Mega Society
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1982 by Ronald K. Hoeflin
to facilitate psychometric research, the Mega Society is a high IQ society
open to people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level on a test of general intelligence claimed to be able to discriminate at that level. The Guinness Book of World Records stated that the most elite ultra High IQ Society is the Mega Society with percentiles of 99.9999 or 1 in a million required for admission.
The public profile of the Mega Society increased with the publication of the Mega Test in 1985 by Hoeflin. In that article, Omni reporter Scot Morris notes the hierarchy of I.Q. societies that places the Mega Society on top:
and columnist
Marilyn vos Savant
, mathematician Solomon W. Golomb
, Christopher Langan, Keith Raniere
, and the former governor of New Hampshire
and former White House Chief of Staff
John H. Sununu
.
Similar reports about the actress Uma Thurman
are an urban myth.
Timed and supervised IQ tests usually do not accurately measure at the one-in-a-million level. For example, the range of the Stanford-Binet IQ test is 40–160, which is four standard deviation
s of 15 about the mean of 100, so that a score of 160 corresponds to a scarcity of only 1 in 30,000, which falls short of the Mega Society's 1 in a million requirement.
There is controversy about whether these tests have been properly validated.
The Mega Society accepts for admission tests that are not compromised by publication of their answers.
To qualify for membership in the Mega Society via the Mega Test, aspirants must earn a score corresponding to an IQ of 171 or more (SD = 15) on a test accepted for admission by the society. People of average intelligence, by contrast, have IQs that cluster around a score of 100.
Ronald K. Hoeflin
Ronald K. Hoeflin is a philosopher by trade, creator of the Mega and Titan intelligence tests. In 1988 Hoeflin won the American Philosophical Association's Rockefeller Prize for his article, "Theories of Truth: A Comprehensive Synthesis." His article argues for the interrelated nature of seven...
to facilitate psychometric research, the Mega Society is a high IQ society
High IQ society
A high IQ society is an organization that limits its membership to people who are within a certain high percentile of Intelligence quotient test results. The oldest, largest and best-known such society is Mensa International, which was founded by Roland Berrill and Dr. Lancelot Ware in 1946...
open to people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level on a test of general intelligence claimed to be able to discriminate at that level. The Guinness Book of World Records stated that the most elite ultra High IQ Society is the Mega Society with percentiles of 99.9999 or 1 in a million required for admission.
The public profile of the Mega Society increased with the publication of the Mega Test in 1985 by Hoeflin. In that article, Omni reporter Scot Morris notes the hierarchy of I.Q. societies that places the Mega Society on top:
- MensaMensa InternationalMensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, the most famous [IQ] group, is open to one person in 50 ... The Triple Nine SocietyTriple Nine SocietyThe Triple Nine Society , founded in 1978, is a voluntary association of individuals who have scored at or above the 99.9th percentile on specific IQ tests under supervised conditions, which generally correlates to an IQ of 149 or greater...
has a 1-in-1,000 cutoff (the 99.9th percentile, hence the name). And the Prometheus SocietyPrometheus SocietyThe Prometheus Society is a high IQ society, similar to Mensa International, but much more restrictive. The entry test is designed to be passable by 1 in 30,000 of the population; Mensa entry is achievable by 1 in 50...
shoots for 1 in 30,000. But the most restrictive group is the Mega Society, which is theoretically limited to one person in a million (the 99.9999th percentile).
Notable members
Notable people who have taken the Mega Test, meeting the Mega Society entrance requirements, include authorAuthor
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
Marilyn vos Savant
Marilyn vos Savant
Marilyn vos Savant is an American magazine columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright who rose to fame through her listing in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Highest IQ"...
, mathematician Solomon W. Golomb
Solomon W. Golomb
Solomon Wolf Golomb is an American mathematician and engineer and a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, best known to the general public and fans of mathematical games as the inventor of polyominoes, the inspiration for the computer game Tetris...
, Christopher Langan, Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere is an American entrepreneur and founder of NXIVM. NXIVM has been described as a successful executive coaching program by its supporters and as "cult" organization in news reports.-Background:...
, and the former governor of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and former White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
John H. Sununu
John H. Sununu
John Henry Sununu is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. He is the father of John E. Sununu, a former senator from New Hampshire, and formerly a U.S. Representative...
.
Similar reports about the actress Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
are an urban myth.
Timed and supervised IQ tests usually do not accurately measure at the one-in-a-million level. For example, the range of the Stanford-Binet IQ test is 40–160, which is four standard deviation
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
s of 15 about the mean of 100, so that a score of 160 corresponds to a scarcity of only 1 in 30,000, which falls short of the Mega Society's 1 in a million requirement.
Criteria for acceptance
The Mega Society accepts members on the basis of untimed, unsupervised IQ tests that have been normalized using standard statistical methods.There is controversy about whether these tests have been properly validated.
The Mega Society accepts for admission tests that are not compromised by publication of their answers.
To qualify for membership in the Mega Society via the Mega Test, aspirants must earn a score corresponding to an IQ of 171 or more (SD = 15) on a test accepted for admission by the society. People of average intelligence, by contrast, have IQs that cluster around a score of 100.