It’s Confirmed — I’m a 2 Percenter!
My wife Kathy and I have a little secret signal we flash between us when we’re out in public and encounter someone who is preternaturally stupid. We hold up our index and middle finger, palm out, like a Cub Scout hand sign or a hippy peace sign.
It refers to the fact that we consider ourselves to be in the upper 2 percentile of intelligence among the general population — possibly even higher here in Miami. Now if you think that sounds elitist, it’s not, because most of our friends are also 2 percenters, so it’s kind of inclusive. Call it a small tent.
I just received confirmation through a simple test that indeed at least 98 percent of the population dwells in the foothills of my intellectual Olympus. See, the people at Pew Research Center devised a 12-question test to assess the political savvy of the average American. You can take the test here, and immediately compare your results with everybody else who has taken it.
The results are pretty much what you’d expect — if you were an intellectual giant like me:
- 66 percent got six or fewer questions correct
- 6 percent got no correct answers
- Demographically, I was destined for excellence because I am male, a college graduate and over 50
- Which makes me really glad I’m not an 18- to 29-year-old female high school dropout
OK, maybe I’m making too much of a test that asks things like what country holds the most U.S. debt or who is Stephen Colbert, but those don’t seem to be asking too much to me. Of course, I read a daily newspaper, subscribe to two weekly news magazines, listen to National Public Radio and pay attention to what Jon and Trish write, so maybe that’s what makes me a 2 percenter.
There you have it — get informed and rule the world.
