The British Steelies Society

You'll find some interesting names here:- Click here
How relevant is it ?

All I got was a log-in page to the Mensa society.

I must say, I'm surprised at how easy a log-in page it seems to be.

Sorry I forgot to mention that you need to be a member to view the members list.
LLoyd Green is a member..
Check out the bottom of this page:- Click HERE

I don't believe that score you quote John, but the interesting fact is that most of the top players have IQ well above average. My theory is that playing our instrument develops the brain along the mathematical pathways that are also required to attain what is referred to as high IQ, and not vice versa.

I always thought that your IQ remained relatively unchanged throughout your lifetime (not accounting for head injuries / dementia etc.).

While it might be true that steel guitarists (or any musicians, for that matter) may generally have a higher than average (>100) IQ, I personally doubt if playing any instrument regularly would significantly increase your IQ.

You can train yourself to be better at IQ tests, by simply doing more of them (like the one you linked to, for example) but that is a fairly pointless passtime imho, unless your aim is to score more on online IQ tests

Yes and no, to what you may ask.. well, with regard to training the brain and improving the interconnections betwixt the synapses, cerebellum and the cerebral cortex:- It is proven, I won't name the company or process just yet, but a multi millionaire friend of mine who has worked in medical science software development, (spurred on by his daughter's suicidal tendencies), has funded research and developed a programme to improve the connections in the patchbay at the base of the skull that directs what goes where.

It has been proven that with the right mental stimuli connections can be improved and even new ones made that didn't exist previously.
(Note the development of renewed speech and motive powers in stroke victims)

Already it's proven that daily mental stimuli via deep thinking, active thought provoking exercises and extreme concentration can delay the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

Mark Webber started the course last year, it has given him an extra 25 yards to play with in his reaction times and cognitive recognition visually.
The result is his current standing in the F1 World championship.

There is a dietary aspect to this as well, various proteins form a conductor between the nerve connections, a lack of these in the diet will cause large amounts of nervous energy expenditure for very little result. Consider it like a ball and socket joint with or without lubricant..
Of course it's more like an electrical connection with a good soldered joint, or a 'Dry Joint'

I do waffle on too much, but there's so much to impart.
Being a guinea pig for this research has opened my eyes to so much of what we take for granted that we can't do, sometimes we can't, purely because we don't motivate ourselves in the correct way.

So Yes and No, Yes to Musicians being on average slightly higher IQ, but No to your saying "IQ remained relatively unchanged throughout your lifetime"
(Out of context I know, you said "I always thought etc")

If you're going to cite top secret research which us mere mortals aren't privy to then, respectfully, I'll have to agree to disagree (for now!)

I did say

Arcada wrote:I always thought that your IQ remained relatively unchanged throughout your lifetime (not accounting for head injuries / dementia etc.).

and agree that while it may now be possible to repair damage done by strokes etc. (if only a little), and delay the onset of Alzheimer's etc., this doesn't result in a higher IQ than they already started with.

Yes, through "brain training" etc., you can probably increase your IQ a little (maybe 15 - 20 points, maximum), but this isn't what I'd call a significant increase.

Mark Webber has been a successful F1 driver for some time now (since 2002), and I think his current success could be more attributed to the car he's driving than to a course he's been attending for the last year.

I doubt very much that you could take someone off the street, perhaps even someone with a relatively high IQ, and "make" them the next Mozart / F1 champion. Not in mine or my son's lifetime (he's 3), anyway.

and agree that while it may now be possible to repair damage done by strokes etc. (if only a little), and delay the onset of Alzheimer's etc., this doesn't result in a higher IQ than they already started with.

I'll concede that and the rest of your points, but likewise only on a temporary basis..
They ARE doing amazing things with "Stem Cell" research, MAYBE the day will come when we can predetermine the IQ of a transplanted section.

I simply MUST stand by my belief that Steel Guitarists in general have (and need) a higher than average IQ.
Having said that, I also believe that there really is a demarcation point where the well rehearsed player and the "Naturally Gifted' cross over. Some of us can recognise that point, others not.
It is quite possible to practise a set piece "Parrot Fashion" ad infinitum until it APPEARS like it's genius personified.. but only to the masses, to his peers he is what he is. (the player of course, not the parrot)

I don't know of any of the top steel players who wouldn't have a very in depth knowledge of music and chordal structure. There are a few who "Profess" not to know much about music, frankly I believe that's a "Smoke Screen" just like the saying that's become an urban myth :- "I can read music, but not enough to hurt my playing" ....
That's nothing more than clever rhetoric disseminated by impish minded intellectually superior players.


BTW the 25 yards extra etc. was measured independently of the car, it's just the reaction time differential.

It has been proven that many musicians have a better connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain and this is more apparent in people who started at a young age. However, this applies to all instruments, not just steel guitar, and just points to more efficient accessing of information within the brain rather than an an effect on IQ which relies on more factors.