In this post, I propose to add some data to John Cate’s comments (see below). First, it’s important to explain that the term “genius IQ” should be taken to mean “a sufficiently high IQ to offer genius potential,” because a high IQ is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for genius. That is, the term …
Today, politicians attempt to gain credibility by asserting that they are “following the science,” even on issues where there is no scientific consensus. One of the most valuable cognitive benefits of deep scientific exploration is the recognition that our understanding of nature is extremely limited. This insight is usually manifest as the deep intellectual humility …
Are the Politicians really “following the science?” Read More »
This is an interesting question because it has several dimensions. While those who are most likely to change their opinions in the face of disconfirming evidence are drawn from the ranks of the most intelligent, the ability to change an opinion when confronted with new evidence is relatively rare–even among the very gifted. We humans …
Andrew Wrigley has conjectured that the house fly may be more intelligent than many other insects. The comparison of intelligence across animal species is interesting because it also has implications for comparing the intelligence of humans who evolved in isolated breeding populations situated in different environments. In his excellent book, ***Are we Smart enough to …
Why do house flies seem so much smarter than other insects? Read More »
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 …
Usually, people think of the mentally challenged and geniuses as people occupying opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum, and that may be true in terms of IQ. However, they share similarities that derive from being outside the norm. The mentally challenged and geniuses alike, struggle to understand. For the mentally challenged, the struggle is to …
What are some subtle similarities in a genius and the mentally challenged? Read More »
Yesterday, we posted Brian White’s answer to the question, “What are the chances of someone of IQ 125 becoming a billionaire? Mr. White provided information substantiating the claim that most self-made billionaires are among the high to very high intelligence group. My research confirms Mr. White’s assertion, but it also reveals that those of extremely …
What are the Chances of Someone of IQ 125 becoming a Billionaire? Read More »
For adults (those above 18 years of age) there is a common test, the most popular of which is the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale). The WAIS includes measures of verbal comprehension, perceptional reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. WAIS-IV has 10 subtests and 5 supplemental tests that summarize intelligence with two measures–a final IQ …
Although IQ is our best measure of intelligence developed so far, it offers only a rough approximation as a measure of this multi-dimensional attribute. A test taken in about one hour reveals a great deal about a person’s ability to think in the abstract, to identify patterns in a sequence of pictures or numbers, and …
Francis Galton, who conceptualized the idea of intelligence, asserted that genius could not be attributed to intelligence alone. He attributed genius to “the concrete triple event, of ability combined with zeal and with capacity for hard labour.” In 1978, Joseph Renzulli, building on this idea, introduced what is known as his “three-ring” definition of giftedness. …
What separates highly intelligent people from Genius People? Read More »
