In 2005, Professor Larry Summers, President of Harvard University, stated, “The physicists in the top 25 universities in the US are probably 3.5 standard deviations above the mean IQ.” This equates to an IQ of 100 + 3.5 x 15 or 152.5. IQ is a reasonably good measure of the ability to think in abstract terms, and to see patterns and draw inferences from observations that appear random to others. These are critically important cognitive skills for anyone attempting to model nature in environments (like the microcosm) where humans have no direct experience. A strength in mathematical knowledge and skill is also a prerequisite to research in theoretical physics because all the models of nature are expressed in mathematical notation.
The graph below from the College Board shows the SAT scores (strongly correlated to IQ) by college major.
A score between 571.5 and 574 on the average of the math and verbal SATs corresponds is about the 66th to 70th percentile among all people who take the SATs. This means that those entering mathematics or the physical sciences may be in the top third of those entering college. Between the freshman year at university and graduation at the Ph.D. level, there is a significant culling that results in only a fraction of people reaching the doctoral level, and another culling to achieve an academic post or research position with a corporation.
An IQ of 120 or more would seem to be a prerequisite for becoming a successful physicist in a university or corporation, but it is possible that someone of high average IQ with a strong passion for physics, exceptional creativity and exceptional motivation, might be able to scale the hurdles and become a research physicist who discovers something new. For such a person, success is more likely in experimental physics than in theoretical physics, because the latter is extremely abstract and requires the mastery of a great deal of sophisticated mathematics. (See also: Why are so many intelligent people Interested in Physics, even though it’s outside their subject area? – Intelligence and IQ )
