelgood IQ booster pills." According to him, a plethora of pushers could be found who would happily send a certificate testifying that one had been psychometrically evaluated by a qualified psychologist supposedly smarter than Einstein. McNaught also discovered plenty of "pseudo-scientific waffle about how Aryan races scored high on IQ tests and African-Americans scored low" along with ‘overtly fascist agendas.’ His article closed with a bitter farewell, "I’m finished with these freaks, fascists, puzzleheads and pseudo-philosophers. Give me Britney, Kylie, Becks and Ozzy Osbourne any day. The company is better here in the "real" world.’
Although McNaught is still an active member of the IHIQS, he remains cynical about the value and worthiness of numerical representation of intelligence. According to him, IQ scores are derived from dubious methods. Membership of these societies is dependant on no greater intellectual depth than the ability to solve difficult puzzles quickly. Nevertheless, he enjoys the company he finds in the discussion groups. McNaught is also a member of Mensa, but he hasn’t attended any meetings yet, opting for the informality of the internet. He finds it quite addictive and loves the connecting factor of being able to talk to people around the world. "It has a nice coffee-shop mentality to it."
Previously, McNaught posted under the pseudonym Eugene, after Eugene Ionesco, the absurdist playwright, before using his real name. It was a gladiatorial arena, and some members were unforgiving. However, it is now more convivial and middle-brow. According to McNaught, IQ societies are the natural habitation for bright people unattracted to traditional academia.
After meeting McNaught, I approached Guy Mayraz, a 31-year-old Israeli who has organised the London Mensa under-35s group for two years while being in England for five years. Mayraz joined Mensa in June 2001 and found that most members at the social gatherings were older than he would have liked. Mayraz, who runs his own software company, believes that the organisation does not deserve its fusty, elitist image. He mentions the array of special interest groups, including scuba-diving, poker, and bread making.
Mayraz is sceptical about the internet address of the IHIQS and thinks it’s not out to make money since it’s set up with a ‘.org’ instead of a ‘.com’ extension. He adds that Mensa is a not-for-profit organisation with honourable intentions, but the two societies aren’t competing. He found Haselbauer, whom he met in Edinburgh earlier this year, to be good company and very ambitious. Haselbauer aims to inject charisma and an edgy persona into the IQ world and hopes that the society will be more widely perceived as younger and more rock’n’roll than Mensa.
Claire Knight, a resident of Staffordshire near Lichfield and an IHIQS member, completed the Mensa test a few years ago at Wolverhampton University (‘half the exam was figuring out where the venue was’), but she was aware that the social aspect of the organization might be problematic for her. She was an underachiever at school, ‘typically disinterested, often hiding in the corner with a book.’
At the age of 16, she began working in an office and later went on to work as a tungsten inert gas welder in the nuclear and petrochemical industries, but gave up her career a few years ago to care for her two kids. She stumbled upon IHIQS when she searched for ‘puzzles’ online, took the tests, and became a member. She now spends several hours a week on the forums. ‘I live in quite a posh village with ladies who lunch,” she elaborated, “and after my first child was born I went along to a discussion and it was all about nappies; I was hoping for something a bit more exciting.’
Knight, aged 32, admits that she does not find it easy to make friends but has made several in the online language and science groups. ‘I’ve grown a soft spot for a double PhD. In reality, people create assumptions based on appearance, but online, only your most recent post determines how appealing you are.’ She also discovered that she shared an intriguing neurological condition with many other IHIQS members. ‘Do you know what synaesthesia is?’ She questioned me. ‘I’ve only read about this since I joined the site. In your mind, you perceive words as colors. I always assumed I was crazy for seeing different days or whatever as colors, but on the site, it’s quite common, and knowing that made me feel better about myself.’
Knight aims to organize an online Scrabble tournament on the site to accompany regular chess and backgammon competitions. The IHIQS is also penning an online novel and organizing debating contests in which members are each assigned a subject and must argue both for and against it. However, Haselbauer has grander ambitions for his society than these highbrow games.
‘Here is where it gets really crazy,’ he explained. ‘We can use all this intelligence to address actual issues.’ In essence, he created an unpaid international online think-tank and was figuring out the best ways to put it to use. Some members compiled a document extolling the benefits of free trade for developing countries, but there are also practical possibilities. ‘I have a member in the US navy who pointed out that the navy spends hundreds of millions of dollars repainting their ships because the salt in water wears off the paint. However, the salt charge is only a simple negative ion, and electricity emits positive ions, so maybe we could pass a small electric charge through the ship to prevent rust. But this guy isn’t a scientist, so we got the help of a PhD in material science who is also a member, and he formed a team to solve the problem. It might have a significant impact on the world.’
The day after our conversation, I visited Haselbauer at his apartment in midtown, and we sat by his computer as he browsed the forums. He spoke about recruiting more women to join and about a couple in Australia who met online during a trivia night and are getting married soon. He then handed me a few puzzles he had designed for the upcoming World’s Smartest Person competition, which will launch in a few weeks.
‘This is a sequential matrix,’ he said, handing me a sheet of paper that resembled a tablecloth from a psychedelic nightclub. The issue was unclear. ‘Things are moving around,’ he explained excitedly, ‘The Xs transform into triangles, triangles into circles, and the colors alter. Only about one in 400,000 individuals will solve it. It’s almost impossible!’
The websites for IHIQS and Mensa are highiqsociety.org and mensa.org.uk, respectively.
