Triple Nine Society
High IQ society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, and, as of 2026[update], reports a member base of over 2,000 people in 53 US jurisdictions and 39 countries.[2] Since 2010, the organization has been a non-profit 501(c)(7) organization incorporated in Virginia, USA.[7]
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| Formation | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Richard Canty, Ronald Hoeflin, Kevin Langdon, Ronald Penner, Edgar Van Vleck |
| Type | High IQ society |
| Tax ID no. | 27-5473103[1] |
| Members | > 2,000[2] |
Official language | English |
Regent | Kathryn Holopainen |
| Website | triplenine |
Organization
The society was founded by Richard Canty, Ronald Hoeflin, Kevin Langdon, Ronald Penner, and Edgar Van Vleck,[8][9] as a split-off of the ISPE, a similarly selective high-IQ society, with whose governance structure they were dissatisfied.[9]
TNS is led by a "Regent" and served by an Executive Committee consisting of the Regent and eight further officers, all of whom are elected for two-year terms.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
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,[13] 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).[14]
The American Mensa test, the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test (RAIT),[15] is accepted with the Total Battery Intelligence Index of 146 and above.[6]
TNS also accepts standardized test scores including SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, ACT, and the Miller Analogies Test.[6] Required score will differ depending on the year those tests were taken.
Notable members
- Robert Forster (1941–2019) — actor[16]
- Mike Keefe (born 1946) — American editorial cartoonist[17]
- Andrew Koenig (born 1952) — computer programmer[18][19]
- Henry "Hammerin' Hank" Milligan (born 1958) — American retired professional boxer[20]
- Andrew York (born 1958) — American classical guitarist and composer[21]
