The Science of Intelligence
Intelligence is typically measured by a test known as “Intelligence Quotient” or IQ which measures a person’s cognitive ability in relation to the general populace. Those who score between 0 and 69 are considered to have some degree of mental retardation. An IQ test can follow you your whole life. However, a person’s IQ is not the full story. An IQ test can measure logic and spatial awareness but does not measure interpersonal skills. Even people considered intelligent do things that are unhelathy, unsafe or just plain dumb. Thomas Edison, who has been credited with many of the inventions that make our modern day possible, made a serious mistake when trying to convince the world that his AC (alternating current) electricity was superior to Nikola Tesla’s DC (direct current) electricity. Edison began electrocuting animals, including an elephant from the Luna Park Zoo on Coney Island, to prove that AC was better than DC. Edison is considered intelligent because of his 145 IQ and contributions to technological advancement which include the phonograph, mechanical vote recorder and a battery for an electric car. But IQ is not the only indicator, it may surprise you to know that pop singer Madonna’s IQ has been measured at 140, only 5 points below Edison.
Academic achievement has often been considered an indication of intelligence. If you have an advanced degree you must be intelligent right? College can be hard and anyone with the perseverance to attain a master’s degree or doctorate must be intelligent. If we follow this logic then people without advanced degrees are not intelligent. But consider that Peter Jennings, Quentin Tarantino, and Peter Jackson, all successful men, are high school dropouts. Thomas Edison, Bill Gates and Nobel laureate William Falkner are all successful people who did not earn a college degree. There are times when I have been misjudged because of my lack of a college degree. It would probably be in bad taste to bring up IQ in a job interview however. Society as a whole functions by categorizing what we know. Therefore societal standards say that advanced degrees = intelligence.
Intelligence does not always equal rational. It is often the people we consider the most intelligent who make what we would consider the stupidest mistakes. There are several reasons why this happens. The first is arrogance or over-confidence. I imagine that it would be difficult not to become prideful knowing that you are smarter than everyone in the room or in your particular community. Especially when it seems that up to that point you have not made a single “wrong” decision. Included in this would be decisions that are made because “I’ll never get caught.” Examples of this include Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs, Andrew Wakefield’s claim that vaccines caused autism, and of course Thomas Edison’s animal electrocutions.
There is a stereotype among people considered geniuses. It usually is explained as the person being “eccentric” or simply “absent-minded.” Sometimes individuals we see as intelligent in one area have serious deficits in others. What is considered eccentric can be a lack of social skills or form of obsessive compulsiveness. I have a friend that had her master’s degree in psychology before she was 22. She is excellent at her job as a school psychologist but her self-awareness and social skills can sometimes be lacking. She once invited three men, all of whom she was casually dating, to help her paint her newly purchased condo. None of the men knew about each other and she truly didn’t see any problem in the three of them being in the same place at the same time. She had not promised exclusivity with any of them, but most people would see that situation as a disaster waiting to happen. I have another friend who at the age of 30 is currently working on his doctorate in the history of Mormon cinema. Prior to this he had earned a baccalaureate degree and two master’s degrees. The first degree was in Linguistics, the first master’s in Library Sciences, and the second master’s in Hebrew. He is perpetually in school and enjoys learning. However, get him into a social situation and he will often stare blankly at people who confuse him because he is oblivious to social cues. Both of these friends are what I would consider intelligent in the classic definition meaning they have a lot of knowledge. But does it need to be a specific kind of knowledge for it to be considered intelligence?
As I prepared to write this, I asked several of my friends if they would be willing to share their IQ scores with me. I didn’t receive any responses. I took four different IQ tests just to see what they said. None of the scores were the same. My scores ranged from 128 all the way to 144. Is this an accurate measure of my intelligence? Maybe, but then again if we look at academic achievement then no. My first attempt at college when I was 18 was awful, which is why at the age of 32 I am now starting over in college. I think there is not a standardized test that can tell you if someone is intelligent. I think it is a combination of book smarts, street smarts, people smarts and probably a couple of others as well. There is no definitive way to classify someone as intelligent which is why we continue to rely on IQ tests and extrinsic measures of success.
Academic achievement has often been considered an indication of intelligence. If you have an advanced degree you must be intelligent right? College can be hard and anyone with the perseverance to attain a master’s degree or doctorate must be intelligent. If we follow this logic then people without advanced degrees are not intelligent. But consider that Peter Jennings, Quentin Tarantino, and Peter Jackson, all successful men, are high school dropouts. Thomas Edison, Bill Gates and Nobel laureate William Falkner are all successful people who did not earn a college degree. There are times when I have been misjudged because of my lack of a college degree. It would probably be in bad taste to bring up IQ in a job interview however. Society as a whole functions by categorizing what we know. Therefore societal standards say that advanced degrees = intelligence.
Intelligence does not always equal rational. It is often the people we consider the most intelligent who make what we would consider the stupidest mistakes. There are several reasons why this happens. The first is arrogance or over-confidence. I imagine that it would be difficult not to become prideful knowing that you are smarter than everyone in the room or in your particular community. Especially when it seems that up to that point you have not made a single “wrong” decision. Included in this would be decisions that are made because “I’ll never get caught.” Examples of this include Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs, Andrew Wakefield’s claim that vaccines caused autism, and of course Thomas Edison’s animal electrocutions.
There is a stereotype among people considered geniuses. It usually is explained as the person being “eccentric” or simply “absent-minded.” Sometimes individuals we see as intelligent in one area have serious deficits in others. What is considered eccentric can be a lack of social skills or form of obsessive compulsiveness. I have a friend that had her master’s degree in psychology before she was 22. She is excellent at her job as a school psychologist but her self-awareness and social skills can sometimes be lacking. She once invited three men, all of whom she was casually dating, to help her paint her newly purchased condo. None of the men knew about each other and she truly didn’t see any problem in the three of them being in the same place at the same time. She had not promised exclusivity with any of them, but most people would see that situation as a disaster waiting to happen. I have another friend who at the age of 30 is currently working on his doctorate in the history of Mormon cinema. Prior to this he had earned a baccalaureate degree and two master’s degrees. The first degree was in Linguistics, the first master’s in Library Sciences, and the second master’s in Hebrew. He is perpetually in school and enjoys learning. However, get him into a social situation and he will often stare blankly at people who confuse him because he is oblivious to social cues. Both of these friends are what I would consider intelligent in the classic definition meaning they have a lot of knowledge. But does it need to be a specific kind of knowledge for it to be considered intelligence?
As I prepared to write this, I asked several of my friends if they would be willing to share their IQ scores with me. I didn’t receive any responses. I took four different IQ tests just to see what they said. None of the scores were the same. My scores ranged from 128 all the way to 144. Is this an accurate measure of my intelligence? Maybe, but then again if we look at academic achievement then no. My first attempt at college when I was 18 was awful, which is why at the age of 32 I am now starting over in college. I think there is not a standardized test that can tell you if someone is intelligent. I think it is a combination of book smarts, street smarts, people smarts and probably a couple of others as well. There is no definitive way to classify someone as intelligent which is why we continue to rely on IQ tests and extrinsic measures of success.