Prometheus Society
Encyclopedia
The 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. The society produces a magazine, Gift of Fire, published ten times a year.
, was founded by Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware, who noted from their first conversation that although they came from different backgrounds, they were able to communicate and had much in common. They hypothesized that what they had in common was intelligence, and decided to see if a society of people selected for intelligence (using the only means available, IQ tests) would also have much in common.
They decided to focus on people whose IQ test scores would place them at or above the 98th percentile
.
's research, which led to the publication of Children Above 180 IQ (1942), examined people with extremely high intelligence. Starting in the early 1960s, when the now-defunct MM was started, there were attempts to form societies accepting people at a level approaching this. The International Society for Philosophical Enquiry
and the Triple Nine Society
, both in existence today, were founded in the 1970s. Their entry was designed to accept one in a thousand of the population. Restricting entry still further was difficult; no available tests were designed for that high a level, and the paucity, by definition, of data at that level made such testing very difficult.
s above the mean). Hoeflin claimed a considerably higher ceiling but the Langdon and Hoeflin tests are closely comparable, with Hoeflin's tests having ceilings only one or two points higher than Langdon's. These tests were given to a pool of about thirty thousand test-takers, recruited through Omni magazine
, and the resulting data were used to develop norms. Langdon equated means and standard deviations; Hoeflin used equipercentile equating. Using these tests and norms, Ronald Hoeflin founded the Prometheus Society in 1982. It was the second society to select for the top one in thirty thousand, the first being Kevin Langdon's Four Sigma Society, founded in 1976.
, which were, in effect, IQ tests. The problem was to normalize them. In 1999, Prometheus formed a committee of ten members, many of them experts in psychometrics
, to attempt this task. The committee produced a long report examining all reputable intelligence tests, determining which tests could screen at the four-sigma level (four standard deviation
s above the mean of a normal distribution), above 99.9966%, and what the appropriate scores should be. This report recommended that members be chosen based on scores in several widely known and researched standardized tests, including the SAT, the GRE
, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
, Cattell Culture Fair III
, and others. This greatly expanded the number of possible members. Today, the number of members hovers around a hundred.
s, poets, computer programmers, physics PhDs, army officers, and NASA
employees. Quite a few are involved with computer modeling of complex phenomena. Many members have much in common, and the officers try to link members whose business or other interests complement each other. The society produces a 72-page magazine, Gift of Fire, published ten times a year, which contains many scholarly or speculative articles, along with poetry, artworks, and short stories. Perhaps the best-known article to appear in Gift of Fire is Grady Towers' essay, "The Outsiders".
Despite the strong desire of many of its members to maintain a low public profile, the Prometheus Society has achieved a small measure of attention and fame. The society is listed as social network #E240 in Networking: The first report and directory. It is cited in books and articles dealing with intelligence, it has been mentioned in an episode of the ABC television series Castle
, and used in a brand recognition example in a book by Geoffrey Miller
on consumer behaviour, and even as a clue in The New York Times crossword puzzle
.
In his book Wounded Warriors, on people marginalized by society, journalist Mike Sager
wrote this:
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...
, similar to Mensa International
Mensa International
Mensa 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...
, 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. The society produces a magazine, Gift of Fire, published ten times a year.
Background
An earlier organization, Mensa InternationalMensa International
Mensa 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...
, was founded by Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware, who noted from their first conversation that although they came from different backgrounds, they were able to communicate and had much in common. They hypothesized that what they had in common was intelligence, and decided to see if a society of people selected for intelligence (using the only means available, IQ tests) would also have much in common.
They decided to focus on people whose IQ test scores would place them at or above the 98th percentile
Percentile
In statistics, a percentile is the value of a variable below which a certain percent of observations fall. For example, the 20th percentile is the value below which 20 percent of the observations may be found...
.
Beyond the 98th percentile
In the late 1930s Leta Stetter HollingworthLeta Stetter Hollingworth
Leta Hollingworth was a psychologist who conducted pioneering work on the psychology of women as well as on the education of exceptional children.- Early life and Education :...
's research, which led to the publication of Children Above 180 IQ (1942), examined people with extremely high intelligence. Starting in the early 1960s, when the now-defunct MM was started, there were attempts to form societies accepting people at a level approaching this. The International Society for Philosophical Enquiry
International Society for Philosophical Enquiry
The International Society for Philosophical Enquiry is a global scientific and philosophical high IQ society founded in 1974. ISPE is dedicated to advanced enquiry, original research and original contributions. Members harness their abilities to enhance the growth and development of enlightened...
and the Triple Nine Society
Triple Nine Society
The 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...
, both in existence today, were founded in the 1970s. Their entry was designed to accept one in a thousand of the population. Restricting entry still further was difficult; no available tests were designed for that high a level, and the paucity, by definition, of data at that level made such testing very difficult.
Testing difficulties
There were two possible ways to overcome this obstacle. Either the raw data from standardized tests could be obtained and determination could be made if they could be normalized to Hollingworth’s levels, or new tests could be designed and normalized. In the late 1970s, it was the latter approach that was followed. Kevin Langdon and Ronald Hoeflin both developed high-range, untimed tests. Langdon claimed that his Langdon Adult Intelligence Test had a ceiling at the one-in-a-million level (176 IQ [or 171 using the academic-standard 15-point-per-standard-deviation system], or 4.75 standard deviationStandard 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 above the mean). Hoeflin claimed a considerably higher ceiling but the Langdon and Hoeflin tests are closely comparable, with Hoeflin's tests having ceilings only one or two points higher than Langdon's. These tests were given to a pool of about thirty thousand test-takers, recruited through Omni magazine
Omni (magazine)
OMNI was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science fact and short works of science fiction...
, and the resulting data were used to develop norms. Langdon equated means and standard deviations; Hoeflin used equipercentile equating. Using these tests and norms, Ronald Hoeflin founded the Prometheus Society in 1982. It was the second society to select for the top one in thirty thousand, the first being Kevin Langdon's Four Sigma Society, founded in 1976.
Recent changes
The pool of members was always limited by the number of people who had taken the Langdon and Hoeflin tests, and it was further limited when, in the 1990s, answers for some test questions were put on the Internet. However, there existed a large pool of potential members as tens of millions of people had taken standardized exams such as the SATSAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, which were, in effect, IQ tests. The problem was to normalize them. In 1999, Prometheus formed a committee of ten members, many of them experts in psychometrics
Psychometrics
Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement...
, to attempt this task. The committee produced a long report examining all reputable intelligence tests, determining which tests could screen at the four-sigma level (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 above the mean of a normal distribution), above 99.9966%, and what the appropriate scores should be. This report recommended that members be chosen based on scores in several widely known and researched standardized tests, including the SAT, the GRE
Graduate Record Examination
The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States, in other English-speaking countries and for English-taught graduate and business programs world-wide...
, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale intelligence quotient tests are the primary clinical instruments used to measure adult and adolescent intelligence. The original WAIS was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale...
, Cattell Culture Fair III
Cattell Culture Fair III
In seeking to develop a culture-fair intelligence or IQ test that separated environmental and genetic factors, Raymond B. Cattell created the CFIT or Culture Fair Intelligence Test. Cattell argued that general intelligence exists and that it consists of fluid intelligence and crystallized...
, and others. This greatly expanded the number of possible members. Today, the number of members hovers around a hundred.
Membership
The membership roster is diverse. There are CEOs of high-tech firms, math professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s, poets, computer programmers, physics PhDs, army officers, and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
employees. Quite a few are involved with computer modeling of complex phenomena. Many members have much in common, and the officers try to link members whose business or other interests complement each other. The society produces a 72-page magazine, Gift of Fire, published ten times a year, which contains many scholarly or speculative articles, along with poetry, artworks, and short stories. Perhaps the best-known article to appear in Gift of Fire is Grady Towers' essay, "The Outsiders".
Despite the strong desire of many of its members to maintain a low public profile, the Prometheus Society has achieved a small measure of attention and fame. The society is listed as social network #E240 in Networking: The first report and directory. It is cited in books and articles dealing with intelligence, it has been mentioned in an episode of the ABC television series Castle
Castle (TV series)
Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...
, and used in a brand recognition example in a book by Geoffrey Miller
Geoffrey Miller (evolutionary psychologist)
Geoffrey F. Miller , Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico, is an American evolutionary psychologist.Miller is a 1987 graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a B.A. in biology and psychology. He received his PhD in cognitive psychology from Stanford University...
on consumer behaviour, and even as a clue in The New York Times crossword puzzle
The New York Times crossword puzzle
The New York Times crossword puzzle is a daily puzzle found in The New York Times and online at the paper's website. It is also syndicated to more than 300 other newspapers and journals. The puzzle is created by various freelance constructors and is edited by Will Shortz...
.
In his book Wounded Warriors, on people marginalized by society, journalist Mike Sager
Mike Sager
Mike Sager is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist. He has been called "the Beat poet of American journalism, that rare reporter who can make literature out of shabby reality." For more than a dozen years he has been a Writer-at-Large for Esquire...
wrote this: