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Perhaps this subject has been exhausted or maybe it hasn't been touched upon. I'm not really sure. But I would like some of your thoughts nonetheless. There has been a resurgence in the online community in the last couple of months regarding IQ tests and their viability. You may have heard people discussing the topic of famous people with high IQ's, such as Madonna, Bill Gates, even Mr. Bean. Whom all showed phenomenal scores on their IQ assessments. Most likely, many of you have taken these online tests. I know my friends have. And to my initial disbelief, many of whom were administered these short-hand tests, scored surprisingly well (even those whom I assumed were quite bland in their capacities) - Don't judge a book by it's cover! Sites such 123test.com or free-iqtest.net are among some of current popular one's. And many of these multiple choice tests claim to be within 5 points of an accurate IQ assessment. I too scored relatively high. The tests are comprised of roughly 20-45 questions (depending on the site), usually multiple choice and are to be completed within an allocated time. Typically, if you receive a score of 111+, you may delude yourself into believing you are in fact of very high intelligence as you would be classified among a small percentage of people who are considered quite gifted. The problem arises when you receive inconsistent results when testing yourself on multiple sites. Let me give you an example. Over 10 years ago when I completed my first online IQ test, I was pleased to discover that I had a score of about 140. I thought that was great and I convinced myself that my brain isn't a god awful shipwreck after-all. Then several years ago, I tested myself again using several sites, and despairingly I found that my "unofficial" IQ had degraded some. By oh, about 20 points. Today I decided to give it another go. Again using a few different sites, I completed the quizzes hoping to obtain an average score that I thought might beat my original scores as I have been more academically active and thought a high score would be a reflection of my improved brain power. Wrong. I thought I had answered at least 40 of the 43 questions in a proficient time and expected some pleasing results. Nope. My IQ had dropped another 20 whole points. This time averaging at about 100, or 99. While this isn't a cause for concern, it is still quite average. Smart people don't want to be average. Then again, average people are not smart Then I got to thinking. Maybe this new score is accurate. When I watch CNN, I generally do not understand what they are talking about. For the first twenty years of my life, I had no idea what the sports broadcasters were saying. I didn't understand batting averages, what a fumble is, or exactly what football players yell out before a big play. Perhaps my issues of comprehension is nothing but a reflection of a lower IQ. I feel if I take a real IQ test, I could increase my IQ by at least several points. But for now, you can just call me Joe, "Average Joe."