Some people object to such a large number of individuals seeming to have scored at or above IQ 200 (Table II). However, one must remember that the Bell curve, a theoretical construction of the distribution of intelligence values (IQs), does not correspond to the real conditions in its outer tails. Naturally, the uncertainty at extreme values is very large. It has been verified that considerably more people score in the extreme outer ranges (i.e. below 40 and above 180 St-Bin) than would be predicted by the Bell curve. The statistics say (but with a large margin of error) that one in 5 thousand millions (that's one in 5 billion, if you're North American) have an IQ of 200 or higher. Nevertheless, in reality the figure one in a thousand millions is nearer the truth. Let us then perform the following intellectual experiment: if about 85 thousand million people (src. Reader's Digest) have lived since 10,000 B.C.E., then there could have been 85 persons scoring such incredibly high IQs. That is, after all, quite a lot.
Some really mean that there cannot have existed anybody with an IQ of 200 or higher. For these the shape of the Bell curve is holy: How many can have had an IQ of 0 or below? (Hey, the Bell curve is symmetrical).
As the values in Table II are based on estimates, they are, of course, not to be taken too seriously. This investigation of earlier geniuses at Stanford University has been controversial; many have criticized it. However, some of the figures in the table are taken from other, more reliable, sources.