Accumulating Intelligence--whatever that is....

Intelligence, a term used for a measurement done by standardized tests to allow for a comparison to be made from one person to another, but is this not a subjective thought on the ability to acquire if not apply our knowledge?  How is it that we may take a specific test at any one particular moment with the intentions of recalling information that we currently know or will know?  What about all the variables that affect how this test is taken like sleep, hunger, or age? Am I more of a genius in my younger years because my mind has yet to be programmed by society or is it more intelligent from this experience as an adult?

I understand this is a bit deep thinking, but my minorly competitive side produced this questions as I reviewed the text for one of my college classes wondering what makes Tom, Dick, and Harry more intellectual in comparison to me.

I did a small bit of research, as I am intelligent enough to know where to find information that I may not know yet, and found that the first IQ test (Intelligence Quotient Test) was developed by Alfred Binet, a psychologist who was asked by the French government to produce a way to identify which children needed more assistance in the classroom.  The test was soon evolved in the United States in 1916 by Lewis Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University, who progressed into an actual calculation for IQ, the quotient, taking into consideration mental age and chronological age.  Now keep in mind that this test or tests has been revised multiple times, which still conveys the question 'What makes someone else more intelligent than me?' (Cherry).

My curiosity took me to different lists on the Internet to see who thought who was intelligent and why.  What troubles me about these lists is that with the evolution of the IQ test, what is one IQ score compared to another? Take for instance Michelangelo who is listed to have an IQ score of 177 compared to Terrence Tao's 230 score.  Terrence Tao is 39 years old and Michelangelo is, well deceased, but they did not take the same test so are these scores truly comparable? No, as from one era to another have different tests, which still defeats any resolution to a proper comparison.

To see what initially pops up in a search for  intellectual people or who society deems 'the most intellectual,' I randomly chose some websites for comparison as who society feels inferior towards.  A couple lists I checked with historical names listed Michelangelo, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, but oddly only one listed Albert Einstein.  Now many people know the name Albert Einstein, so it was a bit of a surprise that he was only listed once.  I also pulled up a couple more current lists showing common intellects such as Garry Kasparov, Rick Rosner, Kim ung-Yong, Christopher Hirata, and Marilyn vos Savant.  Another analyzed concept was that Paul Gardner Allen was on one of the list, but his co-founder for Microsoft, Bill Gates, was not listed.  In my opinion, I would consider Bill Gates worthy of the listing as I feel he is a very intellectual man even though it appears a majority vote from society begs to differ.

With all this 'cute' information, I do notice that many of these people had distinct focal points on their education.  It made me think of Olympic athletes who spend hours a day working to perfect one physical talent whereas these others are doing it with their minds, yet which one is more intellectual? Both have specific things they focus on.

I could sit here and dwell on the concept that could take a 'train of thought' into common sense and an inferiority complex, but I do not think I will ever find a substantial concrete answer that will not amount to the fact that IQ is just a measurement and intellect is subjective.  So then why the insecurity?  Big words?  Long  sentences?  A stupid number of measurement for bragging rights?  I may not be a 'genius' or even a prodigy of sort, but I will admit to being an open-minded intellectual towards education with the willingness of progression.  [LoL- Did ya catch all that?] I guess with my own insecurity on intelligence, I can only take it as a compliment when someone feels inferior to me as should another person whom I feel inferior towards.  Whether you consider yourself 'smart' or 'dumb' the knowledge you have may not necessarily be the same as the person next to you with the same experience, but it does mean that you both have the opportunity to learn from one another and obtain more information.  Intellect--the ability and knowledge to find more...




Sources:

13 Most Intelligent People In The History Of The World. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2015, from Financesonline.com: http://financesonline.com/13-most-intelligent-people-in-the-history-of-the-world/

Cherry, D. (n.d.). History of Intelligence Testing: The History and Development of Modern IQ Testing. Retrieved January 4, 2015, from About Education: http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologicaltesting/a/int-history.htm

DNA. (2014, January 21). 10 Most Intelligent Humans To Ever Exist. Retrieved January 4, 2015, from TIP News: Digital News Aggregate: http://topinfopost.com/2014/01/21/10-most-intelligent-humans-to-ever-exist

Said, S. (2013, February 6). The Top 10 Most Intelligent People in the World. Retrieved January 5, 2015, from TheRichest: http://www.therichest.com/business/the-top-10-most-intelligent-people-in-the-world/

Salman, S. (n.d.). Top 10 Most Intelligent People Of The World. Retrieved January 5, 2015, from Wonderslist: http://www.wonderslist.com/10-most-intelligent-people/