Have you ever been bombarded by a young child between ages 4 and 7 with an incessant succession of questions beginning with “why?” Children at this age have an irrepressible curiosity that stimulates their learning. It is an evolved characteristic of most higher order species that enables the young to learn what they need to …
The term “pseudo” comes from the Greek word, “pseudes” (ψευδής) which means “false.” So, a pseudo-intellectual is someone who falsely presents himself (or herself) as an intellectual. A person who is called a “pseudo-intellectual” is accused of masquerading as someone who is much more intelligent than they really are. Typically, a pseudo-intellectual is a person …
What’s the Difference between a pseudo-intellectual and an Intellectual? Read More »
Paul Erdös, perhaps the most prolific of all mathematicians never aspired to money and survived on brief university appointments, taking stipends for presentations and visiting various friends in the mathematics community for days at a time. Mainly engaged in number theory, combinatorics and graph theory, he was constantly formulating mathematical problems for which he posted …
Can Someone be Highly Intelligent and still not Manage Money Wisely? Read More »
Many people will have different perspectives in answering this question, so I will share mine, acknowledging that it represents merely my point of view and is not derived from any formal research, other than a lifetime of observation. To me, the three most important priorities in life are health, personal relationships, and economic independence. Health …
How Can Someone Leverage their Higher Intelligence to their Advantage? Read More »
It is generally accepted by researchers in psychology that IQ is the best measure of intelligence that we have, although there are dimensions of intelligence such as inventiveness, creativity, and intuition that are not measured on IQ tests. However, the fact that IQ is strongly correlated to intelligence is indisputable. (For the research evidence supporting …
Why Do People say that IQ scores don’t measure intelligence? Read More »
Although some psychologists argue that giftedness is a myth and that extraordinary performance is merely a consequence of deliberate practice, there is substantial evidence that some people are born with extraordinary cognitive skills that we refer to as “giftedness.” Ellen Winner, psychologist at Boston College, drawing upon research from MRI scans, Winner states: Indirect evidence …
The concept of IQ emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, but formal IQ tests such as WAIS (the Weschler test) did not emerge until the 1950’s. (Visit this site for a brief history of their development: Why were IQ tests developed originally?) Consequently, Einstein’s IQ was never measured. However, based on his achievements …
Do you know the IQs of Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein and Terence Tao? Read More »
Many people who have scored an IQ below 120 feel they are barred from the high paying professions by the limitations prescribed by their IQ score. They fail to recognize that IQ is merely a rough estimate of one’s intelligence that does not include measures of creativity, inventiveness, passion or tenacity–all qualities that play a …
What is the point of having career and educational goals if it’s all predicted by IQ? Read More »
A study, titled One Personality Trait Distinguishes Gifted People, and reported in Psychology Today on November 14, 2021, looked at correlations between giftedness and the Big 5 traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism and Agreeableness). They found the following:* • Giftedness seems like a blessing but may be a burden. • Gifted individuals have learning differences, including …
There is a great deal of variation in how individuals, whether highly intelligent or not, react to someone making a false or inaccurate statement. Those who have limited people skills are likely to point out the error with an air of certainty and self-righteousness. This is perceived by the recipient of the correction as a …
