Average IQ of professional physicists/mathematicians?

[Tim92G]

Many scientists have never taken IQ tests so there is a lack of statistical data, but what is a realistic estimate? Do you think 135-140 would be the average?

 

[Crake2]

Another discussion of IQ.. You can do a search for "IQ" here, on PF, and you'll find lots of info.

 

[1MileCrash]

I think 100 would be the average.

 

[micromass]

I think 100 would be the average.

Do you really think there are many scientists with IQ less than 100?

 

[1MileCrash]

Do you really think there are many scientists with IQ less than 100?

I was being more facetious than anything.

I think IQ is kind of dumb.

 

[micromass]

I think IQ is kind of dumb.

For sure.

 

[Sentin3l]

I remember hearing somewhere (I have no sources so I may be wrong) that there is little to no correlation between high IQ and academic achievement (besides the obvious: better grades; I'm talking more about awards and national recognition). From what it seems, passion and determination trump all.

 

[1MileCrash]

I remember hearing somewhere (I have no sources so I may be wrong) that there is little to no correlation between high IQ and academic achievement (besides the obvious: better grades; I'm talking more about awards and national recognition). From what it seems, passion and determination trump all.

Bingo

 

[zoobyshoe]

From what it seems, passion and determination trump all.

There's been recent evidence that motivation is a big factor:

A number of studies have found that subjects who are promised monetary rewards for doing well on IQ and other cognitive tests score significantly higher.

http://news.sciencemag.org/2011/04/what-does-iq-really-measure

 

[wukunlin]

If I call myself a physicist the average physicist IQ would plunge

 

[StrayCatalyst]

I'm part of Mensa, where everybody has an IQ of greater than 140 - but there are about as many physicists and mathematicians as any other random sampling of people. IQ is a fairly inaccurate way of determining if a person can solve problems, or has the dedication needed to get through college.

 

[dkotschessaa]

And by that determination and hard study you can learn to think better, and perform better on IQ tests, thus "raising IQ." It isn't set in stone.

 

[Mandelbroth]

Do you really think there are many scientists with IQ less than 100?

There ARE people outside of PF who let crackpots call themselves scientists. There are likely about as many (if not more) crackpots in the world than real scientists. So, by some standards, maybe.

IQ does not determine someone's academic ability or performance. I (apparently) have a high IQ, and I still count on my fingers and toes when I do calculations. Science is, as Sentin31 said, mostly about passion and determination.

 

[krash661]

here's a question, why was the I.Q system established ?

according to wikki,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient

Early history[edit]
The first large-scale mental test may have been the imperial examination system in China. The test, an early form of psychological testing, assessed candidates based on their proficiency in topics such as civil law and fiscal policies.[8] Other early tests of intelligence were made for entertainment rather than analysis.[9] The ancient Chinese game known in the West as the tangram was used to evaluate a person's intelligence, along with the game jiulianhuan or nine linked rings.[9] As one of "the earliest psychological test in the world," the game was used to assess a person's flexibility and creativity of thinking.[9] Modern mental testing began in France in the 19th century. It contributed to separating mental retardation from mental illness and reducing the neglect, torture, and ridicule heaped on both groups.[10]

French psychologist Alfred Binet, together with psychologists Victor Henri and Théodore Simon, after about 15 years of development, published the Binet-Simon test in 1905, which focused on verbal abilities. It was intended to identify mental retardation in school children.[10] The score on the Binet-Simon scale would reveal the child's mental age. For example, a six-year-old child who passed all the tasks usually passed by six-year-olds—but nothing beyond—would have a mental age that exactly matched his chronological age, 6.0. (Fancher, 1985). In Binet's view, there were limitations with the scale and he stressed what he saw as the remarkable diversity of intelligence and the subsequent need to study it using qualitative, as opposed to quantitative, measures (White, 2000). American psychologist Lewis Terman at Stanford University revised the Binet-Simon scale, which resulted in the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (1916). It became the most popular test in the United States for decades.

 

[Evo]

We're getting off topic.