We all make informal assessments of the intelligence, beauty, competence and reliability of the many people in our lives. These assessments are necessary in judging who we can trust, who we want to spend time with and particularly, who we would choose as a spouse. Sometimes these judgments are visceral, and we appeal to our intuition for a verdict. On other occasions the judgment may be cerebral, as we process the information that we observe in a person’s behavior. Furthermore, the criteria we use to make our judgments vary from person to person. One person might judge Marsha Mumfrey to be very bright, while another might regard Marsha as a “flake.”
Visitors to my Quora site Intelligence and IQ, often ask, “How do you know if someone is intelligent?” Formulating an answer to this question prompts me to investigate my inner algorithms to determine how I make informal judgments of a person’s intelligence. In a few paragraphs, I will attempt to share what I can glean from this introspection, although I suspect that I make subliminal judgments that reside below my conscious level. As you look at my algorithms, you may find some that are similar to yours, and others with which you would take issue. But that’s O.K., because we’re all humans, struggling to make sense of the world.
My judgements of a person’s intelligence are never final, and always open to change as more information comes my way. In some cases, I have changed significantly my assessment of a individual’s intelligence, but usually my algorithms are somewhat stable. These are rough approximations of three of the criteria embedded in my intelligence-assessing algorithms.
Breadth of Interests
When I find a person who is interested in a wide range of subjects from philosophy, to literature, history, science and mathematics, I begin to assess them as intelligent. If they also possess a significant amount of knowledge in one or more of these subjects, that adds to their rating. But how do we assess a person’s knowledge in a particular subject area? For example, a person who has some depth of understanding of astronomy would know that black holes are regions of extremely high gravitational forces, and have some understanding of the meaning of gravitational waves, and how we estimate the distances of stars from earth. A person with some knowledge of history, would know approximately when the industrial revolution began, and would understand the causes and dates of the French and Russian Revolutions. Anyone with a knowledge of philosophy would be familiar with the works of the philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment as well as the works of people like Nieztsche and Wittgenstein. These are necessary but not sufficient methods for approximating a person’s depth in a subject area. Of course, we don’t have our friends sit down and take a test to determine their intelligence. We merely observe them in conversation.
Reading, Films, Music and Recreation
What a person reads, what films or plays they watch, what music they listen to and what forms of recreation they seek, all define a profile that derives from their intelligence. Highly intelligent people are interested in complexity and bored by simplicity. Consequently, my intelligence-assessment algorithm awards more points to a person who reads books on quantum physics, economics, or historical novels rather than tabloids or formula-written novels.. Similarly, a higher score would be allotted to those who tend to be attracted to plays, films and music that require reflection and provide insights, rather than action movies featuring car chases and explosions or monster truck rallies.
Expressions of Opinion
In my intelligence-assessment algorithm, the process through which a person reaches and expresses opinions is one of the most revealing characteristics of intelligence. People of high intelligence recognize the complexities in life and know that every issue on which an opinion can be expressed is multi-faceted. Consequently, the highly intelligent person is usually open to hearing challenges to their opinion and ready to modify it as new information becomes available. When challenged to defend their opinion, they will cite their sources of information that are often rooted in research or significant experience. They are tolerant of challenges to their opinion and seldom dogmatic and unreceptive to different opinions. The only person who is absolutely certain that their opinion on a complex issue is correct, is someone who hasn’t seen all sides of the issue.
For example, consider the question, “Will artificial intelligence eventually surpass human intelligence and take control of the world?” An intelligent person recognizes that no one knows the answer to this question. There are countless arguments pro and con, but our limited knowledge of intelligence, motivation and free will preclude a definitive answer. An intelligent person might advance an opinion, but would acknowledge that there are also strong arguments for the opposing opinion. Only someone who is unaware of the complexity of the issue would express an opinion on this issue with absolute certainty.
These are only three of the main indicators that I use in my informal estimation of someone’s intelligence. Such estimations are important for fluid social relationships. For example, if someone expresses a strong religious belief, it is probably a good idea to avoid challenging that belief, because their opinion is likely embedded in an emotional need. Before discussing an issue with a person, you must first assess whether that person is sufficiently rational on that issue to participate in a cool analysis. Otherwise, you will create unnecessary antagonism and gain nothing. I am fortunate to have some highly intelligent friends with whom I can discuss almost anything, without anyone taking offence. Deep conversations with friends are one of life’s greatest joys and they provide outstanding learning opportunities.
