What is the minimum IQ needed to understand Bitcoin on a basic level?

[Lauda]

I think today the only prerequisite would be to be able to generally use a computer. I'd say if you spend any hours a week on facebook, you can probably figure out how to use bitcoin. That said I wouldn’t recommend someone who isn't fairly technically competent to out much money into bitcoin. Right now it's too easy for the average joe to get scammed or lose his bitcoin. 

If one thinks that they can get infected by a computer virus, don't expect them to be able to understand bitcoin.

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[bitcoinpsftp]

I think anyone with decent cognitive abilities could understand bitcoin.  It just takes someone to fully explain it to them.  It's not a concept that needs a high level IQ, it's a concept that needs a lot of study (to fully understand how it works).  I'd say 99% of the population have the means to be able to learn it.

[Lauda]

I think anyone with decent cognitive abilities could understand bitcoin.  It just takes someone to fully explain it to them.  It's not a concept that needs a high level IQ, it's a concept that needs a lot of study (to fully understand how it works).  I'd say 99% of the population have the means to be able to learn it.

I've explained it to some people, from my results less than half understood what it is.

[Pajamaw]

If one thinks that they can get infected by a computer virus, don't expect them to be able to understand bitcoin.

Bigot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harbisson

[hilariousandco]

Scammers are some of the smartest people around.

Some scammers are smarter than some people around them. Fixed.

Scams can be absolute genius, but a lot of scammers are just as stupid and as naive as their victims. These multi-million $ Bitcoins heists and long-cons are not pulled off by plebs. As much as I hate them, they kinda have my respect in some ways.

[GigaCoin]

Above average intelligence in Bitcoinland?  Hummmm, I don't know. How many people here have fallen for scams like Pirateat40 pulled even with other people screaming at them "it's a scam you fucking idiot"?

People can be academically smart, but socially naive or stupid and make poor decisions etc. I know some pretty slack people who've got degrees.

very true, a while back i've read up on research that proves this, some people with very high IQ 130+ have been found to fail at a basic social level (naivety, poor decisions, not questioning the status quo, etc).

[grue]

ITT: people thinking IQ is a comprehensive measure of intelligence.

[Pajamaw]

ITT: people thinking IQ is a comprehensive measure of intelligence.

^thank you

[Mike Christ]

Scammers are some of the smartest people around.

It's true; just look at modern banking.

[agath]

It's not a matter of IQ. It just requires a quite large background knowledge, if you don't have those information you just need some time to understand all the subsystems involved. Knowing them, it becomes really simple and easy to understand how Bitcoin works.

[johnyj]

The question should be: What is the minimum days of learning before an average computer user can protect his bitcoins from theft and loss  

[agath]

The question should be: What is the minimum days of learning before an average computer user can protect his bitcoins from theft and loss  

It depend on several factors (which client, which device, which OS..). However in general it's just simple as choosing a safe password for the wallet and periodically saving a backup somewhere else (for example multiple USB storages) that will be kept in separate places.

However this is far to "understanding Bitcoin on a basic level".

[invisiblehand]

not to know all the technical details inside out, because few people can do that.

just understand the basic concepts of different parts of the bitcoin system, and how they relate to each other.

what is the minimum iq needed, and what % of world population is below that requirement?

I say 120.  90% worldwide below that.

[crazyfingers]

I doubt the majority of people even understand decimals enough to differentiate between .1 and .01.

That bitcoin is irreversible probably won't sit well with most regular people either.

IMO probably only a small segment of the population will end up utilizing cryptos but among those few it is still revolutionary with endless possibilities.

[jdbtracker]

Intelligence Quotient is BS man; It was a university entrance exam at the turn of the 19th century... how much can you gather from that? It's not absolute.

To understand Bitcoin require a wealth of knowledge, I consider myself a pretty educated guy but it took me a whole year of delving deep into Bitcoin to begin to understand it. If it is anything at all it is hard work and a good web of knowledge... if they don't have the right fundamentals to understand Bitcoin they have to buildup the knowledge, cryptography, computers, networking, psychology, sociology, cognitive systems, etc, without these fundamentals doesn't matter how smart you think they are, they are going to stumble... but if they are hard workers, perciever through it all, or love the idea they'll master it.

and IMHO most scammers are dumb, so dumb they don't even know the value of what they have... I would have sold what I had for a cool couple million and let someone else carry on; they just don't see the posibilities, they'd rather rob you then listen.

[beetcoin]

Above average intelligence in Bitcoinland?  Hummmm, I don't know. How many people here have fallen for scams like Pirateat40 pulled even with other people screaming at them "it's a scam you fucking idiot"?

People can be academically smart, but socially naive or stupid and make poor decisions etc. I know some pretty slack people who've got degrees.

very true, a while back i've read up on research that proves this, some people with very high IQ 130+ have been found to fail at a basic social level (naivety, poor decisions, not questioning the status quo, etc).

yeah, intelligence is relative.. this is what i've come to realize. there are many different levels off intelligence. you could be street smart but not book smart, or book smart but not street smart. some people associate good memory with intelligence, but memory is not everything.

i think understanding bitcoin is not for the common person though. it's too confusing and takes too much time. most people could probably understand how bitcoin works, but it's too time consuming so they dont bother with it.

[Mondy]

0!

Just read up and you'll be fine!

[BitchicksHusband]

Apparently not very much considering most of the posts I see on this board...

[t1000]

It's not a matter of IQ. It just requires a quite large background knowledge, if you don't have those information you just need some time to understand all the subsystems involved. Knowing them, it becomes really simple and easy to understand how Bitcoin works.

This.

One needs to know among other things:

 -What is money, (I was talking to a guy about this and he went into an infinite loop explaining back to me how he is legally entitled to a 1 dollar bill upon producing a 1 dollar bill at the bank because it has "I promise to pay the bearer 1 dollar" written on it.)
 -What is the current monetary system, fractional reserve banking, central banking, Hows, whys and whats of QEs, etc etc
 -Cryptography, at least the idea that some things are hard to make but easy to verify.
 -Decentralisation, the blockchain, why bitcoins cannot be forged or printed.

[mskryxz]

I don't mean to brag here but I just wanted to post my stats so other people can compare intelligence vs understanding bitcoin

I got into bitcoin in november 2012. I did my research and did not understand it fully until april 2013 when i bought in at $60 each (i still hold all of them). even from april 2013 to today i am constantly learning a lot of material.

as for stats:

iq i usually test 125-130 but no idea how true it is since it is all online.
i type 111 wpm with 0 errors
i can build computers
bs in accounting (but remember university doesn't mean shit, you can learn shit on ur own)
i do calculus 3/accounting/finance homework and online exams for $200 a pop on the side
i work in the it making around 50k a year gross.
can play piano (like bedrock, titanic etc)

do have weaknesses. i'm introverted and not a very good or charismatic speaker. i am not good at explaining things even tho i myself understand it. that is a different area of str in my opinion.

with all that said, it took me 5 months to understand bitcoin and am still constantly learning new things. i would imagine a person with a background in computer science or programming would understand bitcoin quicker than me.

again this isn't to brag but for you to compare what strengths you have and the amount of time it took you to grasp bitcoin.

edit: also wanted to add i passed border patrol, immigrations, and cdcr prison guard exam with over 80 without studying. i know a lot of ppl who have failed those exams while putting a lot of hours into studying that.