Conversation with Matthew Scillitani on the Giga Society and the Realizations: Member, Giga Society (7)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/06/08
Abstract
Matthew Scillitani, member of The Glia Society and The Giga Society, is a web developer and SEO specialist living in North Carolina. He is of Italian and British lineage, and is predominantly English-speaking. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at East Carolina University, with a focus on neurobiology and a minor in business marketing. He’s previously worked as a research psychologist, data analyst, and writer, publishing over three hundred papers on topics such as nutrition, fitness, psychology, neuroscience, free will, and Greek history. You may contact him via e-mail at mattscil@gmail.com. He discusses: the Giga Society; the point; the main cautionary notes about high-I.Q. communities; the benefits; self-knowledge; education; exciting developments; major disappointments; and having children.
Keywords: Giga Society, Matthew Scillitani, realization, self-knowledge.
Conversation with Matthew Scillitani on the Giga Society and the Realizations: Member, Giga Society (7)
*Please see the references, footnotes, and citations, after the interview, respectively.*
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Do you think the Giga Society has fulfilled its function as an incentive for taking high-range tests?
Matthew Scillitani[1],[2]*: Yes, absolutely. Many people have told me they’ve taken several (sometimes dozens) high-range I.Q. tests to try to qualify. Qualifying for the the Giga Society wasn’t something I even considered as a possibility for myself until I finished Psychometric Qrosswords though, the test I eventually qualified with.
Jacobsen: A question sitting in the backs of a lot of people’s minds, “What is the point?” Why take part in the societies? Why take these tests? What purpose do these fulfill in personal terms and in practical benefit outside of the provision of some fun puzzles to solve?
Scillitani: Well, joining high-I.Q, societies used to be one of the few ways to actually correspond with other intelligent people in the pre-internet era. With how many internet forums there are now, societies are largely unnecessary for that purpose though I think. The main reasons I’ve joined high-I.Q. societies was to either take free I.Q. tests or for some minor recognition. It’s not an achievement to have a high I.Q. but it’s always nice to be recognized for having some positive quality about you, like being freakishly tall or abnormally handsome or whatever. Something else I get out of these societies, most notably Paul Cooijmans’ Glia Society, is lots of communication with other members on topics like STEM, politics, religion, and so forth. Some members who have very bright ideas also present them to the society for feedback, which is another benefit of membership. There are other benefits too, like being able to publish papers, puzzles, and play games like chess against wickedly smart opponents, to name a few.
As for taking the tests, I took my first high-range I.Q. test after seeing an interview of Rick Rosner and thinking, ‘I wonder how I’d score on one of those tests.’ After I got my results I had the typical dopamine rush one gets when they do well on something and was immediately hooked and took even more tests. The benefit of test-taking outside of learning about your own intellectual capabilities and for fun is the most important reason of all: to contribute to the research of intelligence and genius. If we can learn which qualities make a genius and can accurately measure them then that’ll go a long way in discovering potential geniuses when they’re young. Maybe there are 500 geniuses on Earth right now but 450 of them have been tossed aside and are working jobs far below their ability level. Very few geniuses are “charismatic” so it happens very often that their geniusness is mistaken for stupidity and they go unnoticed their whole lives. With accurate testing, this can be avoided and we’ll have many more geniuses to aid in the advancement of mankind.
Jacobsen: What are the main cautionary notes about high-I.Q. communities for you?
Scillitani: Hmm, so far I haven’t had many bad experiences in any high-I.Q. communities I’ve been in. There are a few members with weak egos who are quick to anger but aside from that I’d say people with high I.Q.s are more respectful, polite, mentally stable, ethical, and kind than in the general population. If someone ever founds a town of only high-I.Q. society members I’d move there.
Jacobsen: What are the benefits to those who take part in healthy high-I.Q. community life?
Scillitani: The benefits I listed in a previous question apply here too but I’ll add that it is also a great way to make high-quality friends.
Jacobsen: How has self-knowledge, at least, of a higher I.Q. than the norm of the population influenced personal decisions to pursue higher education?
Scillitani: It hasn’t influenced my decisions too much regarding education. I was enrolled in a university before I ever took a high-range I.Q. test or joined any societies, although I considered dropping out several times because I have an extreme dislike of school. I would say on a positive note that it definitely boosted my confidence to know my I.Q. score and be a member of high-I.Q. societies. In terms of education, nothing seems off limits or scary to deal with for me. I passed Calculus I and II collectively in under two months after teaching them to myself, and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do that prior to knowing my I.Q. score.
Jacobsen: It’s been a hot minute since we last chatted. How is education going, by the way?
Scillitani: I’ve moved away from psychology and business and am now pursuing a degree in Computer Science! I’m hoping I can find a stable day job and make some cool apps in my spare time so I can hopefully retire at an early age.
Jacobsen: Any new, fun, or exciting developments on the educational front?
Scillitani: There’s nothing too exciting going on aside from being somewhat close to getting another degree. I think I’m just ten or so classes away from that.
Jacobsen: What are your major disappointments with the high-I.Q. communities? I’ve had two people, recently, comment on this to me. One left a high-I.Q. society. Another wanted all listings online completely removed from them. So, in this light, people can be disillusioned from prior expectations or considerations about those communities. Many gain some modicum of benefit. While, at the same time, I get those stories, too. The question seems apt with the two recent cases.
Scillitani: My biggest disappointment by far is from something I’ve learned from high-I.Q. communities and not something regarding those communities themselves. Maybe this will come across as arrogant but what I learned is that most people, the extreme majority even, have incredibly weak mental powers. If you do well on an I.Q. test there will be many problems that you solve instantly and think even a toddler could get but when you learn that most people get every single answer wrong or can only answer one or two problems correctly it shatters the illusion that everyone around you is able to actually form coherent thoughts.
Jacobsen: Do you think having children influenced the perspective on getting things more right the next time around with proper facilitation and education of the gifted young?
Scillitani: I don’t have any kids yet (aside from my dachshund, who I treat like a child). I was a child myself once though, and I definitely want to have my future children I.Q. tested at an early age to help figure out how to best accommodate their educational needs. I’d like them to be with children their own age so rather than skipping grades there may be private school options for gifted children that my wife and I can look into. They could always be intellectually average though; we’ll just have to wait and see.
Footnotes
[1] Member, Giga Society; Member, Glia Society. Bachelor’s Degree, Psychology, East Carolina University.
[2] Individual Publication Date: June 8, 2022: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/scillitani-7; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2022: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.
*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.
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