DATE: 08/14/99
Could you suggest a book which lists the average I.Q. of each profession? For example if I want to be a cinematographer. What is is the average IQ of the most people in this profession. I would also like a book which has a listing of the average income of different ranges of people of different I.Q.s
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The closest I can get to your 1st inquiry is the following table developed from data contained in Performance Norms on Job Applicants Northfield, Illinois: E.F. Wonderlic & Associates, Inc., 1970.
The range is given as the middle half of the applicants (i.e. range of middle 50%: The top and bottom 25% of the applicants are cut off).
We must remember that this was only applicants. It is very likely that only those at the higher end of each range were the succesful applicants.
Approximate Percentiles and Intelligence Quotients (Terman) of Job Applicants
Profession | Percentile range | IQ range |
| Professor, Chief Executive Officer | 77 - 98 | 112 - 132 |
| Doctor, Writer, Computer Specialist, Graduate Engineer | 69 - 96 | 108 - 129 |
| Administrator, Engineer, Personnel Specialist, Medical Secretary | 62 - 94 | 105 - 126 |
| Department Head, General Manager, Insurance Sales Representative, Programmer, Underwriter | 57 - 93 | 103 - 124 |
| Claims Adjuster, Inspector, Laboratory Technician, Management Trainee, Purchasing Agent, Supervisor | 53 - 91 | 101 - 122 |
| Accounting Clerk, Computer Operator, Sales Representative | 48 - 88 | 99 - 119 |
| Bookkeeper, Cashier, Data Processing Clerk, Draughtsman, News Writer, Stenographer, Traffic Clerk | 43 - 83 | 97 - 116 |
| Circulation Manager, Customer Service Representative, Electrician, Foreman, General Office Lineman, Office Machine Operator, Receptionist, Technician, Teller | 34 - 79 | 93 - 113 |
| Apprentice, Shop Clerk, Clerk Typist, Reservations Agent, Typist | 26 - 75 | 88 - 111 |
| Keypunch Operator, Messenger, Meter Reader, Police Patrolman, Skilled Trades, Train Crew Personnel | 26 - 71 | 88 - 110 |
| Bus/Truck Driver, Machine Operator, Mail Clerk, Maintenance Worker, Printing Pressman, Utility Man, Traffic Supervisor | 22 - 67 | 86 - 107 |
| Food Service Worker Helper, General Mechanic's Helper, Shipping Clerk | 16 - 67 | 83 - 107 |
| File Clerk, Material Handler, Telephone Operator | 16 - 62 | 83 - 105 |
| Assembler, Factory Worker, General Labourer, Skilled Labour, Unskilled Labour | 12 - 57 | 81 - 103 |
| Custodian, Nurse's Aide, Packer, Warehouseman | 10 - 55 | 79 - 102 |
| Casual Worker | 5 - 43 | 74 - 97 |
| Institutional | 0.1 - 4 | 49 - 72 |
I have seen a short chart, relating to your 2nd inquiry, in the article IQ and economic success in the magazine Public Interest
displaying the medium income for people within different IQ ranges.
Median earned income in 1992 for...
| Very Bright (125+) | $36,000 |
| Bright (110-124) | $27,000 |
| Normal (90-109) | $20,000 |
| Dull (75-89) | $12,400 |
| Very Dull (less than 75) | $5,000 |
UN
DATE: 08/28/99
Please send me an I.Q. chart of of the male and female gender. I want to know who is smarter, male or female?
M.T.L.
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I haven't found any chart displaying the differences in IQ between males and females. But I have seen an investigation indicating that females are more frequent in the "normal" genius range (150 - 170 St.Bin.), and males in the high genius range (>170). IQ tests often favour males a bit, as they in average are slightly better at mathematical thinking. This lack by the females is, in general, in real life compensated by better verbal ability.
I don't think it is especially wise to assert that one gender is more intelligent than the other. If anything, male and female intelligence differ somewhat in its nature, not in its power.
Eg. You can hardly find a male lyrical poet of such dimension as Sappho, and you can hardly find a female mathematician of such dimension as C.F. Gauss.
UN
DATE: 09/11/99
What is the average IQ?
A.S.
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Most IQ tests are normed for a definite population so that the average IQ will lie between 90 and 110 (with the mean 100) on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
However, an individual scoring at 100 within one population can score above or below that value within another population.
For example, the Japanese are supposed to have the highest average IQ in the world (115 St-Bin). I.e. compared to a calculated mean for the world. Still they have only an average of 100 within their own population.
UN
DATE: 09/26/99
Who is the smartest living person in the world? and the smartest that ever lived?
C.F.
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According to Guiness Book of Records, the smartest person in the world is Marilyn vos Savant who scored IQ 228 Terman as a 10 year old. This would, according to recent research, correspond to about IQ 185 at adult age. That score is, at least, surpassed by the chess player Bobby Fisher (187).
No one knows who is the smartest person that ever lived, that is for sure. But some psychologists believe that William James Sidis reached the maximum capacity possible for a human. The same may apply for eg., the seer of visions, Emanuel Swedenborg, who was so intelligent that he turned mad in the later part of his life.
In the Buzan's Book of Mental World Records, the highest IQ score ever attained is assigned to the history's greatest universal genius Leonardo da Vinci.
The estimate is a nearly unbelievable adult IQ of 220 St-Bin!
UN
DATE: 10/01/99
You said that, "for fun" you estimated Will Hunting's IQ to be around 180. Ok. What are some differences between a person with this score, and a person with an "immeasurably high" score. Can you possibly answer this question? I tend to believe that there is less of a difference between these two than between persons with, say, 120 and 150. Am I wrong?
J.M.F.
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In a way you are right.
The intelligence scale is linear (also mostly reflected in the number of correct answers in a test), meaning that the difference in intelligence (points) between IQ 120 and IQ 150, respective IQ 150 and IQ 180 is the same. But the difference in showed, i.e. noticeable, intelligence between persons with the two first IQ values is greater than between the other two. Why? Because they are closer to average, and easier recognized, intelligence. The same also holds true for comparing a person with average intelligence with a debile person, and comparing a debile person with an imbecile.
The farther from the mean IQ 100, the harder it is to "see" the difference, and eventually also to measure that difference.
UN
DATE: 10/24/99
William James Sidis died of a brain hemorrhage(spelling?). I have also read of an extraordinarily prodigious boy who had committed the entire Bible to memory at one year old, and by the tender age of four years, was pondering serious astrophysics. He died at the age of four, also of a brain hemorrhage.
Is the human brain at all equipped to handle this kind of ability? There seems to be a pattern of tragedy among the "one every half-billion," including insanity and hemorrhaging. Just coincidence?
J.M.F.
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In fact, I don't know. But, yes, there seems to be a connection. Perhaps too much pressure is set on the brain, so the risk for it to collapse is greatly increased. I think, for example, on the Swedish 18th century universal genius Emanuel Swedenborg who (probably) turned insane, after discoveries and inventions on the level of Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci at a young age.
One night he woke up with a splitting headache, and convinced that he had talked with God. After this event his life was dedicated to write down all what he thought the spirits supplied to him!
Also the British 19th century genius John Stuart Mill suffered from a serious nervous breakdown shortly after celebrating his 20th birthday.
UN
DATE: 11/20/99
I read that you believe that Leonardo da Vinci and Leibniz are the greatest universal geniuses? What exactly qualifies as a universal genius? I understand that it probably means accomplisments in many fields, but how many fields do you use as the min? By that then the individual's iq compared to others are not exactly related to being a universal genius? Also, first let me say this is a very comprehensive site. What exacltly qualifies an individual to be on this site? Surely, there are many other more geniuses(iq = +150 or +200) that existed and exist today. Perhaps only those that are reknowned for there works or achieved a certain degree of fame?
R.K.
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You have many questions but they can be summed up in a general answer.
There are on the whole three factors which determine if a person shall be included on my site:
1) A real or estimated IQ above 150 Terman (i.e. Genius level)
2) Opinions about the person in different influential sources. In particular, if he/she has been regarded as the foremost in his/her field.
3) The amount of information (easily) available about him/her, and especially where the quantity (and also judgements) can be compared, for example, in encyclopedias.
My responsibility have been to extract the persons fulfilling these criterias. So actually, its not I who believe that eg. Leonardo da Vinci and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz are the greatest universal geniuses, its my sources. And to be honest, I haven't the knowledge myself for making such statements :-).
I have had a special prerequisite, though, that the division between men and women should be fairly pleasant.
UN
DATE: 12/03/99
I was really interested in what you said about the Japanese having an
average IQ of 115 compared to all of Earth. If that is true, why have I never
heard of a Japanese genius before? It seems as though almost all geniuses have
been European. Also, do you have a chart or some data on the average I.Q. for
each nation and/or human race?
B.
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Unfortunately I haven't a chart displaying the average IQ for different nations (But for Europe look at IQs in various countries). Some of the nations that are at the top - but after Japan - are Israel, Holland and Germany. Also the Mongoloids, which the Japanese belong to, are considered to have the highest average IQ. They are closely followed by the Europoids.
Our world is very influenced by the Western culture. There is no evidence that there has been an abundance of geniuses in Europe compared to other parts of the world. But Europe has for a long time in the past been regarded as an intellectual centrum, with a stimulating atmosphere for great minds. One must remember that it is not enough to be a genius for achieving results of epoch-making importance. The genius must improve his mind, be challenged, and be given the opportunity to learn up to his/her potential.
A high average IQ for a nation doesn't automatically
mean that there are more geniuses in that nation, as the composition of the
population can be very diverse.
Japan have had and have geniuses. We can, for example, mention their Nobel Prize Winners:
- Hideki Yukawa, Physics 1949
- Sin-Itira Tomonaga, Physics 1965
- Yasunari Kawabata, Literature 1968
- Leo Esaki, Physics 1973
- Eisaku Sato, Piece 1973
- Fukui Kenichi, Chemistry 1981
- Susumi Tonegawa, Medicine 1987
- Kenzaburo Oe, Literature 1994
- Hideki Shirakawa, Chemistry 2000
- Koshiba, Masatoshi, Physics 2002
UN
DATE: 12/05/99
My scores in Cattel B and CTMM (California Test of Mental Maturity) were 115 each. I took them again a year and a half later and were 121 and 125 resp. What to these scores convert on Stanford-Binet scale and the Weschler scale? Am I bright, above average, or just average? Does it mean that I can be a Doctor or a good computer programmer or is it beyond me even with hard work.
SK
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The intellectual ability is not the most important when choosing a job. More essential is to have a profile of talent matching what is needed for the particular job. If we, for example, compare a computer programmer and a doctor in medicine, we can see that the demands are quite different:
Programmer | Doctor | |
| LINGUISTIC ABILITY | Above Average | Above Average |
| NEGOTIATIONAL ABILITY | Above Average | Good |
| CONTACT ABILITY | Above Average | Very Good |
| LOGICAL THINKING | Very Good | Good |
| CREATIVITY | Very Good | Good |
| POWER OF CONCENTRATION | Good | Below Average |
| TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING | Good | Above Average |
| MATHEMATICAL ABILITY | Good | Above Average |
| PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE | Above Average | Good |
| TASTE | Above Average | Below Average |
(From the book Begabungstests, by Peter Lauster (1974))
Have confidence! The famous Nobel Prize Winner Francis Crick
(The man who found the structure for DNA) had only an IQ of 115!
So, with hard and dedicated work it is possible to compensate
for a lack in intelligence.
For the conversion question, use my calculator.
UN
DATE: 12/28/99
Newton or Einstein are not mentioned in table II at all but they are the two greatest physicists of all time. The impact these two have had on our understanding of the universe is well beyond the likes of John Stuart Mill or Swedenborg.
If we judge their intelligence based on childhood accomplishments then they cannot be regarded as anything more than very bright. If we judge their intelligence by their adult accomplishments then they should be regarded as vastly more intelligent than the likes of Galileo or Leibniz.
How do you reconcile their lower IQ ratings with these realities?
NL
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In fact, I agree with the most of what you say.
Newton and Einstein are not mentioned in Table II, but elsewhere on my site. Table II shows a selection of brilliant persons through history, but the names are nearly picked at random (with some exceptions).
Newton and Einstein were two extraordinary creative and imaginative physicists, and sharing what is clearly fundamental for making breakthroughs: Patience. (However, a very high intelligence quotient should facilitate. It is essential that you say If we judge their intelligence .... But I don't agree that their accomplishments were vastly more important than, for example, Galileo's and Leibniz's. This is partly a matter of inclination, attitude and one's background)
For you knowledge: The estimate for Sir Isaac Newton is the highest ever assigned to a physicist. In the Mind he is given an astronomical IQ of 190!
Happy New Millenium!
UN
DATE: 01/15/00
My son has done his Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III IQ test when he is 8 years and 3 months old. his result is as follow:
Verbal Scale IQ: 138 99th percentile Very Superior Range
Performance Scale IQ: 148 99.9th Percentile Very Superior Range
Full Scale IQ: 147 99.9th Percentile Very Superior Range
How does he did in his IQ test, Is he a genius, he has been complaining since he is in year 3( he is in year 4 now) the year 6 work are easy.
The doctor that done the IQ test for my son said that he has not seen any one with this IQ in his clinic and the Full Scale IQ of 147 is the highest in the test, but when I serve the net, I realise that the highest score is 200+, Should I send my son for other test? so that I can have a better understanding of his IQ (if the WISC-III full scale is 147)and what IQ test should I send him? What should I do with his education.
We are Malaysian living in Singapore.
T.A.L.
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Impressing results your son had, indeed.
I would say that it is certain that your son is at least highly gifted. But I am a little bit surprised that the maximum score was 147 on the Full Scale IQ, normally the ceiling on WISC-III is set to 160 (If he had scored such high, he would have been considered as profoundly gifted). Today, most researchers don't find it enough to score extremely high on IQ tests to be considered as a Genius. The person must also possess a high degree of transcendental thinking (i.e. be very creative and imaginative).
It is difficult to find tests for children that are reliable above the 99.9 percentile (This is caused by a weak statistical base at these extreme scores). But generally there is no need to know if a child score higher than at the profoundly gifted level with respect to, for example, the child's education.
Your son has clearly a need for beeing challenged, and this is difficult in a class where the teaching is adjusted for the average pupil. If it is not possible to place him in a special class for gifted, perhaps it would be good to move him up some classes or give him supplementary study in his current class.
Hopefully you, your doctor and your son's teacher(s) can discuss this to give the best chances for your son.
But don't forget... he has right of veto. :-)
Good Luck!
UN
DATE: 01/18/00
What relationship exists between IQ and heredity?
L.S.
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Many different types of experiments have been made showing that the heritage is of great importance. Actually, it is possible to make a numerical estimate of the distribution between heritage and environment (for the current Western world):
80% of the factors influencing intelligence are hereditary.
20% of the factors influencing intelligence are environmental.
That is, the heritage is four times as important as the environment.
UN
DATE: 01/20/00
I was wondering if you can help me to locate or give me some direction in finding out some IQ scores for famous people of our time starting with IQ's of 160 and up. It's to be used at a school so I'm trying to get two of each e.g. 160,170,180,etc. with recognizable names. Any idea as to where I can get this info??
I would appreciate all of your help ... I tried to Email Mensa but they have not responded as of yet.
Thanking you in advance for all your co-operation in this matter.
AdF
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I have not seen a compilation with the IQs for famous people living today, but it should not be difficult to put at least two names for each 10 points level.
The following are scores according to the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale for Adults (Within 1st parenthesis; score if not on a 10 points level):
IQ 140
Madonna (Singer)
Jean M. Auel (Author)
Geena Davis (Actress)
Hillary Clinton (President wife)
IQ 150
Paul Hogan (153) (Australian Actor)
Sharon Stone (154; Cattell) (Actress)
Carol Vorderman (154; Cattell?) (TV presenter)
Sir Clive Sinclair (159) (Inventor)
IQ 160
Bill Gates* (CEO, Microsoft)
Jill St. John (162; Cattell?) (Actress)
Paul Allen (160+, Microsoft cofounder)
Stephen W. Hawking (160+) (Physicist)
*= According to Forbes Magazine his SAT scores (1590) equates to an IQ of 170 on the WAIS-III. However, the figure above is what I have received from most sources. (Paul Allen scored a perfect 1600)
IQ 170
Andrew J. Wiles (Mathematician; solved Fermat's Last Theorem)
Judith Polgar (Formula based; Female World Champion in Chess)
Norman Schwarzkopf (General; Supreme Commander at "Desert Storm")
IQ 180
James Woods (Actor)
John H. Sununu (Chief of Staff for President Bush)
Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister)
Marilyn Vos Savant (186) (Author)
Bobby Fischer (187) (Former World Champion in Chess)
IQ 190
Philip Emeagwali (Extrapolated; Nigerian Mathematician)
IQ 200
Kim Ung-Yong (S. Korea; Showed similar child capabilities as J.S. Mill)
Hope this will do!
UN
DATE: 02/01/00
1) The thing which made a man from a primate?
2) Who made a greatest impact on all people of the Earth during last milennium (about 1000-year period)?
Vic
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Your two questions are not within the ordinary flow. But I will make a try to answer them.
1) As far as we know man is the only being who knows, that his own life has a beginning and that death is an inevitable end.
He is probably also alone in beeing conscious about his own self in relation to somebody else - friend, enemy or stranger.
A primate can, for example, know, but only a man knows that he knows.
2) Actually, I think it would be easier to answer what phenomenon has had the greatest impact on mankind during the latest 1000 years. I would then say, without doubt: The Industrial Revolution.
So fundamental was this revolution that it is often compared with the transition to farming and stock-farming which began several thousand years before the birth of Christ.
One of the absolute frontal figures during this time was the brilliant British physicist and inventor James Watt (Father of the Steam-Engine). One can say that he stands as a symbol for this huge change in the conditions for mankind.
UN
DATE: 02/12/00
A friend recently told me that Bill Clinton's IQ was high 170's. I have looked and can't find any reference to back up or counter this statement. Any idea if this is accurate?
JL
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Unfortunately, I can't verify your friend's mentioned figure for Clinton (John McLaughlin on "The McLaughlin Group" have said that Bill Clinton probably has an IQ in the 160 range)
But according to the History professor William Leuchtenburg of the University of North Carolina, the four most intelligent U.S. presidents during the 20th century are Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, and the current president William J. Clinton - Remember that Clinton is a Rhode's scholar making him certifiably brainy.
UN
(A Web site visitor has later informed me that Bill Clinton's SAT scores equate to an IQ of 135 on a test like the WAIS-III, i.e. 137 on the Stanford-Binet)
DATE: 03/05/00
What was funny about Sofia Kovalevskaya's brain?
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I don't know if something was funny with Sofia's brain. But a remarkable fact about her - in spite of beeing one of the greatest female mathematicians ever - was that she had big problems with multiplying! Perhaps a little consolation for those sweating over remembering the multiplication table before the teacher. :-)
UN
DATE: 03/11/00
When is my IQ as highest ?
I´ve read quite alot on your page now and it is really interesting. One thing make me wonder though. One time you answer that the IQ keep rising until around 17. Then you say that a 10-year old who scored above 220 would have 180 as adult.
Please explain
JN
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Your intelligence quotient should be as highest around 17-25, but the exact age depend on your intelligence.(!)
(The higher your intelligence, the later you will reach your peak.)
I can understand that you feel confused about the lower score for the adult. But this is caused by the different measuring methods used. If we consider your sample person, we would see that as a 10 year old he/she typically has had an extremely accelerated intellectual development with an IQ at this age of about 155 - if scoring at a best IQ of 180 as an adult (using absolute adult measuring with SD16 in both cases).
UN
DATE: 03/26/00
What exactly is a bell curve (definition please) and what does it measure?
RS
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Like many other human qualities, intelligence is 'normally' distributed. I.e. if we put people into 'intelligence' classes according to how bright they are, there will be a large number near the average. These will tail off in the typical Gaussian or Bell curve (called so, because of its curved flaring shape), as people do for height or weight or any other human quality.
The Bell curve was derived from the theory of errors. It is the kind of curve produced by examining the variations of measurements of entities affected by a large number of random variables. The curve is in many cases an assumption; that we will assume a normal distribution (Bell curve) until evidence to the contrary is found.
With any complicated entity like a human being there are more things that can render it imperfect than there are things that can improve it.
The Normal Distribution Function below, gives the tail area within the interval [0,z], which can be expressed as a percentile (part of the area to the right of the center of the Bell curve). Erf is often called the Error Function.
UN
DATE: 04/02/00
What is Wittgensteins notion of a language game and does it help in clarifying philosophical problems?
RS
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According to Wittgenstein we must study the language in concrete situations, in imaginary "language games". We can, for example, compare a language game with chess. It has certain rules we must follow, and there are certain restrictions we must observe. The fundamental thesis in his theory, is that a word's meaning is its usage. The classical philosophical problems are without exception apparent problems, he says. They have arised through violations against the rules of the everyday language. When we realize that, we will be released from the headache, as a consequence of the philosophy and what the philosophers, so to speak, themselves have caused.
A difficulty with his theory, according to Bertrand Russell and others, is that W. seems to promote the everyday language to an arbitrator in every dispute; as if the ordinary language has some sort of hidden intelligence. It seems that even the language itself can suffer from an inner obscurity. In any case, they say, it is risky to treat it as the Good's idea.
UN
DATE: 04/17/00
What month have the most geniuses been born?
SK
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According to a recent investigation the most geniuses have been born in Mars and April. So it seems to be best to be born in the springtime. :-)
(The same investigation states that the fewest geniuses are born in August and September)
UN
DATE: 04/29/00
According to the Flynn effect the IQ is rising with about 3 points per decade, what is your view on that?
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Firstly, I believe it is quite safe to state that the intelligence itself has not increased steadily with a certain amount since ancient times, at least not with the proposed Flynn factor. Otherwise, for example, the ancient Greek philosophers would have been retarded (Yet many people today have difficulties with understanding their elegant writings!).
Secondly, I haven't seen any convincing proof that the intelligence itself is rising or if only the distribution of it changes. Moreover, how can we know if an increase in IQ points can be related to a real increase in intelligence and not a change in its expressions - i.e. how intelligence manifest itself. For example, a person living in the Stone-Age would be far better at hunting, on his own terms, than say, a programmer today. Even if the programmer was trained as the Stone-Age man, he would not have the hunting "in the blood". But I would like to see the Stone-Age man in front of a computer. :-))
In other words, man adapt himself for the society he is living in. As our society in many ways is more advanced than our great-grand-parents' we are also able to solve certain (=related) tasks quicker and easier than they would have done. A striking example is the psychologist's Raven Progressive Matrices. They are considered to primarily measure our ability to think logically (a very fundamental quality when judging the level of intelligence). But many phenomenon today resemble them in a visual-spatial sense; video-, computer games, etc. (Non-existent when our great-grand-parents were young). Generally faster transportation systems may also have enhanced our quickness in visual space coordination, and so on. That is, our generation's cognitive abilities are trained in the "right" direction.
To sum up, I believe the Flynn effect is more a criticism of how IQ tests are designed, than actually measuring an increase in real IQ. IQ tests can only claim to be valid in the societies, where they are defined. This makes it - as I see it - meaningless, and also misleading, to compare results from different epochs.
I wonder if your wonder rather should be answered by a meta-psychologist!
UN
DATE: 05/05/00
What is nothing ' cause if nothing is nothing that does make it something it's nothing , so what it nothing?
SM
----
If the meaning of Nothing is Nothing, it clearly has something, namely a meaning.
UN
DATE: 05/19/00
I have an I.Q. rated at 166 and also have a great deal of what one might call "insight." I was curious if high intellegence has been connected to extra-sensory perception, and if so where can I find the proper information online?
TS
----
If extrasensory perception (ESP) at all exists is - not surprisingly - still under discussion. As "Insight" is explained as a deeper understanding of underlying causes or connections based on conscious or unconscious thought processes, I think there is no reason to explain it with ESP (or some other obscure concept) which is in need of much more explanation than "Insight" is.
I don't know of any resources dealing with a possible dependence between ESP and intelligence (I doubt that there is such a connection). However, some High IQ societies accept scores on the Test for Extrasensory Perception (raw score). They have placed the qualifying scores on the levels displayed in the table below.
Test for ESP (raw) | Stanford-Binet IQ |
| 1 | 141 |
| 2 | 150 |
| 3 | 196 |
| (4) | (210) |
UN
DATE: 05/26/00
My psychologist valued my IQ by Graphology, not on a test. He said I'm in the 138/140 range and described my intelligence under various aspects such as memory, retention, easily learning, etc. My question is: Is it valid to give somebody a IQ score, based on the way he writes. Is it accurate?
LZ
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It is hard to believe that someone can estimate IQs only after judging the person's hand-writing. Nevertheless, I can find it probable that it is possible to say if he/she is extraordinary intelligent or not.It is interesting to compare the signatures (see below) between a great genius such as G.W. von Leibniz and a typical average person such as a certain Tom Smith. Where Leibniz's signature shows a proof of elegance, and efficient and fast pen wielding, so is Smith's merely awkward and unrhythmic. Striking is also the harmony in Leibniz's signature, even from a geometrical point of view (On both sides of a thought horizontal center line in the middle of the signature, you can create two symmetrical asymptotic curves!).
UN
DATE: 06/23/00
What were Albert Einstein's, John F. Kennedy's and Adolf Hitler's IQs?
TM
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160+, 117 and 141 (Terman) respectively.
UN
DATE: 07/09/00
I am a physicist with a great respect for the late Richard Feynman, the nobel lareaute who has been credited with his developments in particle physics. Obviously, he is an extremely intelligent person. When asked by Mensa if he would like to join, he replied in mockery that he did not have a high enough IQ to join.
What really is the significance of what an IQ test tests? Counting backwards, recognizing shapes, where is creativity and imagination (->01/15/00)? I believe that people can be classified into low, average, and high intelligence, but it definitely isn't quantifiable with discrete integers (->03/20/99).
KA
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Yes, I am sure that most of us regard Richard Feynman as a genius. I don't know under which circumstances he took the test, but I have heard that he didn't score higher than 127 on the Stanford-Binet (132 is required for membership in Mensa).
I think it is clear that the power of the human brain can't be shown through an IQ score alone. Some have even (mentally) changed the abbreviation IQ to PSQ (i.e. Puzzle Solving Quotient), as this seems what IQ tests mostly measures.
The correlation between the capacity of the human brain and the intelligence quotient can be very varying. Remember that an IQ test should be solved within a limited time. If people uses "unlimited" time on an IQ test - turning it more into a power test - they will normally score 20-30 points higher.
If a person has a "slow" brain but enhanced brain capacity the results that person produce will also be reflecting this. (as is probably the case for Feynman)
UN
DATE: 07/22/00
Can certain abilities be expected from persons with high IQs, aside from being able to answer test questions correctly?
JF
----
It is very difficult to generalise about the type of characteristics people have at different levels of intelligence. The following attempt to do so, an excerpt from Choice Mathematics (book one) by Kevin of the Teachers, is certainly quite provocative:
There appears to be a hierarchy of abilities and traits in those of high intelligence as follows, suggesting an order for teaching intelligence.
IQ (Adult SD = 16) | Attributes |
| 145 | Below this level and often above is everywhere found a slavery to conditioning’ (Napoleon) |
| 150 | Trivial formalisation (Swift, Sinclair) |
| 160 | Interest in logic; paranoia; minor creation; recognises good work; art; music (Franklin, Gates) |
| 165 | Formalisation; beginnings of self confidence; less hiding (Darwin, Einstein) |
| 175 | Knows intelligent (and right!) (Kant, Wiles) |
| 180 | New creation (Descartes, Michelangelo) |
| 185 | High natural neuro-kinesthetic control; high curiosity drive; anti trivia; in a hurry (Fischer) |
| 190 | (Seemingly) supernatural/extrasensory abilities (Newton, Emeagwali) |
| 200- | Consciousness beeing far ahead of one's time; Prophecy minded; Visionary (da Vinci, Swedenborg) |
UN
DATE: 08/12/00
What are George W. Bush's and Al Gore's IQs?
WH
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119 and 134 (Stanford-Binet) respectively.
UN
DATE: 09/02/00
Is it possible to travel faster than the speed of light?
TE
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I think that most of us believe it is not possible, as this seems to violate Einstein's theories of relativity, particulary the special relativity. However, in general relativity one must be somewhat more precise; nothing can travel locally faster than the speed of light.
For example, the physicist Miguel Alcubierre has showed by example that by distorting the local space-time metric in the region of a spaceship in a certain prescribed way, it would be possible to achieve motion faster than the speed of light as seen by observers outside the disturbed region, without violating the local velocity-of-light constraint within the region.
Furthermore, the Alcubierre solution (Compare Star-Trek's Warp Drive) shows that the proper acceleration along the spaceships's path would be zero and the spaceship would suffer no time dilation, features presumably attractive in interstellar travel.
UN
DATE: 09/20/00
Could you tell me why some apparently clever philosophers like Descartes... couldn't accept others arguments when it was objectively clear that his arguments were sometimes biased to his own upbringing... (like his view on animals as automata)
MW
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One must remember that Descartes' whole philosophy is imbued by a general scepticism. He considered animals as soulless automata as it could not be proved that they have any thoughts (which according to him, is a prerequisite for the soul), as they did not speak. (i.e. If you speak, then you must have thoughts)
Descartes meant that even man to a large extent is an automat, but not soulless as the animals. From his mechanical belief (surely partly due to his mathematical upbringing) followed that all material processes show a mechanical and deterministic behaviour.
In Descartes' own writings his system appears as an intense personal concern, and he was often bounded emotionally to his own standpoints. If someone attacked his arguments he could be vehement and sarcastic, and refuse to agree with any of the other person's viewpoints.
In fact, I think that his emotions sometimes blinded his intellect.
UN
Can you solve Einstein's riddle about the five houses and who owns the fish?
There are 5 houses in 5 different colors. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same beverage.
Who owns the fish?
Hints:
The Brit lives in the red house.
The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
The Dane drinks tea.
The green house is on the left of the white house.
The green house's owner drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
The man living in the center house drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
The man who keeps the horse lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
The German smokes Prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.
Einstein said that 98% of the world could not solve this riddle.
RB
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At a first glance, this riddle seems impossible to solve as "fish" is only mentioned in the question.
But if one make a 5x5 grid based on the information in the riddle, where each row represents a new house and fill in the empty cells on each row with the facts followed through a process of elimination, this will be the result:
| House | Nationality | Drinks | Smokes | Owns |
| Yellow | Norwegian | Water | Dunhill | Cats |
| Blue | Dane | Tea | Blends | Horse |
| Red | Brit | Milk | Paul Mall | Birds |
| Green | German | Coffee | Prince | ? |
| White | Swede | Beer | Bluemasters | Dogs |
Now, it is easy to see that the question mark must be replaced with "Fish" - as someone must own it - and the German is the only one that is left.
UN
I noticed IQ scores for recent U.S. presidents on your site. Do you know of anyone who has compiled a list of estimated/recorded IQs for past presidents?
W.W.
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No, I don't. I think the only compilation you will se is the one that I have constructed below - partly with estimates from Cox's study.
The estimates are on the Terman (Deviation IQs), for some of the U.S. Presidents with periods as President before 1900. The rest are recorded scores for Presidents on the Stanford-Binet.
| U.S. President | Presidency | IQ |
| George Washington | 1789-1797 | 135 |
| John Adams | 1797-1801 | 146 |
| Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | 150 |
| James Madison | 1809-1817 | 150 |
| John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | 159 |
| Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | 139 |
| Abraham Lincoln | 1861-1865 | 143 |
| Andrew Johnson | 1865-1869 | 153 |
| Ulysses S. Grant | 1869-1877 | 128 |
| John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | 119 |
| Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | 143 |
| William J. Clinton | 1993-2001 | 137 |
| George W. Bush | 2001- | 119 |
UN