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Can intelligence be measured? Ask a psychometrician–one specializing in the field of “mental measurement”–and the answer would be a resounding “Yes!” Ask ten philosophers to define intelligence, however, and you’d almost certainly get ten different, and perhaps conflicting, definitions. Such "technicalities" aside, the psychometrician’s instrument of choice for gauging intelligence is, of course, the IQ test. Now, many would posit (or, at least, agree) that a genius is simply one who manifests exceptional intelligence, and thus is one of extremely high IQ. This, however, can be at odds with the convention of recognizing those of great and inspiring intellectual or artistic achievement as geniuses. Consider the case of William Shockley and Luis Alvarez. In the 1920s, each was administered an IQ test in connection with psychologist Lewis Terman's now famous study of gifted children, intended to, among other things, identify future Nobel laureates. Neither William nor Luis demonstrated even the minimum 135 IQ necessary to join the Terman group, sometimes referred to as Terman’s “Termites”; nevertheless, both went on to become physicists of renown and Nobel laureates. Moreover, not one of the Terman group, comprising more than 1,500 gifted children with IQs ranging from 135 to 180+, went on to garner a Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
Can intelligence be measured? Ask a psychometrician–one specializing in the field of “mental measurement”–and the answer would be a resounding “Yes!” Ask ten philosophers to define intelligence, however, and you’d almost certainly get ten different, and perhaps conflicting, definitions. Such "technicalities" aside, the psychometrician’s instrument of choice for gauging intelligence is, of course, the IQ test. Now, many would posit (or, at least, agree) that a genius is simply one who manifests exceptional intelligence, and thus is one of extremely high IQ. This, however, can be at odds with the convention of recognizing those of great and inspiring intellectual or artistic achievement as geniuses. Consider the case of William Shockley and Luis Alvarez. In the 1920s, each was administered an IQ test in connection with psychologist Lewis Terman's now famous study of gifted children, intended to, among other things, identify future Nobel laureates. Neither William nor Luis demonstrated even the minimum 135 IQ necessary to join the Terman group, sometimes referred to as Terman’s “Termites”; nevertheless, both went on to become physicists of renown and Nobel laureates. Moreover, not one of the Terman group, comprising more than 1,500 gifted children with IQs ranging from 135 to 180+, went on to garner a Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
So, do IQ tests measure intelligence? I would put it a bit differently and suggest that they quantify certain manifestations of intelligence–rapid processing, for example–while missing or minimizing other manifestations, such as intuitive sensibility, which serves the true visionary like a "sixth sense". The preceding case, taken in isolation, is merely interesting–of little, if any, significance. I suspect, however, that were it taken in broader context, it would serve to underscore the incapacity of IQ tests to identify those most able to beget revolutionary productions of the mind.
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