In 399 BC, Socrates was on trial for his life, accused of corrupting the youth of Ancient Greece. In his defence, he stated, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this assertion, Socrates was enunciating his belief that we must question all our beliefs in order to find truth. He was convicted of impiety …
The answer to this question depends upon what we mean by “intelligence”. Justice Potter Stewart of the US Supreme Court said in 1964, “Intelligence is like porn, difficult to define, but you know it when you see it.” When we observe members of our species we see some who learn quickly, can solve problems easily, …
Each of us is born with a unique intellectual potential that is determined by the genes we inherit. Achieving that potential requires an environment that offers optimal stimulation. The greatest opportunity to improve our IQ occurs in our formative years, and the earlier the better. It is during these early formative years (between birth and …
The answer to this question will differ, depending on whether the question is, “Can a person be too intelligent to achieve happiness?” or whether the question is “Can a person be too intelligent to achieve success?” Can a person be too intelligent to achieve happiness? The 18th-century poet Thomas Gray, coined the proverb, “Where ignorance …
A few years ago, research was conducted on the self-esteem of students in classes that were divided into ability groups with designations, bluebirds (high level learners), robins (average level learners) and starlings (low level learners). What students do you think had the highest self-esteem? It was found that the students of highest self esteem were …
Research has revealed that there is a high correlation among performance on IQ tests, SATs and achievement in abstract subjects such as mathematics and physics. For example, The figure below from the College Board gives the average SAT score by college major for the year 2014. We see that the highest average SAT scores are …
Yes, personality differences can make a significant difference in performance on an IQ test, because even IQ tests involve test-taking skills. When faced with a challenging item such as found on the Raven’s progressive matrices, one person, will spend 10 or 15 seconds and then give up and move on to the next item. Another …
Can two people of equal intelligence have a different score on an IQ test? Read More »
Books such as, Ultimate IQ Tests: 1000 Practice Test Questions to Boost Your Brain Power (2012) by Philip Carter & Ken Russell 2012) present test items that resemble the kinds of questions that a person encounters on standard IQ tests such as the Wechsler WAIS IV and the Stanford-Binet. Working through these tests can be …
This question will be answered in two parts. What US President had the Highest IQ? In 2006, psychologist Dean Keith Simonton conducted what is called a historiometric study of the 42 US presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush in an attempt to estimate their IQs. He entered data from biographies detailing their educational …
Which US President had the Highest IQ and how did it compare to Einstein’s? Read More »
Autopsies on prominent humans have enabled the investigation of human intelligence relative to brain size. Though some highly intelligent people were found to have possessed significantly larger than average brains, there were many who did not. Gauss, regarded by historians of mathematics as one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time, weighed in at …
