An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two)
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Numbering: Issue 10.A, Idea: Outliers & Outsiders (Part Six)
Place of Publication: Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Title: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightjournal.com
Individual Publication Date: January 8, 2015
Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2016
Name of Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Frequency: Three Times Per Year
Words: 2,783
ISSN 2369-6885
Abstract
An interview with Marco Ripà. He discusses: positives and negatives in the world of the high-IQ and ultra-high IQ; famous flames in the high-IQ and ultra-high IQ; personality difference among the gifted generalists and gifted specialists; creating, developing, and sustaining the sPIqr Society up to the present; total number and personality profile of the sPIqr Society membership; source of linguistic talent; accrued benefits for professional and personal life; YouTube channel; aerobic, balance, and strength health recommendations; source of aforementioned interests; Asperger’s Syndrome advantages and disadvantages; utilization of advantages and adaptation of disadvantages of Asperger’s Syndrome; Tim Page, Glenn Gould, friendship, companionship, and Asperger’s Syndrome; audio-visual media for self-expression and its contrast with print media; most correct general philosophy; most correct ethical philosophy; most correct political philosophy; most correct social philosophy; most correct economic philosophy; and the singular philosophical framework of the most correct general, ethical, political, social, and economic philosophy in civilization.
Keywords: Asperger’s Syndrome, Dr. Manahel Thabet, Dubai, Glenn Gould, high-IQ, intelligence test, Marco Ripà, Tim Page, ultra-high-IQ, United Arab Emirates, X-Test, YouTube.
An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two)[1],[2],[3],[4]
*Please see the footnotes throughout the interview, and bibliography and citation style listing after the interview.*
18. You co-founded WIQF with Dr. Manahel Thabet. How did this collaboration develop and influence the growth of WIQF up to the present?
The WIQF would not have been founded without Dr. Manahel Thabet. The original idea come-up in my mind a few years ago. At the time, my thought was that high IQ people should ask for a more reliable and strict ranking than the WGD. People tend to report only their top scores forgetting the rest, but this partial info would lead to inflated scores, so I reported this issue to Manahel and we finally decided to create the WIQF: she helped me with the WIQF formula, its registration, with the website and later bringing inside the group (as advisory board members) Prof. Tony Buzan and the chess Grandmaster Raymond D. Keene OBE. One year later, WIQF does not count many members, but the average level is really good.
19. With respect to the X-Test and other high-range intelligence tests, how does one create, develop, refine, administer, statistically norm, and publish a legitimate test?[5]
The X-Test is no longer in use since May 2013, because I analyzed the main problems related to high range tests. You can find the whole story here: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/251238254_X-Test_Solutions_Finally_Revealed!
By the way, high range tests (even my ENSDT 20 and ENSDT Prototype) cannot be an exact science not because their norm cannot be based on thousands of testees, norms are usually based on z-score, I mean on the scores achieved by a testee on most reliable, recognized and supervised tests. It is not easy to do, but I hope to provide a useful tool to guess the ultra-high-IQ taking a Gf loaded test at home, without any time limit.
20. How did the opportunity arise to present in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates?
It was Dr. Manahel Thabet to give me this opportunity and I am really grateful for having had the chance to present a couple of papers about gifted children features and their needs, plus a screening method to easily identify gifted pupils inside the school. It was a great experience and a memory that will last a lifetime.
21. What positives and negatives exist in the world of the high-IQ and ultra-high IQ?
In my humble opinion, the world of the high-IQ is not very different from common life. High-IQ groups are groups of different people, from different countries, religions, ideas and so on. We usually talk in English or Spanish and sometimes a flame can be hard to be resolved, especially if you are talking about an IQ related topic. The best gift I have received from high IQ people is a 360° understanding, sharing a lot of interesting ideas and projects, while on the other side of the coin I can see some lack of self-confidence and existential loneliness.
22. Based on the response, flames in the high-IQ community remain hard to extinguish at times. However, most should self-exhaust because most societies most of the time continue to persist, even grow and adapt to internal changes. Any famous flames which continue in high-IQ and ultra-high-IQ community?
A famous personal flame is the one against the Fiqure test (by N. Soulios and L. Papadioti), since I started it asking for its norm to the authors: as I got no response, I guessed that Fiqure has not any serious norm. Now I am trying to avoid this topic, keeping the focus on my own online (dynamic) IQ tests.
23. A panoramic perspective can come from the gifted, but numerous gifted individuals specialize and think deep thoughts about a single topic. What personality characteristics seem to separate the gifted generalists and the gifted specialists?
First of all, their persistence and the interest in the specific topic, but there could be so many elements that we should take into account. Modern sciences require to do so if we hope to achieve something great. Perhaps, the last person with a very deep knowledge of an entire field of science was the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi.
24. How did you create, develop, and sustain sPIqr Society up to the present?[6]
I founded sPIqr at the beginning of 2010, creating a website and a mailing list while, a few months later, I created the Facebook group too. I cover its costs using the small (one time) membership fee paid by members who join the 1/5000 society, even if I let somebody join for free if he has a real reason that prevent him from paying.
25. What is the total number and general personality profile of the sPIQr membership – aside from nationality and IQ rarity?
sPIqr full members are obviously very smart, we have a member who gained his bachelor degree as a teenager and a few other child prodigies, but there are also some gifted underachievers. The full membership status requires to go beyond the 153 SD=15 mark on two different kind of tests, so sPIqr members are usually skilled in different fields, loving mathematics, poetry, writing and so on. Many of them are listed on a lot of high IQ societies and they like logics and IQ tests, caring about the cause of the group: to try and help gifted pupils in their schools, spreading IQ knowledge and related issues all over the world.
26. You speak five languages at various levels of proficiency including Italian (native), English (professional), French (professional), Spanish (limited working), and Latin (limited working).[7] Where does this linguistic talent source itself?
I do not consider myself very good at languages, including English. However, trying to understand what I read I have learnt some English by myself and a little Spanish in just two weeks when I was at the university (in Italy we study Latin during our high school years, translating ancient poets and statesman from Latin to Italian). Last year I started to study French because my (former) girlfriend and I were planning to go and live in Geneva, together. Unfortunately our relationship broke-off before our common project could have been realized.
27. What benefits have accrued throughout professional and personal life because of them to you?
Let me skip this point answering the question with another one: “Can we say that this wonderful interview is not enough?”
28. You host an Italian language (with English translation possibilities) YouTube channel.[8] What is the core content of the channel?
Well, thanks for asking. I opened the channel in 2006 when YouTube was far smaller than the large community we can see nowadays… it was just a (small) fitness channel focused on home training: I used the channel to share my lifts on a thematic forum to improve my form and technique.
A few months ago I decided to move the channel on IQ related topics, talking about giftedness, IQ tests, Asperger Syndrome (yeah, I am an Aspie too), physics, etc… I would like to share the first spatial dynamic IQ test and the other project (related to IQ as well) we are working on through this powerful platform at the right time (very soon).
29. Fitness training regimens can differ in the scope and intensity of recommendations for the trainees by the trainer. In terms of the long-term fitness training regimen recommendations from you, such as those through the YouTube channel, what general fitness training regimen recommendations should most people most of the time practice for general health in terms of aerobic, balance, strength, and stretch health?
My personal suggestion is to avoid powerlifting and bodybuilding, while aerobic training and/or practicing a good martial art as an amateur would be a good idea. I regret the hard lifts I did in the past ten years.
30. Where do these interests source themselves for you?
Very hard to say, I guess they can be in some way related to the giftedness plus Asperger combo. I do not think that I could have been influenced by family, peers or school in this way.
31. Asperger’s Syndrome exists as a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Insofar as this ubiquitous developmental disorder expresses itself in the daily lives of those with its symptoms across its spectrum, and from the 31 years of personal experience, if I may ask, what advantages and disadvantages come with Asperger’s Syndrome?
I tried and explained what Asperger is in a video loaded on Youtube a couple of months ago. However, generally speaking, living with the Asperger is not very nice and Aspies are hardly understood by neurotypicals. We are hypersensitive people, reconnecting ourselves with our childhood; we can feel depressed for no reason, there is an higher risk of suicide and meltdowns are not so infrequent between us. I admitted to have the Asperger as an adult and I simply lived my life without caring so much about this PDD, my thought was that I was simply “uncommon”, with my occasional fixations and hobbies.
32. How can an individual with the syndrome capitalize on the advantages, and re-formulate thoughts and behaviour around the disadvantages, to create a better life for their self and those of value to them?
As I just said, forgetting to be “so strange” (sometime) could be a good strategy to avoid to use the Asperger’s Syndrome as an excuse for not achieving our best in everything we start. On the contrary, being an Aspie can turn into an advantage too, because it helps us to stay more focused on the project we are involved in. As an example, you can think to Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of the Pokémon!
33. Some stories come to mind about the nature of someone living with Asperger’s Syndrome and the need for companionship. In light of this line of discussion, if I may, I will relate one narrative for a moment. Tim Page, a music critic, lives with Asperger’s Syndrome, and the late Glenn Gould, had, quite probably, either autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, and Page notes the loneliness for himself in a life with the syndrome and without friendship and companionship in terms of relationship with kin. Once Page met Gould, Page described that as a friendship at first sight – so to speak. Music existed as a deep passion for them and the bridge for the oft-sought friendship and companionship for them. For those in the present or the far future who happen to read this portion of the interview and live with Asperger’s Syndrome, any advice to them on acquiring the kinship of mind desired by possibly some, or even most, with Asperger’s Syndrome?
It would be very hard to predict when “friendship” and/or “love” will knock at your door, but if you will keep it open no one will knock at it… thus, Asperger individuals have a good chance to open it at the right person, bearing in mind that we are hypersensitive too. I met my best friend when we were 5 years old and he is a neurotypical man, even if many people I know teasingly call me “Sheldon”, referring to the famous BBT character.
34. What does audio-visual media provide in contrast to print media for self-expression?
I think that both of them can reach the same goal through different paths, it depends on who uses them and how he communicates to his audience. In general, the audio-visual can be a more informal way to share yourself and your character, while print media are more professional and better to communicate, technical and professional contents. To be more specific, I found YouTube very good for tutorials.
35. What general philosophy seems the most correct to you?
“Est modus in rebus”. It is a quote by the Latin poet Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) from his “Satires 1” that resumes the idea of “Aurea Mediocritas”, meaning that extremes are dangerous and it would be better to try and reach moderation in everything. This is what I would like to achieve, even if I am still far from this personal goal.
36. What ethical philosophy seems the most correct to you?
I have a strong set of moral and ethical values. I am aware of the fact that morality is derived from evolutionary rules of mankind looking at man as a “social animal” by nature; despite of this my keywords are: benevolence, meritocracy (in employment settings) and social justice.
37. What political philosophy seems the most correct to you?
Italy is well known for its food and for Mafia, so I have to put my two cents on a governance or authority able to enforce justice, laws and to establish a legal code that remains the same for every citizen.
38. What social philosophy seems the most correct to you?
I think that every human being should have the same opportunities: the true substantive equality is the enhancement of individuality.
39. What economic philosophy seems the most correct to you?
Considering the tradeoff between efficiency and equality, I would choose the second one…
40. General moderation, and benevolence, meritocracy, and social justice grounded in evolutionary theory, and enforcement of justice, laws, and a legal code for each citizen by governance, and true equality through enhanced individualism, and a focus on economic equality. What unites these in a singular philosophical framework?
Civilization.
Appendix I: Footnotes
[1] Founder, sPIqr Society; Co-Founder & Co-President, World IQ Foundation (WIQF).
[2] Individual Publication Date: January 8, 2016 at www.in-sightjournal.com; Full Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2016 at www.in-sightjournal.com.
[3] B.Econ.Sc. (magna cum laude), University of Roma Tre.
[4] Photograph courtesy of Marco Ripà.
[5] Please see LinkedIn. (2015). Marco Ripà. Retrieved from https://it.linkedin.com/pub/marco-rip%C3%A0/14/991/950.
[6] Please see LinkedIn. (2015). Marco Ripà. Retrieved from https://it.linkedin.com/pub/marco-rip%C3%A0/14/991/950.
[7] Please see LinkedIn. (2015). Marco Ripà. Retrieved from https://it.linkedin.com/pub/marco-rip%C3%A0/14/991/950.
[8] Please see YouTube. (n.d.). Marco Ripà. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/marcokrt.
Appendix II: Citation Style Listing
American Medical Association (AMA): Jacobsen S. An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two). In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal [Online]. January 2016; 10(A). Available from: http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
American Psychological Association (APA, 6th Edition, 2010): Jacobsen, S.D. (2016, January 8). An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two). Retrieved from http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): JACOBSEN, S. An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two). In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 10.A, January. 2016. <http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/>.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (16th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott. 2016. “An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 10.A. http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
Chicago/Turabian, Humanities (16th Edition): Jacobsen, Scott “An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. 10.A (January 2016). http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
Harvard: Jacobsen, S. 2016, ‘An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 10.A. Available from: <http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/>.
Harvard, Australian: Jacobsen, S. 2016, ‘An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two)’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 10.A., http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 7th Edition, 2009): Scott D. Jacobsen. “An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two).” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 10.A (2016):January. 2016. Web. <http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/>.
Vancouver/ICMJE: Jacobsen S. An Interview with Marco Ripà, B.Econ.Sc. (Part Two) [Internet]. (2016, January); 10(A). Available from: http://in-sightjournal.com/2016/01/08/an-interview-with-marco-ripa-part-two/.
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