Go here if you want to click those links. I think it's a sacrilegious question. It doesn't even make sense as a question. To ask it is to confess not to believe what Christians believe. You wouldn't ask what is God's IQ. If God chose to sojourn for a lifetime as a man, would he select an IQ level for Himself or would He go ahead and maintain Godlike intelligence while passing Himself off as someone recognizably human? Putting the question like that — and I've never thought about this before, so bear with me, I'm not trying to be offensive or even provocative — the answer I would suggest — relying as I must on my own merely human intelligence — is that God would want a high but not too high intelligence for His human life. He would want to feel like a human being who would naturally relate to other human beings and be able to talk with them and understand their needs in a human way.
If you're wondering how I got to the point where Google suggested this search, I had noticed a picture of a particular famous person (whom I won't name) and the facial expression made me suspect low intelligence. I typed "what was the IQ of J..." and Google's first suggestion was Jesus. Next were, in order, John Stuart Mill, Steve Jobs, and Thomas Jefferson. The internet answers are 174, 160, and 153.8. I know. It borders on nonsense, but numbers seem cool to us idiot humans. Did you know that the actress Sharon Stone (supposedly) has an IQ of 154, and that's one ahead of Mozart and Charles Darwin and 4 ahead of Abraham Lincoln?
Perhaps it's a sin to think about people in terms of IQ. I'm not proud of looking at "J" and thinking the expression on her face said something about IQ. She might have been stupefied, temporarily, by drugs or by painful tragedy or simply very bored by whatever circumstance brought her in front of that camera.
The question of Jesus's IQ reminds me of something I was talking about in real life yesterday. This was a propos of my new electric bike, which boosts my physical ability to the level where I'm equal to Meade, my riding companion. That made me think of a twist on the well-known Kurt Vonnegut story "Harrison Bergeron." Wikipedia summary:
In the year 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution dictate that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else. The Handicapper General's agents enforce the equality laws, forcing citizens to wear "handicaps": masks for those who are too beautiful, loud radios that disrupt thoughts inside the ears of intelligent people, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic. One April, 14-year-old Harrison Bergeron, an intelligent and athletic teenager, is taken away from his parents, George and Hazel Bergeron, by the government. They are barely aware of the tragedy, as Hazel has "average" intelligence (a euphemism for stupidity), and George has a handicap radio installed by the government to regulate his above-average intelligence.... [Ballet dancers] are weighed down to counteract their gracefulness and masked to hide their attractiveness....It's ridiculous (or terrifying) because people are leveled downward, but what if you could level people upward, the way my e-bike brings me up? I'll leave you to dream up the physical possibilities. I remember saying "Where are my electric shoes?" But let's focus on the mental leveling up. What if everyone could choose to turn up their IQ as far as possible?
This is close to the hypothetical question of what IQ would God choose for His life as Jesus? But it's different if everyone could level up. What would happen to the world, to human life as we know it if everyone could equalize? The question gets really complex if you think about everyone having access to the e-bike of the mind. I'd be afraid the work that needs to get done would not get done.
But to make the question easier — since I don't have the device and need an easier question — if just you had access to the device, what IQ would you turn yourself up to? It's dangerous to pick a fixed level. You could say I want 174 like John Stuart Mill and then find yourself gloomy...
... or just burdened or annoyed by the complicated hard work you have to do to keep from becoming bored. You might be smart enough only to see that there's no way for you to have fun or to connect with anyone else and to dither away philosophizing about the value of the fun and connection that has become unavailable to you.
You don't want to end up like David McCallum in "The 6th Finger" episode of "The Outer Limits":
With the e-bike you have a switch that lets you change your level of assistance up and down. I can turn it off entirely and just go on my own muscle power, or I can up the assistance to "eco," "tour," "sport," or "turbo." To have a good, happy life, you'd probably want to stay at "eco" or "tour," the way I do with the e-bike, and save "sport" and "turbo" for hills.
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100 comments:
You're really into that bike.
My bike makes me smarter.
Smarter than God is an epithet that goes around.
Jesus's IQ wouldn't be constant, since it's age-adjusted. Omnisicient on the other hand is fixed. So he'd get dumber as he got older.
Imus used to say he was 64 years old but read at a 66 year old level.
Even if you could adjust your IQ upwards ad infinitum, Obama would still be smarter. Ask him.
Difficulty socializing with stupid people is a social class thing, not an intelligence thing.
If he doesn't care about appearances, a smart person can talk to anybody.
There ought to be a humor IQ. That's where the communication problems come in, high to low.
So you're saying that your electric bike is an equalizer. Now what else can a woman purchase that would make her an equal to any man?
Not Omnicient. Infinite.
On a radio talk show I heard someone call and say you don’t need to have a high IQ to be a good citizen nor do I think A high IQ is needed to be strong in faith.
Ann have you considered weaponizing your bicycle by mounting a pepper spray holder on your handlebars (unless that is illegal in WI). Gives you at least some protection if a pit bull starts chasing u or someone tries to mug you/steal your bike while you're stopped or have a flat. Yeah, kind of paranoid but if you made the mistake of googling pit bull & bicyclist you'd be paranoid too. Makes a nice equalizer.
What if everyone could choose to turn up their IQ as far as possible?
Tyler Durden: How's that working out for you?
Narrator: What?
Tyler Durden: Being clever.
Narrator: ... Great.
Tyler Durden: Keep it up, then.
If the "J" that you mention is who I think it is, I would say that her father was not too bright.
I propose a sort of IQ Badge everyone could wear to display their IQ. Think of all the effort it would save some people from having to demonstrate how smart they are.
The Scottish Reformation changed their country, which changed the world--a book said so. Its instruments were education and predestination--a God so smart He knows if you're bad or good when you're born, so don't be good for goodness' sake.
Ann then you would be able to understand the complexities of the electromagnetic wave.
"And let there be light"
Issac Newtown was more a more influential thinker than Jesus. I didn't know that. There's no doubt that Newton was very smart, but consider this. He invested in the South Sea Bubble, evaluated it to be a bubble, and took his money out. The Bubble continued to bubble. Newton took all his winnings and then some and put the money back into the Bubble. He lost everything. It is very difficult to be smarter than the idiocy of your moment......I'd rather be more gifted athletically than academically. You can make more money, and the sex is better.
The didn't have iq tests before twentieth century, or not like we know them now, so someone is pulling those numbers out of their arse for historical people.
It doesn't even make sense as a question.
Musing about the characteristics of imaginary characters is more sensible than pretending they're real.
To ask it is to confess not to believe what Christians believe.
It's shocking to think that anyone could, er, "confess", LOL, to such a thing.
“I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts.
And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, and it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” ~ Steve Jobs
https://youtu.be/ob_GX50Za6c
That IQ Test trick is an excuse for lazy teachers to accuse you of being an the underachiever when they cannot teach. But LaAlthouse is never boring.
As for the Logos (Super Computer of all super computers) that created the heavens and the earth, He gets to see eternity all at once; and I doubt that it ever bores Him. And on the 7th day of creation He rested and enjoyed all he had done the first 6 days. He must enjoy a sense of humor. After all, he made Trump.
As for us mud creatures, we were given the gift of faith to share the mind of Christ so we can give and recieve grace and truth. That'll do.
Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo is what the Athanasian Creed teaches us. The history of debate about the nature and qualities of Our Lord's humanity, His human nature, extends back to the beginning of the age; the notion of quantifying intelligence is a modern invention, after all, and like so many modern inventions very often misused, with nasty consequences.
This raises the whole question of what IQ is supposed to measure or be?
With respect to Jesus, the question is not necessarily sacrilegious. The early Church struggled to understand just exactly who and what he is. That's what the first councils and the Nicene Creed is all about.
Although recognized by Christians as wholly God, he is also totally man. He came to be not only among us, but to be one of us, to share fully in our humanity -- as limited as it is. In the mystery that is fully God, yet fully man, Jesus in his time here was like your everyday man in every way except sin (Jesus was incapable of sin because "sin" is necessarily an act/thought that is contrary to God). So, no, Jesus in his human capacity would not know everything. He could learn things. He could be surprised. In his divine capacity, of course he is all-knowing, he is, in fact, the Logos, Truth in person, he is "I am," the Ultimate Reality.
But whatever his "IQ," he certainly had a wisdom beyond all others.
In the year 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution
The curious thing is trying to imagine the 28th - 210th amendments.
My guess:
28. Aloe Vera, non-decolorized whole leaf extract is known to the State of California to cause cancer.
29. Betel quid with tobacco cancer is known to the State of California to cause cancer.
30. Betel quid without tobacco ...
Meanwhile, a LOT of people with high IQs are really complete idiots.
Blogger Virgil Hilts said...Ann have you considered weaponizing your bicycle by mounting a pepper spray holder on your handlebars (unless that is illegal in WI). Gives you at least some protection if a pit bull starts chasing u or someone tries to mug you/steal your bike while you're stopped or have a flat. Yeah, kind of paranoid but if you made the mistake of googling pit bull & bicyclist you'd be paranoid too. Makes a nice equalizer.
Unless the pitbull can run at 20 mph, Ann is good. She could eventually upgrade to the models that go up to 28 mph for assurance. Remember, Ann usually rides bicycle with Meade. I am sure he would defend her.
Ann only has to be faster than Meade.
I stop for dogs. You turn from a deer to a person and their attitude is completely different.
On a regular route it's worth becoming their best friend.
They sit at the end of the driveway and wait for you to stop with a milkbone.
As far as I can tell, wisdom and IQ have no correlation. Moreover, the two smartest people I know (i.e., people whose intelligence is clearly greater than mine, as opposed to the many people I know who seem more or less as smart as I am) do not lead lives I have any interest in leading. Maybe I'm too dumb to see their advantages, but this seems doubtful.
Jesus Christ on bicycle ! What a post !
"Ann only has to be faster than Meade."
Similarly, you'd want your IQ to be slower than Jesus'.
You wouldn't want to be crucified for being the biggest smarty pants in the tribe.
This is God, not Jesus, but the point holds eventually:
"Yes! That's right! The answer is Wisconsin! Another 50 points for God and ... uh oh, looks like Norman, our current champion, hasn't even scored yet."
Althouse needs a bicycle like a fish needs a feminist.
Jerry Pournelle, may he rest in peace, once said that his IQ was measured at around 180. Perfect eidetic memory, two PhDs, and loads of other stuff... He used to say that when he was talking to Richard Feynman, no one would have had any doubt which one was the genius (it wasn't him). IQ tests are useful and have their limitations too.
Lots of interesting stuff in this post. It makes me want to say I've seen things on TV, about the Mensa group and such, suggesting that people with high IQs are quite capable of having apparently unhappy or unproductive lives, even of doing fairly stupid things. One guy was in a rage all the time--I think partly because he could do simple math, or see several steps ahead in a problem, so much better and faster than most of the people he met. Why hadn't he gone to college? When he saw how many stupid people had college degrees, he wasn't sure it was worth it. Had he ever at least tried or applied? He was going to once, but he missed the deadline.
Augustine describes heaven (for the saved) in some detail. Not that he promises that God will give the saved absolutely everything they want, but this presumably corresponds to what a sane person would consider perfection. The saved (I won't say "we") would have the bodies they had on earth, but all at the age of Christ when he was crucified--32 or so. People who died young (even fetuses who died before birth), or who had unusually bad or disfigured bodies, would be given 32-year-old bodies they never had, more beautiful than what they had if necessary. There is something good about having a pretty good body, so that would be supplied. People of stunning beauty would presumably be stunningly beautiful again, but no one else would be promised stunning beauty. Presumably the saved in heaven wouldn't make anything of such a difference, or they would regard beauty, even if not fairly or evenly divided, as a blessing from God. If they're all saintly, they probably see the true or underlying beauty in everyone. This brings me to IQ: I'm not sure Augustine even mentions it. Is it so clear we would want a high IQ, at least if we had some experience of it? Would differences in IQ matter in heaven? I always wonder if there are any books, or debates of any kind, in heaven. Is anybody there actually human?
Althouse wrote:
I think it's a sacrilegious question. It doesn't even make sense as a question. To ask it is to confess not to believe what Christians believe. You wouldn't ask what is God's IQ.
I humbly disagree. IQ is a property of a person -- like dimensions of personality, or height. Is it sacrilegious to ask how tall Jesus was?
More generally, I regard the tendency to treat IQ as a general statement of human worth is as one of the most pernicious things going in our public discourse. One thing I greatly admire about Charles Murray is that he is very clear that while IQ is linked to certain life outcomes and is worth understanding for that reason, the intrinsic human worth of a person is not at all connected to their results on psychological tests.
King Solomon was the wisest of men because he was gonna cut a baby in half. even though he was just foolin'.
I hope if primates ever take over the world, and they choose a king, they don't just go by IQ, because I bet there are some lemurs with some good ideas.
(-apologies to Jack Handy)
Sharon Stone:
Her escape from small-town obscurity began in 1975, when she entered the Miss Crawford County beauty pageant. For the talent segment, she chose to recite the Gettysburg Address, but “it was kind of tough getting her to pull it off [with conviction],” recalls retired Meadville eye surgeon W.T. Holland, her coach. Finally, his wife, Hap, took Sharon aside and started explaining to her the horrors of the Civil War. “She was hanging on my every word,” says Hap. Then, she says, Sharon solemnly interrupted: “Mrs. Holland, may I ask you something? Should I wear sparkly stuff in my hair?” She went on to win the title.
- People Magazine, April 20, 1992
"King Solomon was the wisest of men because he was gonna cut a baby in half. even though he was just foolin'."
Yeah, I know!!
I challenge Solomon in:
BEYOND KING SOLOMON’s HARLOTS: WOMEN IN EVIDENCE
Ann Althouse*
65 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1265 (1992)†
"But does the story really prove Solomon’s wisdom and judgment and his consequent right to be king? God supposedly gave Solomon “skill to listen,” but after only a minute of testimony, including only one short sentence from the Other woman, our skilled listener calls for a sword. The would-be purveyor of reason and judgment betrays the military origins he seeks to obscure.
"Compare Solomon to a modern judge who sits through hours, days, weeks, months of testimony. A judge who cut (literally) through the boredom and obfuscation of a trial by wielding a weapon would scarcely inspire the awe bestowed on Solomon. Even critics of our supposedly litigious society would not appreciate this timesaving technique. The judge would soon be out of work at the very least. But perhaps if the judge were also the king, we, like the Israelites, would feel “awe,” that handy euphemism for “fear.” Fortunately, we have separation of powers. Our judges are not kings. *1270
"Solomon, however, wields the sword without opposition. In doing so, he leads each woman to make a statement. The One gives up her claim to the baby and begs the king to give it to the Other. The Other, having heard the first woman give in, nevertheless blurts out, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.”
"The king, as we all know, gives the baby to the One – the One who was willing to sacrifice, the One who backed off at the threat of male violence, the One who refrained from asserting her own needs. The good woman. Solomon says, “[S]he is [the child’s] mother.”
He does not say what the Other is. But it seems she did not deserve the label mother. Biologically, however, she was certainly a mother, if only of the dead child. And does her behavior really imply that she was not this child’s mother? One’s initial response might be that this woman cannot love this child. But what if she loves the child so dearly, so desperately, that she reacts wildly, rebelliously – driven by the king’s behavior to court death? Perhaps the first woman’s behavior shows lack of involvement; perhaps she gave up her claim when really pressed because she did not care as much.
"Consider how you would feel if someone whose child had died began asserting that your child was hers, and then incredibly, her assertion led the authorities to start to kill your child as a method of dispute resolution. It would seem as if the world had gone mad. If at that point you blurted out, “Then go ahead, kill the child,” what would that say about you? Would it really mean the child was not biologically yours?..."
Read the whole thing.
Is intelligence that simple a concept? Frankly I don't see Mozart and Lincoln having IQs that can be compared. Too many divergent strengths. I wonder what Billy Graham' s IQ was?
One needs only to be smart enough to accomplish one's goals in life, don't you think? A stage actor needs a better memory than a film actress, but does either need to be intelligent?
Back in the 70s, after Three Mile Island, the question arose in an indirect way when reexamining the role of nuclear reactor operators. The job is boring as hell, except in the highly unlikely event something goes wrong. Super smart people didn't want the job. The operators were all smart guys, but weren't physicists and couldn't work out quickly what was happening in the core. The solution lay in upping the training and the pay of operators. While that training occurred, qualified people were assigned as Shift Technical Advisors, always available to rush to the control room in case of emergency to take charge. I got drafted which is why I ended up thinking about and reading up on the subject as the issue was worked out.
I'm still not sure I understand the concept of intelligence.
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ontological_and_Psychological_Consti.html?id=iZuQOrnkz0sC
"Here, Lonergan tackles the metaphysical and psychological questions raised by the unique makeup of Christ, who is both fully human and fully divine, according to traditional Christian theology. His analysis falls into two parts: ontological and psychological. In dealing with the ontology of the incarnate Word, Lonergan explores the notion of person, and in doing so provides an interesting treatment of the existential question of personal authenticity raised by Kierkegaard and treated by Lonergan under the heading of Existez. Moving into his psychological analysis, he argues that consciousness is not a matter of introspection, a perception of oneself as object, but rather an awareness of oneself as subject. He then applies this understanding to the self-awareness of Christ, with particular reference to the question of Christ's knowledge of himself as both human and divine."
“is that God would want a high but not too high intelligence for His human life. He would want to feel like a human being who would naturally relate to other human beings and be able to talk with them and understand their needs in a human way.”
Well yeah, if you can only think about God in terms of human limitations, which is a contradiction in itself. It’s a dumb question, even if you’re an atheist.
"Is intelligence that simple a concept? Frankly I don't see Mozart and Lincoln having IQs that can be compared. Too many divergent strengths."
I know where is the IQ test that tests musical ability or taste in plays and bullet-evading savvy?
He's a high-IQ savior because he was crucified. I like people that weren't crucified.
My guess on the identity of the J person is Jennifer Garner because of the viral video clip of her at the Oscars. I'm a sucker for guessing. This is what I want written on my tombstone..."wait, wait, let me guess".
I know where is the IQ test that tests musical ability or taste in plays and bullet-evading savvy?
U.S Grant certainly aced the bullet-evading test. After surviving an exceptionally hot military career, he declined to accompany Lincoln to Ford Theater the night Lincoln didn't evade the bullet. A decade or so later he managed to engage with Charles Guiteau without being shot. Guiteau went on to assassinate President James Garfield.
"Is intelligence that simple a concept? Frankly I don't see Mozart and Lincoln having IQs that can be compared. Too many divergent strengths."
"There are many kinds of smart, but there's only one kind of stupid."
- Moe Howard
As IQ is a component of mental age divided by chronological age, it seems likely that Jesus had the highest IQ at about the age of 12 and got stupider thereafter.
Here's a beautiful rendition of that scene.
IQ testing has been dumbed down like SAT testing to make the less intelligent but politically influential more equal.
It means almost nothing now.
A philosophy professor at USC before he died used to say that Jesus was the smartest person who ever lived.
Ouch! Sounds like SOMEone had his application to MENSA rejected.
Jesus IQ. Dunno, somebody go ask him.
People that question Jesus' IQ don't get butter in Heaven. Proceed at your own risk.
What, no one's suggested that perhaps God has such a high IQ that even He can't figure out how high it is?
But for now and for the rest of us, how about some IQ augmentation? Something like the electric assist on that bicycle, an implant that will turbo-charge one's IQ on demand.
Something like "IQ as a service."
Matthew 4:4-5
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Althouse had it right from the beginning.
Wonder why Muhammad was not the subject of this question.
Regarding Solomon.
While it might not meet current convoluted human attempts to divine justice, the answer did determine who was the mother.
If a defining characteristic of mother is being full of sacrificial love, which woman was the child's mother?
My guess on the identity of the J person is Jennifer Garner because of the viral video clip of her at the Oscars.
I'll have to find that video and see if it changes my mind. My first guess for a vacuous-looking person whose name begins with "j" is Jennifer Lawrence.
I doubt very much that Newton is more influential than Jesus. I suppose one could say that Newton founded modern science (though it is far more complicated than that). One could also say that Jesus was a central figure in founding the civilization that made Newton possible.
I too wonder about a certain actress's IQ after that face she made as the Oscars.
Half a baby is better than no baby at all.
J Lo. You don't get more J than that.
J Lo is J-er than Jesus.
J Lo is J-er than Jesus.
John Lennon is the J-est of them all, and bigger than Jesus.
J. J. Watt
I don't envy smart people in the way I envy good looking or athletically gifted people. Only very smart people envy other very smart people...... I wonder what kind of athlete Jesus would have been. Would he be a good team player or would he have a lot of flashy moves? I guess he would have had symmetrical features, but I think he would have deliberately downplayed the sexual magnetism. That would be sending the wrong message. Would he have used his clothes to make statement? Definitely nothing trendy, but shabby would also be sending the wrong message.......Its hard to picture a god that incorporates the image of God in the image of man.
But for now and for the rest of us, how about some IQ augmentation? Something like the electric assist on that bicycle, an implant that will turbo-charge one's IQ on demand.
That would be Google.
@William -- Craig Finn answers your questions in his song "New Friend Jesus" --
Now people give me sideways looks
When we set up on the strand
But it's hard to suck with Jesus in the band
...
People say we suck at sports
But they don't understand
It's hard to catch with holes right through your hands
@Jeff -- or, not too long ago, books.
Ha! The other day my husband and I were watching an old movie, and, judging based upon the man's facial expressions, we guessed a certain actor was likely quite dim. Lo and behold, he turned out to be intelligent enough to have earned a degree in classics from a prestigious university. Perhaps he thought his expressions we're fitting for the role, or perhaps his appearance was simply deceiving.
I hope if primates ever take over the world, and they choose a king, they don't just go by IQ, because I bet there are some lemurs with some good ideas.
Don't look now..but primates have taken over the world. Homo Homo Sapiens is a primate.
Can God write an IQ test so difficult that he can't pass it?
Does God have a Number Two pencil ?
The question should be addressed to those people who seem to be sure about how Biblical, semi-historical and/or legendary characters looked. They used to post regularly on IMDB. My favorites were the people who complained Russell Crowe was too old to play Robin Hood (like they know how old Robin was, and if he actually existed), and the guy who complained about an actress playing Queen Esther because she wasn't as pretty as the "real" Esther. IMDB no longer accepts such comments, so these people probably have time on their hands; and I figure if they had access to Robin Hood's birth certificate or Queen Esther's official portrait, they might have access to Jesus' IQ scores.
Thanks for getting my (stolen) joke, Gahrie, but don't you have one homo too many there?
Meade said...
...don't you have one homo too many there?
Meade's afraid of too many homos.
The Liberals Have A Word For That
"Did you know that the actress Sharon Stone (supposedly) has an IQ of 154,"
I've heard this, which makes it all the more curious how she got famous. I'm always fascinated by people who are apparently very smart and also have a lots and lots of money, why they don't apply that in some way. So many out there are struggling to pay for schooling or training or whatever, and the people who have the money fritter it away.
Probably why I'm especially impressed by Peter Weller (Robocop). Who got himself a PhD while continuing to stay in the business.
He was recently a director for Longmire, and played a role as a old sheriff in it, a great show with a very disappointing ending.
Whatever His IQ may have been, he could have used some decent communications training. All those parables! Of course with an abusive father like Yahweh, you probably really had to watch what you said growing up.
Thanks for getting my (stolen) joke, Gahrie, but don't you have one homo too many there?
Homo: Genus
Homo Sapiens: species
Homo Sapiens is a species in the genus Homo, so Homo Homo Sapiens is the proper name for modern man.
Dallas Willard, a philosopher and one of the most renowned experts on Husserl's philosophy of mathematics, wrote an essay entitled "Jesus the Logician." Here's the link:
http://www.dwillard.org/articles/individual/jesus-the-logician
tcrosse wrote... Does God have a Number Two pencil ?
DO NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST!
One of the things I really enjoy about Althouse is that we apparently saw all the same tv shows in our youth. I hadn't thought about David McCallum in the Outer Limits in decades.
I once heard Garrison Keillor on the radio explain that being very intelligent was like having an SUV, it let you get lost in much more difficult places.
Sheesh, Meade, you don't have to rub it in. I'm trying to read difficult novels to exercise my brain, so next time... accepted!
How come nobody ever asks the IQ of Hitler or Mao or Stalin, or for that matter James Buchanan? Lord knows, they each left enough of a record that if one can estimate an IQ for Mill or Jefferson, one certainly could for them.
Louis XVI and Nicholas II, THOSE would be interesting.
Just askin'.
Mark already made the point I came here to make (3/6/18, 7:59 AM).
Christians believe that Jesus was fully god and fully man. According to the Athanasian Creed: "God, of the Substance of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting."
So he had an IQ. Obviously we can never know for sure what it was, but there are some clues that we can have fun with.
IQ was originally defined by William Stern, IQ = 100 * (Mental Age) / (Chronological Age). In the Gospel of Luke (2:41-50) Jesus is found in the temple at age 12 sitting in on a theological class and asking intelligent questions. Everyone is amazed at his understanding, so this was probably a class meant for adults, possibly for training priests. The minimum age for priestly service was originally 25 (Num 8:24) but this was later reduced by David to 20 (1 Chr 23:27).
This gives us a guess (admittedly a wildly speculative one) at his IQ. If we take his mental age to be 25 then IQ = 100*25/12 = 208 which would be unmeasurably high. If we assume the more modest Davidic age it could be IQ=100*20/12 = 167 a more reasonable number, but still about 4 standard deviations above the norm. Even if we went with a modern definition of adult = 18, this would yield 150 which is still quite high.
"tcrosse said... I propose a sort of IQ Badge everyone could wear to display their IQ. Think of all the effort it would save some people from having to demonstrate how smart they are. 3/6/18, 7:22 AM"
Here's your sign...
My IQ is higher than Jesus Christ All Friday!
Half of all people are below average.
Half above.
God is omnipotent and omniscient. However, as a man, leading men, he was all wise, and that one metric served his purpose.
When that woman turns McCallum into some kind of primitive caveman, or whatever, he ends up looking a bit like Russian mathematician Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman, who "In August 2006.... was offered the Fields Medal for 'his contributions to geometry and his revolutionary insights into the analytical and geometric structure of the Ricci flow'", whatever that means.
Louis XVI and Nicholas II, THOSE would be interesting.
They also show the limitations of IQ as a measure of success. They were probably above average for European monarchs. They were both over 20 years into their reigns when things hit the fan. Insufficient ruthlessness might have been a bigger factor.
What was Jesus's IQ? I would suggest it was quite high. Go to the very end to see why:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ccu91wcovedefH6WbdWaEz6F_uzvy8tab7GHoZBv1BQ/edit?usp=sharing
Half of all people are below average.
Half above.
I'm going to bring this up in the staff lounge at lunch tomorrow.
Might I inquire if the photo that Althouse saw showed someone with mouth agape? "Don't stand there gaping like an idiot!" used to be a common admonishment in novels and schoolhouses.
A fellow rubs a bottle and a genie appears.
"I can make you either the richest man in the world or the smartest man in the world. Which will it be? Your wish is my command."
"Well, I'm tired of having my intelligence always being questioned. Make me the smartest man in the world."
Poof. "Done!"
"Shit."
Half of all people are above median, half below.
IQ was originally defined by William Stern, IQ = 100 * (Mental Age) / (Chronological Age). In the Gospel of Luke (2:41-50) Jesus is found in the temple at age 12 sitting in on a theological class and asking intelligent questions. Everyone is amazed at his understanding, so this was probably a class meant for adults, possibly for training priests. The minimum age for priestly service was originally 25 (Num 8:24) but this was later reduced by David to 20 (1 Chr 23:27).
This gives us a guess (admittedly a wildly speculative one) at his IQ. If we take his mental age to be 25 then IQ = 100*25/12 = 208 which would be unmeasurably high.
But there is also the Flynn Effect, which says we are getting smarter over time, at a rate of about 3 IQ points per decade.
202 decades since year zero times 3 points, from 208, would leave -422.
Perhaps there should have been no math.
William asked, "I wonder what kind of athlete Jesus would have been."
Some comedian said, "If Jesus were alive today, he would be a professional golfer. We'd hear a sportscaster say, "After 54 holes of the Greensboro Open, the leader is Jesus Christ, with a score of 54."
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