What would having a 200,300,400+ IQ, or being mentally superior to even peak modern humans be like, speculatively speaking?

I am often asked how smart an adult with an IQ of 200 or more would be. This question reflects a widespread misunderstanding of IQ as an absolute measure of intelligence, rather than a measure relative to the rest of the human population. IQ tests are normed so that IQ scores are distributed on a normal curve with mean 100 and standard deviation is 15 (Wechsler) or 16 (Stanford-Binet). Someone with IQ of 200 is at the 99.999999987th percentile. This means that (for the Weschler test) only about 1 out of 76 billion people, would score higher. Since the world population is less than 10 billion, the concept of IQ has no meaning at or above 200. At the time of this writing the world population is less than 8 billion, so IQ as measured on Weschler has no meaning above 195. Similarly, the IQ as measured on the Stanford-Binet has no meaning above 202. The concept of IQ is a reasonable estimate of intelligence only in the range between 70 and 130.

However, if the intent of your question was to invite speculation on what it would be like to have super-human mental power, I will make an attempt to imagine possible consequences. We know from the biographies of the most intelligent people such as Newton and Einstein, that brilliant people are often isolated because they often (but not always) have trouble relating to people. However, if a person had “unlimited” intelligence, we would expect that they would learn quickly how to socialize. I imagine that such a person would be overwhelmed with people from all fields making demands of them. Medical people might cajole that genius to help them find a cure for cancer. Mathematicians might seek help in solving the Riemann Hypothesis, and physicists might also make demands. Investors would beat down his or her door for market predictions. Once a person of superhuman intelligence were discovered, there would be no place to hide from all the humans looking for solutions to problems. Of course, that’s just one scenario. You are probably capable of coming up with scenarios that I haven’t imagined. Good luck!

2 thoughts on “What would having a 200,300,400+ IQ, or being mentally superior to even peak modern humans be like, speculatively speaking?”

  1. Being social is a learned skill based primarily in experience, and not in intelligence. Therefore, your implicit assumption that the ability to socialize is a form of intelligence in the traditional sense—that can (or should) be easily learned or “mastered” with enough significant amount of I.Q.—is a common misconception. Though unpopular or even flatly dismissed (by the statistically uninitiated), my assertion is not based on imagination or in mere speculation. It is based on my experience (of a lifetime) and on the fact that I both possess and am possessed by a verbal I.Q. in excess of 200 (Stanford-Binet scale). Thank you.

    1. Ngoc, according to Cattell’s model of intelligence, our intelligence is composed of fluid intelligence (the ability to learn) and crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge and skills) Emotional intelligence if acquired through observation and study would fall under the category of crystallized intelligence.

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