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What makes a genius?


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That is Mensa's definition; if you register a score in the top 2% of IQ scores (which, on their scale, means 148 or higher) you qualify for membership as a genius.

 

AFAIR, Mensa does NOT describe its members as either 'Geniuses' or 'Genii'.

 

'Fartown' talked about 'One on every Bus' - statistically that's a fair comment, IMO

 

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is just a number and (AFAIK) it's about as relevant as 'height' (another number.) I can't change my height (other than by surgery.) I can't change my IQ, either. (I suppose I could pretend to do so by joining the Labour party, but that would be fraud and fraud is not an accepted way of changing one's IQ.)

 

My IQ was first measured when I was about to take my 11+. The score was rather high. It's been re-tested (by psychologists) on a number of occasions and it's still rather high.

 

In real terms, what does that mean? - I can tell you: If I take a batch of certain approved tests I get abnormally high results.

 

There are other tests I could take. I could take the 'height' test. If I took that test (and I've taken it on a number of occasions) I would score '176' - because I'm 1.76 metres tall. (My IQ is a bit shorter than that ...I can't change either.)

 

I've met a number of people who are extremely intelligent. I'm well aware that there is no direct correlation between 'IQ' and 'Competence'. Some of the most intelligent people I know wear shoes with Velcro fastenings. - They're not capable of dealing with laces.

 

'Being smart' and 'being competent' are two different things.

 

I 'resigned' from Mensa in 1990. Because I was smart. Thousands didn't (yet they were smart too?)

 

The monthly magazine which induced me to quit had 2 pertinent articles:

 

The first announced an (impressive) 15% increase in annual membership fees.

 

The second was a report by the president, who proudly announced that during the previous year he had travelled the equivalent of one and a half times around the globe attending functions, having a jolly good time and meeting people.

 

Yeah, right! Using my membership money! (Damascene moment: "IF I'm smart enough to be a member of Mensa (and I'm waaaaay higher than the 98th percentile) why am I so stupid as to pay this bloke to go on global holidays at my expense?"

 

How could I possibly justify paying a 15% increase in annual membership dues?

 

I declined to pay. As Media Markt put it: "Ich bin nicht blöd!"

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Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is just a number and (AFAIK) it's about as relevant as 'height' (another number.)

 

 

On that, we are whole-heartedly in agreement. I don't believe it even shows intelligence; merely an aptitude for doing well in IQ tests. I knew a chap with an IQ in the 180s, and he was pretty thick in the real world.

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The textbook says that if you're much over six feet, your legs will be so long that you simply cannot rotate them fast enough to cover the ground at sprinting speed; and coaches therefore send tall people off to do something other than sprinting. Bolt, however, does rotate his last fast enough, despite what the textbook says.

 

If you can rotate your legs as fast as a 5'9" sprinter, you will cover much more ground than he does in the same time, because your stride is commensurately longer. That's why Bolt is untouchable right now, but I would not call that genius; merely a natural ability that most others of his size do not have.

 

In sporting terms, genius only really makes sense applied to those who do something, not merely better than everyone else does it, but can see possibilities that mere great sportsmen never would. In some sports that's an impossible task, and it makes little sense to talk of a sprinting genius, for instance. A snooker genius is the player who can dream up shots all the other professionals and commentators would never have thought to play; Alex Higgins was such a one, though he was never the "best" player on the circuit.

 

i would say so too about any sport in which the basic aim is to cover a specified distance the fastest. formula one might be slightly different i guess.

the more 'strategy' involved the more likely we'll find geniuses in that sport.

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In the case of Tracey Emin it does!

Also consider Damien Hirst ... true genius!

 

When living in NH this was one of my on the way home drop ins,

 

http://www.universaldesignstudio.com/projects/featured/49/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/sep/24/food.foodanddrink

http://www.tate.org.uk/pharmacy/

 

 

Too simply obvious to be called anything but...

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