There’s a world of difference between book smarts and street smarts—between braininess and savvy. The first has its place, but the second is much more useful. Being smart is the ability to logically think things out. Being sharp is the ability to tune into the world, to read situations, and positively connect with others while taking charge of your own life.
What is intelligence?
Intelligence has been defined in many different ways such as your capacity for logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, emotional knowledge, memory, planning, creativity, and problem solving.
Where intelligence comes from is anybody’s guess. Maybe it’s something that’s designed into us, possibly imbedded in our brain through DNA. I’m a believer in the concept of infinite intelligence which is the basis of Napoleon Hill’s masterpiece on human achievement in Think And Grow Rich. If you haven’t read T&GR, here’s the link. If you have read it, go read it again.
Intelligence has long been measured in a quotient called IQ. It’s different from a measure of your ability to control your emotions which is called EQ—a much more difficult thing to measure.
Most average adults have an IQ around 100 on the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale. The MENSA club requires members to be in the top 98 percentile which sets the bar at 132. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the “smartest” person in the world was Marilyn vos Savant, who scored 185. Probably the most intelligent person who ever existed was Leonardo da Vinci who’s been estimated at around 220.
Conversely, mental “retardation” used to be divided into sub-classifications, but these labels are officially obsolete due to political correctness: Borderline Deficiency (IQ 70-80), Moron (IQ 50-69), Imbecile (IQ 20-49) and Idiot (below 20). I’ve dealt with a few in my policing career who rated around 15, and I have my own term for that classification.
So, what about emotional smarts?
I have a great book called The EQ Edge by Steven J. Stein, Ph.D. and Howard E. Book, M.D. I’ll steal their definition of EQ.
Emotional Quotient is the set of skills that enable us to make our way in a complex world—the personal, social and survival aspects of overall intelligence, the elusive common sense and sensitivity that are essential to effective daily functioning. It has to do with the ability to read the political and social environment, and landscape them; to intuitively grasp what others want and need, what strengths and weaknesses are; to remain unruffled by stress; and to be engaging. The kind of person others want to be around and will follow.
Sophisticated mapping techniques in brain research have recently confirmed that many thought processes pass through our emotional centers as they take the psychological journey that converts outside information from infinite intelligence into individual response and action.
God only knows where infinite intelligence comes from.
Kill Zoners — Have you ever taken an IQ test? Do you think they have any merit? And what about EQ? What’s your take on that concept?
I have taken an IQ test and scored over 130. I come from a family of IQs of around 160. When my son was 8, he did very poorly in school but I knew he was gifted – he was just bored. So I had him IQ tested and he was 132.
I don’t know how you measure Emotional IQ, but I (humbly) think I would score very well on a test like that. It has served me well in my career to be able to relate to all kinds of people.
Good morning, Jane. Question – Do you think that IQ is genetically related, both high and low scores? I can think of one family in my home town who were notorious for low intelligence (it might have been in-breeding). As for measuring EQ, as far as I know there is no set scoring system like there is with the various IQ tests on the market. In the police force, we were given aptitute tests that indicated which department we were best suited for. For detectives, they looked at interpersonal skills along with curiosity and observation. The high-IQ ones went to traffic enforcement 😉
I don’t know – is it genetic? Probably partly. I read to my kids a lot when they were little and I always spoke to them like they were adults.
Then there’s Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences.” I remember when this was making the rounds years ago.
Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist.
My former son-in-law, with his PhD in nuclear physics refuted these. Intelligence meant people with a lot of formal education. Not someone who could look at a truckload of boxes and immediately know how they would have to be configured to fit in the allocated warehouse space.
Dr. Ex-SIL would have hated one of my college exams. It was on spatial orientation. Pretty simple. These objects are all moving as indicated. What is the correct instruction to prevent them from touching?
Yes, this was a test from airplane school. When everyone was done, the instructor had everyone stand up. He gave the answer for the first question. If you got it right, stay standing. Otherwise sit down. About a third of the room sat.
“Congratulations. Those were 737s. You caused a mid air collision and killed 300 people. Now go home to your families.”
Book smarts doesn’t always win.
Great comment, Alan. Agreed. Book smarts don’t always pay off.
I;ve never heard of Gardner’s, Terry, so I Googled it. https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.html I’ll have a better look at it in a bit and run it by my artificially intelligent friend Chat. Thanks!
Interesting stuff here, Garry.
I’ve never taken an IQ test (that I can remember, anyway!)…and EQ?
Emotional Quotient is the set of skills that enable us to make our way in a complex world…. That’s a big F on my report card. I don’t think I can emotionally fight my way out of a paper bag, let alone “this complex world”.
Funny fact: my esteemed bro has a PhD in applied mathematics. Lots and lots of schooling went into that feat. And he’s had a great career . . . in something I don’t understand and is kind of clandestine.
But, the dear boy can’t compose a grocery list. 🙂
Just sayin’…
Happy Thursday, all!
And Happy Thursday to you, Deb. I remember a guy in high school who was extremely bright on the academic scale but couldn’t express himself verbally with any sort of common sense. Not sure what became of him – possibly went into politics 🙂
Ba-ba-boom!
🙂
Thanks for an interesting post, Garry. These observations help writers build interesting characters.
I’ve known people who were geniuses, scoring 160 or higher on the Stanford-Binet. They developed radar before World War II, worked at high levels on the Manhattan Project, put satellites into orbit, and patented many inventions. Two were scientists whose personal lives suffered b/c they lived in a theoretical world and couldn’t make the transition into the real one.
I’ve known others who had little or no formal education but knew how to solve problems and get things done.
The world needs all kinds of intelligence. Unfortunately SQ (stupidity quotient) seems to overrule the others.
Hi Debbie. SQ. I like that. All one has to do is read the news headlines for a rating.
God only knows where infinite intelligence comes from.
You answered your own question.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I know we’re not supposed to touch religion around here, Jim, but I couldn’t resist that one.
Interesting blog as usual, Garry. I’ve know some very smart people who were “emotionally retarded.” They lacked empathy and did not understand how other people felt. They could be difficult to deal with.
I took an IQ test when I was in school, but don’t remember the IQ score.
Good point about the lack of empathy, Elaine. BTW, I once took an Alzheimers test and don’t remember the score. 🙂
Yes, I’ve taken a few IQ tests. My friend and Statistics prof Bob Jones was the head of USC’s Testing Bureau. We had many great conversations on the subject. He often said, “IQ correlates positively with everything*.” The good-looking ditzy young woman as typical was largely a myth. If she looked good, odds were, she was also above average in intelligence.
* the exception: number of hours studied.
Graduate Record Exams used to be translatable to IQ scores, knowing that GRE scores were based on an average of 500 with a standard deviation (“sigma”) of 100; IQ scores (StanfordBinet) had a national average of 100, with a sigma of 16. Average IQ for college undergrads was a mere 107, for grad students, 115. In 2011, the ETS, administrators of the GRE, changed their scoring system. Mensa no longer accepts GRE scores for admission. Some schools have dropped the GRE from graduate admission requirements for political correctness.
Extremely high IQ’s are not measurable with standard IQ tests. One should be skeptical of anything beyond 160.
IQ is probably mostly related to the frontal cortex, seat of the intellect and the conscious mind. EQ is probably related to the limbic system, the region of emotional processes and intuition.
A woman once told us in a Mensa newsletter how she was cooking french fries or somesuch for a picnic. On the spur of the moment, she decided to cook some eggs, too, and dropped a raw egg into the hot oil. Still in the shell. The result was an exploding egg, with hot oil going everywhere, the stove, the walls, even the ceiling. The only place it did not go was the woman, who somehow escaped being burned. Sic transit gloria Mensae.
Great comment filled with EQ observations. I always enjoy your input, JGA. I’m far from a genius score, but I instinctively know that water and oil won’t mix. Especially when hot. Enjoy your day, my learned friend!
And, apparently eggs, too.
Thank you, Sir!
I won’t go into my IQ other than so say it is above normal. The things that intertwine with IQ are common sense (critical thinking) and if you don’t have that, you can be totally off the charts and still not be able to tie your shoes. Then there is the EQ which helps translate that intelligence into something that is usable.
As to inherited–it would be a hit and miss thing. Those that do well in tests usually learn from their family and is learned.