The Triple Nine Society (TNS) is an international high-IQ society for adults whose score on a standardized test demonstrates an IQ at or above the 99.9th percentile of the human population.[3][4][5] The society recognizes scores from over 20 intelligence and academic aptitude tests.[6] TNS was founded in 1978, with librarian Ronald K. Hoeflin as a co-founder.[7][better source needed] Since 2010, the organization has been a non-profit 501(c)(7) organization incorporated in Virginia, USA.[8] It is the second-largest high-IQ society after Mensa. As of February 2024[update], TNS reports a member base of over 1,900 adults in 50 countries.[2]
Organization
TNS is a deliberately non-hierarchical society in which the membership is both the main source of authority and the main driver of activity. It is served by an Executive Committee of nine officers; six are elected for two-year terms, and three are appointed.[9]
In 2015, TNS established a 501(c)(3) subsidiary charitable organization, the Triple Nine Society Foundation, to provide scholarships to intellectually gifted students pursuing higher-education goals and for other charitable work.[10]
Communication
TNS publishes a bimonthly journal, Vidya, which contains articles, poetry, puzzles, and other creative content contributed by members conversant with a variety of subjects, as well as officer reports and other official business of the Society.[11]
TNS members mostly communicate online on the official TNS Discourse forum, official TNS Facebook group, and a variety of unofficial venues ranging from Discord to Telegram and special groups like TNS Youth and TNS LGBTQ+.
Every autumn, the society organizes an annual meeting in the United States called ggg999,[12] with "ggg" referring to "Global General Gathering". A privately organized European gathering, egg, usually takes place in late spring.
Qualifying test scores
To qualify for membership, an applicant must submit a qualifying score earned on any of the standardized tests recognized by the society; these include IQ tests as well as various college admission exams and military classification tests.
For IQ tests, a qualifying score corresponds to an IQ of at least 146 for tests with standard deviation of 15 (e.g., WAIS, Stanford–Binet 5), at least 149 for tests with a standard deviation of 16 (e.g., Stanford–Binet IV and CTMM), or at least 173 for tests with a standard deviation of 24 (e.g., Cattell III-B).[13]
TNS also accepts standardized test scores that have a well-established psychometric correlation with IQ, including SAT, GRE, LSAT, ACT, and the Miller Analogies Test.[6] Required score will differ depending on the year those tests were taken.
^ ab"Test Scores". Triple Nine Society. 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
^Hoeflin, Ronald (July 1987). "About the Editor"(PDF). Noesis, the Journal of the Noetic Society. 16: 11. I have been a member of all six high-IQ societies listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations: Mensa, Intertel, the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry, the Triple Nine Society, the Prometheus Society, and the Mega Society — but I currently belong to only three of these: Mensa, Triple Nine, and Prometheus. I am the founder of Prometheus and of the Noetic Society (formerly called the Titan Society). I consider myself the founder of the Mega Society, although some argue that Chris Harding has at least equal claim to that status. I am also a co-founder of the Triple Nine Society. Thus, I have been at least partly responsible for the establishment of four of the seven currently active high-IQ societies.
^"Triple Nine Society". Clerk's Information System. Virginia State Corporation Commission. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
^"11 Famous Mensa Members". iq-tests.org. n.d. Retrieved February 18, 2024. Better known as Hammerin' Hank, Henry Milligan was a professional boxer.…You'd never suspect that he was a member of both Mensa and the Triple Nine Society.
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