Marilyn vos Savant, a columnist in the weekly Parade newspaper supplement and billed as the woman with the highest IQ in the world, has enlightened her readership with her prediction of y2k severity. She has decided y2k "will be a 1 or a 2" on a scale of 10. As most on this site, she also claims the media is misleading the public, only she feels they are spreading panic, rather than unwarranted optimism.

Says the great one, "These reports are causing concern disproportionate to the threat involved. It is perfectly normal for governmental agencies to prepare for every conceivable calamity, even though the likelihood of such a calamity is practically nil."

-- a (a@a.a), May 09, 1999

Answers

We better reevealuate the method used to determine that she is the smartest woman in the world. Some people with a PHd degree do not have enough sense to change a tire. Perhaps she is good at reading, remembering, and passing tests. Some smart people are not able to understand the big picture. I hope she is right, but this is not likely.

-- Tom (notstupid@wow.gom), May 09, 1999.

Had a college professor in our town known to be the smartest man in ten counties. One day I asked, Professor, Know where a fellow could get some moonshine, The stuff thats home made and 200 proof. He said sure come to my place.

I put him in jail. See, I was the U.S.Marshall. High IQ are everywhere they are so stupid.

Lon

-- Lon (Lon1937@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

So much for IQs as a barometer.

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), May 09, 1999.

...hee, hee. The dullards answer to intellectual superiority is to essentially say, "I may be stupid, but I know what I know..."

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), May 09, 1999.

Oh dear Mr. IQ himself, aka prairie dog has popped up, sniffed, defecated, and popped down again.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 09, 1999.

...In other words, Andy says "I may be stupid, but I know what I know..."

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), May 09, 1999.

Wait, wait, wait. Hold it right there. I have been told for 7 years that Hillary is the world's smartest worman. I demand a recount. Who is this interloper on her sacred title?

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

Intelligence ... in some people... * ... Wisdom ... in those same people.

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 09, 1999.

... "does not equal" ...

(Lost the sign in posting)

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 09, 1999.

There are three ways to explain Marilyn's position -- (1) She's actually stupid; (2) She's ill-informed on this topic; (3) She's an Unbeliever.

Judging from her output so far, she thinks very clearly and she doesn't expound on any topic without careful study. So what *could* explain such a wild error in this case? Doh!

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 09, 1999.

Marilyn vos Savant: Come on; give her a break. She writes for one of the most internationally respected intellectual journals. I have it from a good source that she is stepping-up to an even more prestigous journal [Weekly World News]. You folks just can't stand to see such intellectual success. Give her due respect.

Z1X4

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

A view is a view, nothing more. Everyone is entitled to their view.

IQ is based on hindsight knowledge and contact with a culture.

We need foresight knowledge and, so far as I know, no-one has any knowledge of Y2K as an actuality.

So we are all guessing, more or less accurately.

Triangulate your data sources and decide for yourself, then act.

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), May 09, 1999.

Bob:

I wish you would have written earlier. I would have had you fix all of my Window's machines. What a mess. You could have triangalated that.

Z1X4Y7

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

Bob:

I wish you would have written earlier. I would have had you fix all of my Window's machines. What a mess. You could have triangulated that.

Z1X4Y7

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

Or was it Doctor poorly that popped up, defecated, and returned to his netherworld?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 09, 1999.

Intelligent or not -- those with lack of knowledge are at the same level concerning a real life situation.

-- A (A@AisA.com), May 09, 1999.

The "answer" to Y2k will not be found in pop culture:

Last week Ann Landers, this week Marilyn vos Savant, next week the Budweiser Frogs?

1) The "smartest" woman in the world (for this is what she is implying with being "the woman with the highest IQ in the world") would not go around proclaiming the "fact" that she is "the woman with the highest IQ in the world". She'd be too "smart" for that.

2) It may have been a while since she "took the test".

3) She's poaching on Jeanne Dixon's territory here.

4) The inputs to the Y2k puzzle are sufficiently large, diverse, and fragmentary enough to render presupposition of a minor outcome a mere educated guess. So, this is her educated guess. Does she have the technical and management background to provide a superior "educated guess" in this matter? She's "the woman with the highest IQ in the world"...let's ask her.

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), May 09, 1999.

Nathan, you are wandering into deep and murky water here. How would you recognize a 'superior' educated guess?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 09, 1999.

Flint:

There is a very simple answer to your question. I just don't know what it is.

Z1X4Y7

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

Please note that there is a website addressing the wrong answers Marylin provided in the past as well as areas she was not able to answer.

For what it is worth.

-- Dave (Drgnslay@gte.net), May 09, 1999.

Flint,

My point exactly. Thanks for the summary.

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), May 09, 1999.

http://www.wiskit.com/marilyn/marilyn.html

Here is the site address to help evaluate her limitations

"Marylin is wrong"

-- Dave (Drgnslay@gte.net), May 09, 1999.

read it- not impressed. Seems to have based all her supositions on the spin of others. Wonder if the worlds smartest woman lives in the city.......unlike a dumb farmer such as myself...??

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), May 09, 1999.

My brother was a Senior Fullbright scholar with a near genius IQ. When I informed him some time ago that Y2K may have the potential of creating great disasters, that the Titanic may been on course to an iceberg he answered: "You know what people worried about in 1492?" I did not answer. He said: "They were worried about paying their taxes. Even some of my students know that."

-- Smart Ass (hatchou@yahoo.com), May 09, 1999.

She's not called IDIOT Savant for nothing...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 09, 1999.

Yeah.

-- (rainman@peterprinciple.com), May 09, 1999.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "Idiot Savant"....

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.com), May 09, 1999.

'She writes for one of the most internationally respected intellectual journals. I have it from a good source that she is stepping-up to an even more prestigous journal...'

Informed, or ingrained, opinion...she will not move up unless she toes the party line.

-- Shelia (Shelia@active-stream.com), May 10, 1999.

John Stuart Mill didn't know how to buy a train ticket. Bertrand Russell didn't know how to make a cup of tea. Genius isn't everything.

-- humpty (no.6@thevillage.com), May 10, 1999.

'She writes for one of the most internationally respected intellectual journals. I have it from a good source that she is stepping-up to an even more prestigous journal...'

If she's so damn smart, she can come out here in the trenches and help with remediation. "Writers" are professional wanna-be's. karen

-- karen (karen@karen.karen), May 10, 1999.

Aristotle was considered one of the most intellegent and prolific thinkers of Classical Greece. He also was the Father of the Geocentric Theory that stated the earth to be the center of the universe. Go figure!

-- Larry (lawada@tminet.com), May 10, 1999.

I have a son whose IQ fits into the genius category but he doesn't have enough sense to change his clothes everyday without being reminded.

-- genius does not equal sense (catchinguptoday@home.com), May 10, 1999.

Excuse me but I know a lot of people with consideraby high IQ's and some of them couldn't find their way out of a paper bag...

Being "smart" is useless if you have no common sense....

Laura

-- Laura (ANOTHER@HI_IQer.COM), May 10, 1999.

Gee, I wish I was smart like Marilyn.

Can you eat an IQ when you're hungry?

-Scat-

-- Sharon Goodman (sgcatique@webtv.net), May 10, 1999.

I have an IQ of at least 86, and I personally think that, to the best of my knowledge, Y2k IS BEYOND PREDICTION. The sheer stupidity of this post, lacking in substantial evidence, only save a purported claim of "genius", would make those who are afraid of inevitable doom and gloom scenarios smile. Its remarkable that this forum is degenerating to a fight between the GI's and the DGI's, and then the IKIA's...(I know it alls) Sadly, we have not posted facts, and things to benefit one another. I am not understanding the point of the ridiculers, except that they always are around, but are never beneficial. Only smug and loathful. Y2K pro is only good at causing hurt and dissension. I have read nothing of what he writes that would convince me otherwise. He and his like ought to create a forum where others can read....but wait....who would? Only people like the genius noted above....ugh!

-- rick shade (Rickoshade@aol.com), May 10, 1999.

rick....
a lot of us that work in the Y2K frontlines like to come into a friendly, understanding environment and blow off some steam at the idiots that have opinions, but NO experience, such as Miss IQ. What mainframes is she working on right now?..... I didn't think so.

Thanks for letting me share.

karen

-- karen (karen@karen.karen), May 10, 1999.

obviously IQ only denotes a certain mental potential as measured by the specific tests of the evaluation

does she have any backgound in IT, mainframe, c/s, embedded systems

has she worked on the problem herself

In my experience journalists and politicians have a negative IQ, in her case its probably -160

-- dick o' the dale (rdale@coynet.com), May 11, 1999.

ANYONE:::: What is the definition of Inteligence Quotient?? (IQ??)







Demonstrated mental age divided by actual age. It quits haveing validity after about 25 (+/-).



Alternatively I'm sure a teacher will pop up to correct this.


Chuck

-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), May 11, 1999.