What does it mean if your IQ is 142?

Answer 1

An IQ of 142 is classified as 'very superior intelligence.'

It means that you have the potential to be capable of processing significant amounts of information faster and more accurately that 95% of the people that you will come in contact with in your lifetime.

Please notice the word potential. Having a high IQ does not mean that you are guaranteed success. Many people with high IQ's struggle with life because they process things differently than most people and therefor have trouble relating to those around them.

One of the best examples I have heard regarding this type of situation was from a professor of mine at Colorado State. She stated that someone with a high IQ must work twice as hard as a person with an "average" IQ. Why? Those with higher IQ's grasp concepts that normal people can't comprehend. Therefor, we ust work twice as hard to find a way to explain what we have grasped in a way others can understand. Throw a learning difference like ADD/HD in the mix and you have someone that not only can process information at a ridiculous rate, but can't explain how he/she got to the conclusion.

Another problem with having a high IQ at a young age is that curriculum is often designed to target those closer to the mean IQ range of 100. High IQ individuals are able to "skate" by with minimal effort which does them no good in life after school. A high IQ without a proper education is like a modern supercomputer running Microsoft Windows 3.1. Massive computational power, small knowledge database.