A rowdy crowd of white-coated scientists, many recruited from the ranks of readers of The Scientist, upheld the community's braniac reputation by coming out on top in a televised national IQ test. "Test the Nation," a Fox television special, aired on June 9 in the United States. The show pitted scientists against groups of teachers, celebrities, students, hard-hatted construction workers, muscle-shirt-wearing body builders, and blonde women. The scientist group scored highest with an average IQ of 125, followed by teachers and celebrities. The construction workers tied with students at a score of 115. Bringing up the rear, true to politically incorrect expectations, were the blondes and bodybuilders, with a respectable 111.
The 60-question test, administered under the auspices of Mensa, the high-IQ society, comprised the usual mixture of language, logic, memory, math, and perception questions. In contrast to President Dwight Eisenhower's astonishment on discovering that fully half of all Americans ...
