The twilight zone, 200 to 1,000 meters · 4σ
The Mesopelagic Society
“Where the last light reaches.”
IQ 160 or higher (SD 15), four standard deviations above the meanabout 1 in 31,600
The name
Mesopelagic joins the Greek mesos, “middle”, and pelagos, “open sea”: the ocean's twilight zone, from about 200 to 1,000 meters down, where the last of the sunlight fades into blue darkness and the first living lights appear. It lies between the sunlit surface of the Nereid Society and the lightless deep of the Aphotic, which is why its line reads: where the last light reaches.
The criterion
IQ 160 or higher (SD 15), four standard deviations above the mean. On the normal curve, about one adult in 31,600 reaches IQ 160: some 250,000 people among everyone alive today, or about thirty in a city of a million.
Qualifying scores
| Test | To qualify |
|---|---|
| THETIS | IQ 160 or higher; retakes allowed, your best certificate counts |
| RUFIT | 22 of 36 or more (IQ 160+); one attempt |
| PROTEUS | IQ 160 or higher on the score report |
| QUADRAVA-FR | IQ 160 or higher on the score report (its scores stop at IQ 170) |
| NEREUS | IQ 160 or higher; up to four attempts, each on a new form; your best certificate counts |
| THAUMAS | IQ 160 or higher; up to four attempts, each on a new form; your best certificate counts |
| GALENE | IQ 160 or higher; up to ten attempts, each on new problems; your best certificate counts |
| EIDOTHEA | IQ 160 or higher; one attempt |
| AMPHITRITE | IQ 160 or higher; retakes whenever you like, each on problems never shown; your best certificate counts |
| DYNAMENE | IQ 160 or higher; retakes whenever you like, each on problems never shown; your best certificate counts |
| PRONOE | IQ 160 or higher; retakes whenever you like, each on problems never shown; your best certificate counts |
| PSAMATHE | IQ 160 or higher; retakes whenever you like, each on problems never shown; your best certificate counts |
| PANOPEA | IQ 160+, the top of its scale; retakes whenever you like, each on problems never shown; your best certificate counts |
Scores are deviation IQs (SD 15). Membership carries a one-time fee (below), and there are no annual dues.
The membership fee
Membership of The Mesopelagic Society carries a one-time fee of US$50, paid once, for life, with PayPal (a PayPal account or a card) when you apply. Your application is checked before you pay, so nobody pays for one that would be refused, and the fee is refunded in full if the application is not accepted. There are no annual dues. Every member receives a numbered certificate of membership with the society's medal, and a place on the roll if they wish.
A score of IQ 160 also meets the criterion of the Nereid Society, which has no membership fee: you may join both.
Roll of members
Loading the roll…
The surface · 99.9th percentile
The Nereid Society
“First among those who see beneath the surface.”
IQ 147+ · 99.9th percentile1 in 1,000
Associate members from IQ 135
About the Nereid SocietyBelow 1,000 meters · 6σ
The Aphotic Society
“Where no light reaches, the rarest minds make their own.”
IQ 190+ · 6σ≈ 1 in 1 billion
Subscribers from IQ 180
About the Aphotic Society