room-temperature IQ

Those of you reading this with a room-temperature IQ would be well advised to never go travelling to Canada, the UK, or any other country that uses the metric system, i.e. measures temperature in degrees Celsius. Room temperature being somewhere around 20 degrees C, you would likely lose your ability to think, much less get the hell out of there.

However, if you really want a boost to the old intelligence quotient, start thinking in degrees Kelvin, where room temperature is sitting pretty somewhere around 293 degrees.

rogue = R = root

room-temperature IQ quant.

[IBM] 80 or below (nominal room temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit, 22 degrees Celsius). Used in describing the expected intelligence range of the luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" See drool-proof paper. This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius thermometers.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.