Nationality American Name Richard Rosner Movies Uncle Nick | Years active 1987–present Role Television writer | |
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Full Name Richard G. Rosner Born May 2, 1960 (age 63) ( 1960-05-02 ) Occupation Writer, aspiring reality television personality | ||
Richard G. "Rick" Rosner (born May 2, 1960) is an American television writer and reality television personality known for his high intelligence test scores and his unusual career. There are reports that he has achieved some of the highest scores ever recorded on IQ tests designed to measure exceptional intelligence. He has become known for taking part in activities not usually associated with geniuses. Rosner claims that he has worked as a stripper, roller-skating waiter, bouncer, and nude model. He has appeared in numerous documentaries and profiles about his activities and views. He has also appeared in both a Domino's Pizza commercial as well as one for Burger King and sued the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire over an allegedly flawed question he missed as a contestant in 2000. He wrote and produced for quiz shows and several programs produced by Jimmy Kimmel, including The Man Show, Crank Yankers, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
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Early life, education, intelligence tests
Rosner grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He reportedly spent 10 years in high school, leaving in 1987. When he was 26 years old and still a high school student, his wife was his legal guardian.
After he graduated from high school and attended University of Colorado, Boulder on and off, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, Rosner appeared as a body builder in early choreography by Nancy Daw Kane. As an aspiring media figure, he placed a number of ads with titles about physics in the entertainment trade journal Variety while attending college. Rosner moved to New York and wrote for MTV. When his wife accepted a job offer in California, they moved west.
In 1985, it was reported that he scored 44 of 48 on Ron Hoeflin’s Mega Test, a test described in a history of IQ testing as "a nonstandardized test put out by an obscure group." A score of 44 of 48 represents an IQ of about 180. In 1991 he retook the test and achieved 47 of 48 (IQ 190). From 1991 to 1997, Rosner was editor of Noesis, the journal of the Mega Society. Rick completed Hoeflin's Titan Test and is the only individual to have answered all 48 questions correctly. He achieved an IQ score of 192 in the high-range IQ test Mathema by answering 13 of 16 questions correctly, as well as 190 on the CIT - Form 3E by answering 76 of 78 questions correctly.
No professionally designed and validated IQ test claims to distinguish test-takers at a one-in-a-million level of rarity of score. The standard score range of most currently normed IQ tests is from IQ 40 to IQ 160. A score of 160 corresponds to a rarity of about 1 person in 30,000 (leaving aside the issue of error of measurement common to all IQ tests), which falls short of the Mega Society's 1 in a million requirement. IQ scores above this level are dubious as there are insufficient normative cases upon which to base a statistically justified rank-ordering. High IQ scores are less reliable than IQ scores nearer to the population median.
Media activity and appearances
Rosner began writing for quiz shows in 1987 on the MTV series Remote Control. He then scripted a number of clip shows, countdowns, and outtake programs in the 1990s. Rosner's 2000 appearance on the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire led to a lawsuit over an allegedly flawed question he missed on the elevation of various country capitals. Rosner was asked, "What capital city is located at the highest altitude above sea level?" and given four answer choices: Mexico City, Quito, Bogota, and Kathmandu. Rosner answered Kathmandu, which is at about half the altitude of Quito. Nonetheless, Rosner sued. Rosner's demand letter to the show insisted that a different city, not on the list of four answer choices, was the world's highest capital. The show responded that that did not matter.
"After reading your letters and reviewing our research, we continue to believe that the answer to your $16,000 question is correct," headquarters responded. "Of the four capital cities given as answer choices, Quito is the highest and, thus, is the correct answer. As you may remember, the Official Rules for the competition, as well as the Contestant Release and Eligibility Form that you signed, provide that the decisions of the judges relating to all aspects of the game, including questions and answers, are final. Under these circumstances, we do not believe that a return trip to the show is warranted in your case.
Rosner's letter-writing campaign and attempts to get brought back on the show led to his being profiled in the Errol Morris series First Person. Jimmy Kimmel later hired him as a writer, producer and occasional on-air talent. In 2008, he appeared in a Domino's Pizza ad for a line of oven-baked sandwiches. In April 2009 and August 2013, Rosner appeared on Bill Simmons' ESPN podcast The B.S. Report. In May 2009 Rosner was featured on an episode of A&E Television's Obsessed. The episode focused on his obsession with working out due to a fear of aging and dying.