There is no metric for identifying genius. A person is regarded as a genius if they have produced a work of art or advanced a scientific theory that is seen as a new breakthrough in their field. In science, it’s a theory or discovery that changes the existing paradigm. When Newton advanced his theory of …
How is a genius different from someone who merely works hard? Read More »
The three concepts: smart, intelligent, and knowledgeable are strongly correlated although they have slightly different nuances. Smart Smartness–what the Ancient Greeks called phronesis–is the vaguest of the these concepts because its measure is purely subjective. Often, it’s associated with “street smarts” or the ability to navigate through human relationships with some degree of skill. In the …
The self-esteem of high IQ individuals spans the full range from low self-esteem to high self-esteem. Many very high IQ people have low self-esteem because they compare themselves to those at the top of the IQ scale. The great physicist, Paul Ehrenfest, who collaborated with Einstein and found a contradiction in the equivalence principle, committed …
What is the self-Esteem of individuals of high IQ? Read More »
This question was posed by, Lara, a visitor to Quora to which I offered the following response. Lara, it all depends upon how you want to live. Modern science and technology stands on a foundation of mathematics developed by high IQ mathematicians. Among these high IQ mathematicians were those who developed the computer technology, including …
Historical Background In 1690, English philosopher John Locke stated that we all come into the world as intellectually “blank slates” (Tabula Rasa, in Latin) and acquire knowledge and intelligence that are written on these slates by our experiences. The political view underpinning Locke’s assertion was that if, indeed, we all enter the world as blank …
High intelligence is probably a prerequisite for genius, especially the kind of genius that is expressed in abstract fields like mathematics, physics and the other sciences, because measures of intelligence are highly correlated with performance in these fields. In the arts, high intelligence may be less important than a special creativity, skill or knowledge. Shakespeare’s …
What’s the difference between a highly intelligent person and a Genius? Read More »
In answering this question, it may be helpful to compare and contrast the unfolding of intellectual talent with that of athletic talent. Comparison Those gifted with superior athletic ability, usually discover early in their lives that they are more agile than most, can run faster or jump higher, or have greater physical strength. As they …
All Xerxes are also Yadocks, but only some Yadocks are Zerples. Which of the following statements is true? Answer: We can represent the statements in a Venn diagram. The statement that all Xerxes are Yadocks means that the set of Xerxes is contained in the set of Yadocks. The statement that only some Yadocks are …
In 2011, a large group of researchers published the results of a genome-wide analysis of 549,692 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involving 3511 unrelated adults. (An SNP represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide.) (See: Davies, G., A. Tenesa, A. Payton, J. Yang, S.E. Harris, D. Liewald, et al. 2011. “Genome-wide …
The answer to this question carries bad news and good news. The bad news is that human cognitive abilities, including memory and intelligence are limited by many variables including time. The good news is that, within those limits there is room for a prodigious memory and remarkable intellectual achievements. What limits human cognitive abilities? Perhaps …
Is there a limit to human potential for learning/memory/intelligence? Read More »
