4 ms·
I think most people would assume a man of his accomplishments would certainly be more than "not much smarter" than alot of people today are. Einstein is common
by DabAsteroid 18y ago
I think most people would assume a man of his accomplishments would certainly be more than "not much smarter" than alot of people today are.
Einstein is commonly claimed to have had a +4 sigma g-strength (IQ of 160, on typical scales). Even assuming a normal curve, rather than the more-popularly-believed fat-tails curve, that would leave millions of people today with higher g-strengths than Einstein had.
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Arthur Jensen writes:
Creativity and genius are unrelated to g except that a person's level of g acts as a threshold variable below which socially significant forms of creativity are highly improbable. This g threshold is probably at least one standard deviation above the mean level of g in the general population. Besides the traits that Galton though necessary for "eminence" (viz., high ability, zeal, and persistence), genius implies outstanding creativity as well. Thouhj such exceptional creativity is conspicuously lacking in the vast majority of people who have a high IQ, it is probably impossible to find any creative geniuses with low IQ's. In other words, high ability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the emergence of socially siginificant creativity. Genius itself should not be confused with merely high IQ, which is what we generally mean by the term "gifted" (which also applies to special talents such as music and art). True creativity involves more than just high ability. It is still uncertain what this is, but the most interesting theory I have seen spelled out in detail is Eysenck's. He hypothesizes that the essential personality factor in creative genius is what he terms trait psychoticism, which has a genetic basis and is explainanble in part in terms of brain chemistry and physiology. (The g Factor. Ch14, The g Nexus. pp577-578.)
This is Eysenck's book:
http://www.google.com/search?q=eysenck+genius http://www.google.com/search?q=eysenck+genius
- known 18y agoIQ != EQ
- 13ren 18y agoGreat comment! Can persistent effort increase intelligence? http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-sm...
- DabAsteroid 18y agoGreat comment! Thank you. Can persistent effort increase intelligence? No. Why do you ask?
- 13ren 18y agoAre you being sarcastic? Have a look at the link provided if you are not. EDIT oh, I see: you thought I was asking you a question, but my question was an introduction to the linked article.
- orib 18y agoThe article confuses work ethic and intelligence and ability. I think that although there's overlap, they're quite different things. And using grades as an intelligence indicator is horribly flawed.
- 13ren 18y agoDo you know of evidence that intelligence is not affected by effort?
- DabAsteroid 18y agohttp://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=315938 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=315938
- 13ren 18y agoThose references don't seem to address my question about effort having an effect on intelligence. My question isn't about the heritability of intelligence, but whether effort (that is, training) can enhance one's intelligence. Let me explain with an analogous question: Does athletic training increase athletic ability? In terms of strength, flexibility, aerobic fitness, speed, perception, assessment, reaction times, specific skills, strategy? Do believe that mental exercise has no effect whatsoever on mental ability? That would be contrary to everyday experience, and studies showing that a lack of stimulation (i.e. mental exercise) retards cognitive development. e.g. that the visual system does not develop without stimulus; that the speech centers do not develop unless exposed to speech within the window (closes at around 7yo). EDIT interesting: "Breast feeding makes a huge difference, about 7 IQ points." http://www.amazon.com/Factor-Science-Evolution-Behavior-Intelligence/dp/0275961036 http://www.amazon.com/Factor-Science-Evolution-Behavior-Inte...