About
The Mega Society is a high IQ society open to people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level on a test of general intelligence credibly claimed to be able to discriminate at that level. The Guinness Book of World Records stated that:
The most elite ultra High IQ Society is the Mega Society with 26 members with percentiles of 99.9999 or 1 in a million.
The public profile of the Mega Society increased with the publication of the Mega Test in 1985 by Dr. Hoeflin. Notable people who took the Mega Test, meeting the Mega Society entrance requirements, include author and columnist Marilyn vos Savant, mathematician Solomon W. Golomb, Chris Langan, and former governor of New Hampshire and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu.
Noesis is the journal of the Mega Society. Brian Wiksell is the Administrator of the Mega Society. Inquiries regarding membership should be directed to him via email at bwiksell@megasociety.org. We are working to put past issues of Noesis and its predecessor, the Megarian, onto the Web. Anyone interested in working on this project should contact the Internet Officer.
Noesis is distributed via email and archived on the Society Web site. Members and non-members who wish to receive it should contact the Editor.
Members are invited to join the list mega@groups.io.
Mega Society History
The Society was founded in 1982 by Dr. Ronald K. Hoeflin to facilitate psychometric research. The 606 Society (6 in 106), founded by Christopher Harding, was incorporated into the new society and those with IQ scores on Kevin Langdon's Adult Intelligence Test (LAIT) of 173 or more were also invited to join. The LAIT qualifying score was subsequently raised to 175; official scoring of the LAIT terminated at the end of 1993, after the test was compromised. A number of different tests were accepted by 606 and during the first few years of Mega’s existence. Later, the LAIT and Dr. Hoeflin's Mega Test became the sole official entrance tests, by vote of the membership. The Mega was also compromised, so scores after 1994 are currently not accepted. Following the retirement of the Mega Test, Dr. Hoeflin's Titan Test was added by vote of the membership, but was retired in 2020 due to also having been compromised. More recently, Dr. Hoeflin's Ultra Test and Power Test were added to the list of acceptable tests with a required score of 70 and 34, respectively.
Mega Society (August 2005). Constitution of the Mega Society.
Hoeflin, Ronald K. "World's Most Difficult IQ Test.", Omni magazine, April 1985, pp. 128 ff.
Seipp, Catherine, "Brains -- They’re the smartest people in L.A.", Los Angeles (magazine), November 1987, pp. 210–216.
Graham, Ellen, "For Minds of Mega, the Mensa Test is a Real No-Brainer", The Wall Street Journal subs. req., April 9, 1992, p. A1.
Simonton, Dean Keith (1994). Greatness: Who makes History and Why. Guilford Press, 225. ISBN 0-89862-201-8.
"Genius Issue", Esquire (magazine), November 1999.
(1999) Lawrence A. Pervin, Oliver P. John (editors) Handbook of Personality. Guilford Press, 632. ISBN 1-57230-695-5.
Jacobs, A. J. (2004). The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Man in the World. Simon & Schuster, 243. ISBN 0-7432-5060-5
"Mind Games: the hardest IQ test you'll ever love suffering through," Omni magazine, April 1990, pp. 90 ff.
Baumgold, Julie. "New York magazine", February 6, 1989.
Anderson, Jack; Dale Van Atta, "Is 176 I.Q. Enough for White House?", Washington Post, November 28, 1988.
Introduction to the Hoeflin Tests. Similar reports about the actress Uma Thurman are an urban myth.
Constitution
Drafted by Chris Cole and Kevin Langdon; ratified January 1, 2001; amended August, 2005
Article I. Name, Purpose, Official Address
1. The name of this organization is "The Mega Society."
2. The Mega Society is an organization of people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level on a test of general intelligence which is credibly claimed by its authors to be able to discriminate at this level. The Society exists to facilitate interaction among its members and to assist them in gaining access to resources to accomplish their individual purposes.
3. The name of the Mega Society's official journal is Noesis.
4. For legal purposes, the address of the society is that of the Administrator.
Article II. Admission Standards
1. All present and former members of the Mega Society as of the date of ratification of this Constitution are presumed to have qualified for Mega membership.
2. Members shall be admitted to the society upon presentation of proof of performance at the required level on one of the tests accepted for admission purposes.
3. Tests accepted for Mega membership and the scores accepted on them shall be established or changed only by a vote of the membership, as described in Article IV below, except that the officers of Mega may suspend acceptance of any test they believe to have been compromised, by majority vote, for a maximum of six months. This action shall be announced to the membership in the first issue of Noesis published after the action is taken and a ballot on whether to make the action permanent shall appear in the following issue. In order to suspend admissions on a test which has been the subject of a suspension within the preceding three years, all the officers who voted against the previous suspension and are still members of the Society must agree, even if they are no longer officers at the time of the second vote of the officers on suspension of acceptance of that test.
Article III. Officers
1. The officers of the Mega Society are enumerated in the following sections of Article III. All officers must be members of the Society.
2. The Editor(s) shall prepare Noesis for publication and e-mail copies to members who choose to receive Noesis via e-mail, and send each issue’s text and graphics files to the Internet Officer. If there is more than one Editor, the Administrator shall schedule which issues of Noesis are to be produced by which Editors.
3. The Administrator shall receive all applications for membership, evaluating them according to the standards enacted by the membership, and notify the officers of the admission of each new member. The Administrator shall receive ballots in all elections and handle them as specified in Article IV.
4. The Internet Officer shall coordinate Mega Society Web pages, electronic mailing lists, and other Internet activity.
5. Dues and subscription fees shall be established and changed by majority vote of the membership. The officers shall be responsible for ensuring that the society remains solvent and that member funds in excess of six months' operating expenses of the Society, at current levels, not be retained.
6. All officers shall have the right to inspect documentation of the Society maintained by other officers, including ballots, membership applications, and subscription lists. Otherwise, this information shall be kept confidential, except for periodic publication of a roster of members and subscribers, subject to the privacy restrictions of Article V, Section 2.
7. The powers and duties of the officers shall be solely as defined in this Constitution. In particular, no officer may claim to speak for or represent any member of the Society or the Society as a whole. Each officer shall be bound by all the provisions of this Constitution and all propositions enacted by the membership.
Article IV. Elections
1. An election for officers for the next calendar year shall be held each year, with a call for candidates in the September issue of Noesis.
2. If there is no candidate for a position, the current office holder shall be automatically elected for another year.
3. If a vacancy should occur during the year, a call for candidates shall be published in the next issue of Noesis. Statements of candidacy shall be published in the issue following the call for candidates, comments on the candidates by members and a ballot in the next issue, and announcement of the results of balloting in the following issue. The officers, by majority vote, may appoint a temporary officer to serve until the results of balloting are known.
4. Any member may propose that the Mega Society take a particular action, or refrain from some type of action. Arguments for and against the proposition shall be published, along with a ballot, in the issue of Noesis following the call for a vote. All sides of every issue shall be given sufficient space in Noesis to be fully and fairly presented.
5. A proposition shall be enacted if it receives a majority of the votes on that proposition on valid ballots, except for the specific propositions requiring a two-thirds vote listed later in this Article. Each officer shall be bound by all propositions enacted by the membership.
6. Any member may call for the recall of any officer at any time. The officer shall be entitled to up to four pages to present a defense in the issue following the call for a recall election, which shall also contain a ballot; each member shall be entitled to one page to present his or her views for or against the recall.
7. Any member may call for the expulsion of any other member at any time. An expulsion vote shall be held only if after the call for expulsion has been seconded by another member. The member whose expulsion is proposed shall be entitled to up to eight pages to present a defense in the issue following the appearance of the second to the call for expulsion (which may be the same issue in which the original call appears), which shall also contain a ballot, and every member shall be entitled to present up to two pages for or against the expulsion. Expulsion of a member shall require two-thirds of the votes cast on the expulsion. The member whose expulsion is proposed shall be allowed to vote in the expulsion election.
8. Any member may propose an amendment to this Constitution at any time. Arguments for and against the amendment, and a ballot, shall be published in the issue following that with the call for a vote on the amendment. Ratification of an amendment shall require two-thirds of the votes cast on the amendment.
9. All ballots shall be sent to the Administrator, who will tally them and report the results to the Editor for publication in the next issue of Noesis. Members must be allowed at least 30 days from the publication date of one issue before the deadline for receipt of responses. The individual ballots shall be kept secret, except that the Administrator shall retain the ballots for at least one year and make them available to the other officers if asked.
10. A member's failure to vote on, or ballot marked invalidly for, a particular office or proposition shall not invalidate his or her vote on any other office or proposition on the same ballot.
11. When there is more than one alternative initiative or amendment on the same subject or more than two candidates for an office to be voted on (other than Editor), voting shall be preferential. On the first tally the first-place votes shall be counted. If no candidate or alternative has a majority the candidate(s) or alternative(s) with the lowest total shall be eliminated and votes for that candidate shall be distributed to the remaining candidates or alternatives according to second-place votes for that office or proposal, and so on. This shall continue until only one candidate or alternative is left or there is a tie. Ties shall be broken by means of a second round of balloting.
12. When there is more than one candidate for Editor, members shall vote "yes" or "no" on each candidate. All candidates who receive a majority of votes cast for or against that candidate shall be elected. If no candidate receives a majority of "yes" votes, the candidate with the greatest number of "yes" votes shall be elected Editor.
Article V. Member Rights
1. All members of the Mega Society shall have the right to vote, run for office, and participate in the affairs of the society.
2. All members shall have the right to confidentiality in officers' handling of their postal and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, test scores, requests for dues waivers, and ballots in society elections. When a roster is published, each member shall have the option of being listed c/o the Administrator, who will forward communications from other members on request.
3. Except as provided in Article III, Section 7, and Article V, Section 2, all records of the society shall be made available to any member on request.
4. Members' rights may not be abrogated, nor shall they be lost even if not fully exercised, nor may these rights be surrendered or bargained away, nor may anyone be permitted to violate these rights. The society shall act promptly and diligently to protect and defend the rights of members.
Noesis
The Journal of the Mega Society 
Published as Noesis
#213 (May 2024)
#212 (November 2023)
#211 (April 2023)
#210 (October 2022)
#209 (March 2022)
#208 (August 2021)
#207 (February 2021)
#206 (September 2020)
#205 (August 2019)
#204 (December 2018)
#203 (July 2018)
#202 (December 2016)
#201 (July 2016)
#200 (January 2016)
#199 (September 2015)
#198 (May 2015)
#197 (November 2014)
#196 (June 2014)
#195 (December 2013) (PDF)
#194 (June 2013) (PDF)
#193 (December 2012) (PDF)
#192 (December 2011) (PDF)
#191 (January 2011) (PDF)
#190 (May 2010) (PDF)
#189 (Special Issue: Astronomy and Space [Part One]; December 2009) (PDF)
#188 (March 2009) (PDF)
#187 (August 2008) (PDF)
#186 (March 2008) (PDF)
#185 (November 2007) (PDF)
#184 (July 2007) (PDF)
#183 (December 2006) (PDF)
#182 (September 2006) (PDF)
#181 (Special Issue: Biblical Scholarship; June 2006) (PDF)
#180 (March 2006) (PDF)
#179 (December 2005) (PDF)
#178 (September 2005) (PDF)
#177 (June 2005) (PDF)
#176 (February 2005) (PDF)
#174/175 (October/November 2004) (PDF)
#173 (September 2004)
#172 (August 2004)
#171 (July 2004)
#170 (June 2004)
#169 (May 2004)
#168 (April 2004)
#167 (March 2004)
#156 (March 2002)
#155 (September 2001)
#154 (July 2001)
#153 (Special Issue: Langdon Replies to Langan and LoSasso; July 2001)
#152 (July 2001)
#151 (February 2001)
#150 (October 2000)
#149 (October 2000)
#141 (Special Issue on Psychometric Issues, Part Two; September 1998)
#140 (Special Issue on Psychometric Issues, Part One; September 1998)
#138 (September 1998)
#136 (December 1997)
#135 (November 1997) (HTML, incomplete version)
#134 (August 1997) (HTML, incomplete version)
#133 (July 1997) (HTML, incomplete version)
#132 (June 1997)
#131 (May 1997) (incomplete)
#130 (April 1997)
#129 (March 1997)
#128 (Feruary 1997)
#127 (January 1997)
#126 (December 1996)
#125 (November 1996)
#124 (October 1996)
#123 (September 1996)
#122 (August 1996)
#121 (July 1996)
#120 (June 1996)
#119 (May 1996)
#118 (May 1996)
#117 (April 1996) (incomplete)
#116 (March 1996)
#115 (February 1996)
#114 (January 1996)
#113 (December 1995)
#112 (November 1995)
#111 (October 1995)
#110 (October 1995)
#108 (August 1995)
#107 (July 1995)
#106 (June 1995)
#105 (May 1995)
#104 (April 1995)
#103 (March 1995)
#102 (February 1995) (incomplete)
#101 (January 1995)
#100 (December 1994)
#99 (November 1994)
#98 (October 1994)
#97 (September 1994)
#96 (August 1994)
#95 (July 1994)
#94 (June 1994)
#93 (May 1994)
#92 (April 1994)
#91 (March 1994)
#90 (February 1994)
#89 (January 1994)
#88 (December 1993)
#87 (November 1993)
#86 (October 1993)
#85 (September 1993)
#84 (August 1993) (HTML, incomplete version)
#83 (July 1993) (HTML, incomplete version)
#82 (June 1993)
#81 (May 1993)
#80 (April 1993)
#79 (March 1993) (HTML, incomplete version)
#78 (February 1993)
#77 (January 1993) (HTML, incomplete version)
#76 (December 1992)
#75 (November 1992) (HTML, incomplete version)
#74 (October 1992) (HTML, incomplete version)
#73 (September 1992)
#72 (August 1992) (HTML, incomplete version)
#71 (July 1992)
#70 (June 1992) (HTML, incomplete version)
#69 (May 1992)
#68 (March/April 1992)
#67 (January/February 1992)
#66 (November 1991)
#65 (September/October 1991)
#64 (August 1991)
#63 (July 1991)
#62 (June 1991)
#61 (May 1991)
#60 (April 1991)
#59 (March 1991)
#58 (February 1991)
#57 (January 1991)
#56 (December 1990)
#55 (November 1990)
#54 (October 1990)
#53 (September 1990)
#52 (August 1990)
#51 (July 1990)
#50 (June 1990)
#49 (May 1990)
#48 (April 1990)
#47 (March 1990)
#46 (February 1990)
#45 (January 1990)
#44 (December 1989/January 1990) (PDF)
#43 (November 1989)
#42 (October 1989)
#41 (August/September 1989)
#40 (July 1989)
#39 (June 1989)
#38 (May 1989)
#37 (April 1989)
#36 (March 1989)
#35 (February 1989)
#34 (January 1989)
#33 (December 1988)
#32 (November 1988)
#31 (October 1988)
#30 (September 1988)
#29 (August 1988)
#28 (July 1988)
#27 (June 1988)
#26 (May 1988)
#25 (April 1988)
#24 (March 1988)
#23 (February 1988)
#22 (January 1988)
#21 (December 1987)
#20 (November 1987)
#19 (October 1987)
#18 (September 1987)
#17 (August 1987)
#16 (July 1987)
Published as Insight (The Titan Society)
Published as Titanic (The Titan Society)
Published as Titania (The Titan Society)
#2 (April 1986)
#1 (March 1986)
Published as Circle (The 606 Society)
#11 (February 1982)
#10 (January 1982)
#9 (October 1981)
#8 (September 1981)
#7 (August 1981)
#6 (1981)
#5 (1981)
#4 (1981)
#3 (March 1981)
#2 (February 1981)
#1 (December 1980)
Admission
Tests Accepted for Admission to the Mega Society
The Mega Society accepts only the qualifying scores listed here for admission purposes. Please do not submit applications based on any other test scores.
Timed, supervised IQ tests do not accurately measure at the one in a million level. For example, the range of the Stanford-Binet is 40–160, which is four standard deviations of 15 about the mean of 100, so that a score of 160 corresponds to a population rarity of 1 in 30,000. The Mega Society accepts members on the basis of untimed, unsupervised IQ tests that have been normalized using standard statistical methods. There is controversy over whether such tests measure the same thing as timed, supervised IQ tests.
At the present time, the only tests accepted for admission to the Mega Society are:
For more information about these tests, see "High-IQ Societies and the Tests They Accept for Admission Purposes (Part 3)" and Darryl Miyaguchi's "Uncommonly Difficult IQ Tests".
For more information, email Administrator Brian Wiksell at bwiksell@megasociety.org.
Hoeflin, Ronald K. Mega Test Norms. Hoeflin's norming of the Mega and Titan tests extrapolating from reported scores on supervised, timed tests.
Membership Committee (1999). "1998/99 Membership Committee Report". The Prometheus Society. A committee of ten people including four psychologists found that the Langdon Adult Intelligence Test, the Mega Test, and the Titan Test are able to discriminate at the 4.75 sigma (one in a million) level.
Towers, Grady. Norming of the Mega Test. Grady Towers uses the Rasch model of item response theory to norm the Mega and Titan tests.
Roger D. Carlson, Ph.D. (1991). Daniel J. Keyser, Ph.D., Richard C. Sweetland, Ph.D. (General Editors) Test Critiques, Volume VIII, PRO-ED, 431-435. ISBN 0-89079-254-2. From the article:
Although the approach that Hoeflin takes is interesting, inventive, intellectually stimulating, and internally consistent, it violates many good psychometric principles by overinterpreting the weak data of a self-selected sample.
