i think i've told you the story about the gct2 test.

the gct2 test is a basic iq test for the canadian public service, so a very large number of canadians have written it and know what it is. i don't think i ever wrote the gct1 test. i last wrote the gct2 some time around 2007 or 2008, for an entry level position with statscan, which i caved in and applied for after getting nagged about it for however long.

my father was keenly interested in the results of this test because everybody knows that you never beat your dad at chess. he projected confidence that he'd score higher, but you could tell he was worried. so, i had to deal with daily haranguing from him ("did you get the score yet?") for what seemed like months...

i'll never forget the reaction.

he wouldn't actually tell me his mark until he saw mine, he just told me i wouldn't beat it because it was higher than anybody he knew.

"did you get it? did you get it?"

it finally came in the form of a letter, and was 80/90, which is 89%. that's not that high a grade for me, so i'm initially not that impressed with myself. i knew the pass was 51/90, so i'm at least feeling good about the job, depending on the competition. so, i'm figuring he's bragging because he got somewhere in the 70s or 80s. you don't beat your dad at chess. so, i rounded up..

"yeah, it came in today. i got a 90, which i guess is not bad."

what?

"yeah, i could have maybe done a little better if i wasn't so tired, but hopefully that gets me an interview."

it's out of 90. you didn't get 90.

"no, i got 90 percent. it was 80/90."

he changed the topic very quickly, and i don't know what he actually got; he never brought it up again.

but, i get to the interview and the interviewer actually thinks it's a typo.

"that must be 80%, which is itself very high. a pass is 51. when i hire managers, they need to get over 70. i've never even heard of a score that high. we're going to get that checked..."

i didn't hear anything back from the interview, but nobody corrected the score.

i've looked this up since, and that mark is in the 99th percentile.

i had the same thing happen when we did standardized testing in elementary school, midway through the sixth grade. the teacher just did not believe the results when they came through. but, they were what they were.

are iq tests that useful? probably not, no. but, when you consistently ace them, it does tell you something.

so, i've frequently been frustrated for being misunderstood. maybe it's not your fault.

(edit - i can't find the document, so the exact numbers are from memory and they might be somewhat off. but, the scope of the story is the idea i'm trying to get across. the 99th percentile bit is precise, at least.)