Blog - Intelligence and IQ - Brendan Kelly Ph.D. January 22, 2025

Why is it that there are quite a few high IQ societies, but none for high EQ? Is it mainly because currently EQ is more difficult to measure, and has greater variance compared to IQ?

Yes. Research reveals that the concept of emotional intelligence is not well defined and seems to be conflated with other variables such as IQ and personality. The validity of tests designed to measure emotional intelligence, hinges on their ability to assign scores to item responses purported to measure EQ. One of the most prominent of …

Why is it that there are quite a few high IQ societies, but none for high EQ? Is it mainly because currently EQ is more difficult to measure, and has greater variance compared to IQ? Read More »

Can a person with an IQ of 180 become a billionaire?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

On February 28, 2020, CEOWORLD Magazine ranked the world’s top 50 billionaires from “richest to poorest”. As we might expect, these megawealthy individuals belong to the high-IQ group. The table below (taken from my book on intelligence) displays the net worth and the educational backgrounds of the top 10 in the rich list–most of them …

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At what age does giftedness appear?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

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.” Typically, giftedness is manifest in early childhood. Sir Francis Galton, one of the pioneers of the …

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What are some examples of intellectual intelligence in real life?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

While writing a book titled, Intelligence, IQ, and Perception, I explored the concept of intelligence and discovered that it has many different dimensions. In some cases, it manifests as a capacity for persuasive oratory or skillful articulation. My models for this dimension of intelligence were Martin Luther King Jr. and Sir Winston Churchill. Both men …

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I did an IQ test online and the summary of my results said that I’m a ‘pattern mathematician’. I’m what I would call average at mathematics. What is a pattern mathematician?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

Some of the IQ tests on line are designed to make money and have not been scientifically normed. Consequently, they are not reliable as measures of IQ. As a mathematician, I can tell you that I’ve never heard the term “pattern mathematician” and cannot imagine what it might mean, because all mathematics involves the recognition …

I did an IQ test online and the summary of my results said that I’m a ‘pattern mathematician’. I’m what I would call average at mathematics. What is a pattern mathematician? Read More »

Do you think that those who scam others are people with high Intelligence quotient?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

The only research I can bring to bear on this question is my personal experience over many decades. It seems to me that what we call “moral integrity” is spread somewhat evenly across the entire spectrum of intelligence. Those who crack computer codes to hack into other people’s accounts or those, like Bernie Madoff, who …

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What are the characteristic traits of people who test at various IQ ranges?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

There are significant differences, on average, in the traits of those at opposite ends of the IQ scale, but these differences are not defined precisely enough to be delineated by precise IQ ranges. Furthermore, there are some high-IQ people who do not exude the typical traits of most high-IQ people, because they have other psychological …

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Will a 15-year-old’s IQ be the same in 10 years?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

The good news is that recent research suggests IQ is somewhat malleable in the adolescent years. At the onset of puberty, the brain moves into a neural pruning stage in which it interacts with the environment, building synapses in areas of demand while purging neurons from areas of little stimulation. Throughout adolescence, the prefrontal cortex …

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How do I tell if somebody is intelligent?

1 Comment / Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

It’s very difficult to assess someone’s intelligence during a brief meeting, but the longer you share conversation with that person, the more accurate will be your assessment. Here are some characteristics I have found in the very high IQ people I’ve met although these are, of course, generalizations that will have some counterexamples. High IQ …

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Why were IQ tests developed originally?

Blog / By Brendan Kelly Ph.D.

The following is a brief excerpt from my book on intelligence (description accessible at: https://amzn.to/41OPIXm). In 1904, Alfred Binet was the director of the psychology laboratory at the Sorbonne in Paris. The Minister of Public Education commissioned Binet to develop tests to identify less capable students who should be provided some form of special education. …

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