ST. LOUIS -- Marilyn vos Savant is blase about her billing as one of the world's smartest people.
'Oh, this is old stuff to me,' said vos Savant, who scored a record-breaking IQ of 230 as a 10 year old.
Vos Savant says her adult IQ has been measured as high as 239. Average IQ is said to be 100.
New editions of the Guinness Book of World Records lists vos Savant as perhaps the smartest person in the world. The book's editors tracked her down through the Mega intelligence society, which considers for membership only those with IQ of 180 or better.
When vos Savant applied for membership to Mega, her test scores were forwarded to Guiness by another member who was the previous IQ record-holder.
'After a couple of bushels of documentation, they listed me as having the highest childhood IQ in the world,' said vos Savant.
In an interview with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, vos Savant gave only sketchy details of her life and background.
'If people know too much about me, they'll come over to see me,' she said. 'They'll treat me differently. I don't like to talk about my personal life.'
She admitted to being 'past 31 or 32. If I just tell people I'm in my 30s, they'll think I'm in my 40s.'
She declined to give her marital status, saying men tend to be intimidated and stutter if they learn her IQ.
After graduation from a St. Louis high school, vos Savant said she attended Washington University in St. Louis but dropped out. She worked several years with her parents, who are partners in an investment business.
'But I don't intend to be an employee ever again,' she told the newspaper. 'Life is just too short. When I felt I had made enough money to manage, I started writing full time.'
Vos Savant said she is working on a Hollywood screenplay, a software program and a television series with David Frost.
'I have no sympathy with people who tell me that because they're smart, they feel different,' she said. 'It all depends on your personality. If you act superior, no one is going to like you.'
