Thread: Defining IQ
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Old 02-26-2018, 02:12 PM   #9
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Defining IQ

Popularity among your peers is not something that IQ can really assist with, though it can make you accepted by your peers. At best, a high IQ allows a character to develop a decent level of Diplomacy, which can allow them to reliably get people to think positively about them (a 'Good' reaction). A character would have to have advantages like Appearance, Charisma, Reputation, Status, etc to be popular (a 'Very Good' reaction), and they would have to rely on their advantages rather than their IQ-based skills to get an 'Excellent' reaction. Under limited circumstances, a IQ-based social skill might give a +2 reaction modifier, but it is generally requires a skill of 20 to allow the reaction modifiers to overlap (a character with Diplomacy-20, Fast-Talk-20, and Merchant-20 will get a +4 reaction modifier anytime they can speak and a +6 reaction modifier when engaging in business).

I really doubt that any adult with an IQ 8 could receive an IQ of 100 on a standardized test, much less an IQ of 130. Even if he had a Photographic Memory and Mathematical Ability 4, anyone who interacted with him would understand that he was an idiot savant because his verbal communications (as well as reading and writing) would be equivalent to that of the average 8-year old child. When we are talking about an IQ 8, we are really talking about a poor unfortunate who is incapable of comprehending the world beyond the level of the average child in third grade.

Such a character would probably be in a group home or under the care of a guardian. While he might have a job as an accountant, his finances would be handled by the administrator of his group home or his guardian because, while he would be capable of remembering to pay his bills, he would be vulnerable to any person who wanted to take advantage of his inability to detect deception or malice. He would never be allowed to live alone in a developed county because he would be considered as vulnerable as an 8-year old child to exploitation.
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