Quote:
Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan
And you shouldn't believe it--at least not based on I.Q. scores. A common misconception about I.Q. is that it's a raw measure of intelligence. I.Q. was originally an age-based quotient designed to measure how children compared to the mean intelligence expected in a normal child of their age. Scores above 100 indicated above average intelligence, those below indicated below average intelligence. In adults, a different test is used, but it's been essentially discredited, for many reasons--one being that "intelligence" turns out to be a far more slippery concept than we think. Until you know what it is, you can't measure it. More critically for this discussion, I.Q. is unreliable in very intelligent people, because I.Q. tests don't contain enough difficult questions anyway. There's some useful information about this here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ
I.Q. is not a reliable metric in this or any case in my view. The results speak for themselves: George Bush is smarter than Andy Warhol? Please. |
We tend to elevate political commentators/philosophers we agree with to unreal heights while denigrating those we philosophically disagree with to unreal depths.
As an example, I think Chomsky, as a political commentator, is a pretty good linguist.
Your example of Andy Warhol is interesting. From The
Philosophy of Andy Warhol, in his own words,art is:
"Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art."
Warhol also said,
"When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums," which some observors also use as an excellent summary of his philosophy.
Obviously, there would be an enormous number of wonderfully talented artists who would disagree with him - in fact, probably think of him as an idiot - and an enormous number of wonderfully talented CEO's who would think him an eccentric genius.
My point is, that anytime we attempt to measure intellectual prowess we are likely limited in our appreciation by our own point of view.
What I've found through time is that some people are just really good at taking tests. And others, some whom I've encountered who never finished high school, are just really good at being successful.
The greatest intellectuals? A fairly impossible task.
Cowperson