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> other metrics associated with intellectual accomplishment. Like say IQ. Feynman wouldn't have qualified for Mensa, and happily too[0]. Maybe that's a good m

> other metrics associated with intellectual accomplishment. Like say IQ. Feynman wouldn't have qualified for Mensa, and happily too[0]. Maybe that's a good metric. The metric is happy not to be in Mensa, but also has a PhD. Edit: Feynman's IQ was 126 and Mensa wants 132, at least according to Ericsson and Pool in their book Peak. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUcmKDaklY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUcmKDaklY

1812Overture 10y ago
If Feynman's IQ was only 126 then IQ is a totally meaningless metric of intelligence.
- paulpauper 10y ago
  the problem may have been the low ceiling of the test. For certain tests, getting a single question wrong may drop the IQ from 140 (possible maximum) to 135. Verbal questions can also be a challenge if you don't know obscure vocabulary words.
- sgt101 10y ago
  Well, intelligence is a meaningless term as in "playing chess is intelligent" or sitting on a stool and answering questions about arithmetic is intelligent. Don't even get me started on creative or consciousness. Oddly I feel that emotion is well defined as "behavioral modifications generated by reactions to circumstances", which is what John Maynard Smith told me it was. He was an intelligent fella.
- Gargoyle 10y ago
  I've always thought Feynman did poorly on some test in high school for whatever reason and then used that score for the rest of his life as a good story. Feynman was all about the good stories.
petters 10y ago
But also: Feynman received the highest score in the country by a large margin on the notoriously difficult Putnam mathematics competition exam, although he joined the MIT team on short notice and did not prepare for the test. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-the-next-einstein/201112/polymath-physicist-richard-feynmans-low-iq-and-finding-another https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-the-next-einste...

1812Overture 10y ago

If Feynman's IQ was only 126 then IQ is a totally meaningless metric of intelligence.

paulpauper 10y ago
the problem may have been the low ceiling of the test. For certain tests, getting a single question wrong may drop the IQ from 140 (possible maximum) to 135. Verbal questions can also be a challenge if you don't know obscure vocabulary words.
sgt101 10y ago
Well, intelligence is a meaningless term as in "playing chess is intelligent" or sitting on a stool and answering questions about arithmetic is intelligent. Don't even get me started on creative or consciousness. Oddly I feel that emotion is well defined as "behavioral modifications generated by reactions to circumstances", which is what John Maynard Smith told me it was. He was an intelligent fella.
Gargoyle 10y ago
I've always thought Feynman did poorly on some test in high school for whatever reason and then used that score for the rest of his life as a good story. Feynman was all about the good stories.

petters 10y ago

But also: Feynman received the highest score in the country by a large margin on the notoriously difficult Putnam mathematics competition exam, although he joined the MIT team on short notice and did not prepare for the test. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-the-next-einstein/201112/polymath-physicist-richard-feynmans-low-iq-and-finding-another https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-the-next-einste...