intelligence as determined by an underlying g factor. On
the other hand, scientists also emphasise that intelli-
gence is only one mental human capacity, and many
others determine how we manage in life. A single
number indicating IQ does not show anything about
characteristics such as humour, empathy, generosity,
creativity, and other gifts that determine how we func-
tion socially. And perhaps those are the very qualities
that, combined with our intelligence, will continue to
give the human brain the edge over artificial intelligence
developed in the world of computers.
Today, it is possible to make computers take classical
IQ tests, and they are becoming ever better at it. In 2015,
scientists from the American University of Illinois
subjected a sophisticated computer program to a series
of tests, discovering that the program had an IQ corre-
sponding to that of a four-year-old. When it took a test
for seven-year-olds, it failed completely.
It is capacities concerning language understanding
and reasoning that are particularly difficult for artificial
intelligence. The program was asked to find a word that
matched the following three pieces of information:
“This animal has a mane if it is male”, “the animal lives
in Africa”, and “it is a large, yellowish brown cat”. The
computer came up with five different answers – dog,
farm, creature, home, and cat – but not ‘lion’.
However, artificial intelligence is well on its way to
cracking the code in this area as well. Artificial neural
networks, which use deep learning, are designed to
acquire knowledge based on experience in the same
way as the human brain. Whether that is sufficient to
catch up with the real thing is yet to be seen. Perhaps
there will always be something missing, something
unique to the human intellect.
As one of the biggest scientific geniuses of all time,
Albert Einstein, said: “The true sign of intelligence is
not knowledge, but imagination.”
Some scientists think it is time to abandon the
understanding that intelligence can be boiled
down to one g factor. Instead they suggest that we
have many different intelligences that function
independently of each other. The father of this idea,
Howard Gardner, works with 9 different intelligences.Experiments have shown that simple reactivity
is linked with intelligence. People with quick
reactivity also have averagely higher IQ.
Perhaps this is related to faster links between
their brain cells.The g factor is challenged
by many intelligencesFast links may be a path
to high intelligenceHow would the
above historical
geniuses of the
world score
if they took an
IQ test today?
Of course, we
cannot accurately
know, but
psychologists
have given it a try
based on tradition,
written material
left by them, and
data from their
schooling.INSULATION
DETERMINES PACE
Brain cell links are lined
with an insulating layer of
myelin. The thicker the layer
is, the faster the signals
travel through the link.Brain cellOutgoing linkMyelin sheathContact to other cellsVerbal/linguisticMusicalSpatial/visualSocialNaturalistExistentialPersonalBodilyMathematical/logicalJohann Wolfgang von Goethe,German writer: IQ 188Blaise Pascal,
French physicist: IQ 173Isaac Newton,English physicist: IQ 168Galileo Galilei,Italian physicist: IQ 163Leonardo da Vinci,
multi-talented Italian: IQ 158Johannes Kepler,
German astronomer: IQ 153Martin Luther,German reformer: IQ 148Johann Sebastian Bach,German composer: IQ 143Nicolaus Copernicus,
Polish astronomer: IQ 138Rembrandt,Dutch painter: IQ 133Napoleon Bonaparte,
French emperor: IQ 123Ulysses S. Grant,American general: IQ 108SHUTTERSTOCKSHUTTERSTOCK