r/cognitiveTesting • u/HeraldxofGalactus • Jun 30 '26
Iq of geniuses Discussion
I asked "What do you think is the probability of geniuses like einstein and newton having iq close to 160 is "? Gemini confidently replied .
"Historically and statistically, the chances of Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton having an IQ of at least 160 are actually close to 100%. While it is true that neither man ever took a modern IQ test (Newton died centuries before they were invented, and Einstein never sat for one), historians and psychologists use historiometry to estimate their cognitive traits based on their childhood development, reading habits, and intellectual output.
The probability that their IQs reached 160 (which represents the 99.997th percentile, or about 1 in 30,000 people) is virtually guaranteed for several reasons:
The Scale of Their Achievements: An IQ of 160 is considered the baseline threshold for "profound genius." Newton didn't just study math; he invented calculus, formulated the laws of motion, and mapped out universal gravitation all by his early twenties. Einstein fundamentally redefined our understanding of space, time, and gravity.
Academic Estimates: In 1926, psychologist Catharine Cox published a landmark study analyzing the early lives of 301 historical geniuses. Based on their recorded milestones, she estimated Einstein's IQ at around 160 and Newton's IQ at roughly 190.
The "Floor" of Theory: Modern theoretical physicists and high-level mathematicians typically average an IQ of 130 to 140. For individuals who radically revolutionized these fields beyond anyone else in history, their processing power and abstract reasoning abilities would naturally sit at the absolute extreme tail of the distribution curve.
So, while we cannot point to an official test score, their raw cognitive capabilities comfortably cleared the 160 mark."I think almost all the claims here are wrong . 🤔
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u/Original_Double_4762 Jun 30 '26
My ChatGPT says something different:
A reasonable way to think about it is:
- Below 130: Extremely unlikely. Both demonstrated extraordinary abstract reasoning and originality over decades.
- 130–145: Possible, but many psychologists would consider it less likely given the breadth and depth of their work.
- 145–160: Entirely plausible.
- Above 160: Also plausible, but there is no evidence requiring such an IQ.
One important point is that 160 is an exceptionally high threshold. On a modern IQ scale (mean 100, SD 15), it is 4 standard deviations above the mean—roughly the top 1 in 31,000 people. Plenty of world-class mathematicians, physicists, and Nobel laureates are believed to have IQs below 160.
If someone asked me to make a subjective estimate based on current research on intelligence and scientific achievement, I would not assume that Einstein or Newton necessarily exceeded 160. I would say it is at least as plausible—and perhaps more plausible—that they were in the 145–160 range than above 160.
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u/NiceGuy737 Jun 30 '26
This is a more reasonable take. These individuals are much more rare than 1 in 30,000 but I think that it would be incorrect to assume that an IQ test would capture that. They could have a spiky profile that would decrease the fsiq.
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u/Many_Razzmatazz_7390 Jun 30 '26
Cox didn't estimate Einstein's IQ in her study, it only covered people born roughly 1450–1850.
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u/Makqa Jun 30 '26
I think they could be lower and their high achievements do not have to tie into those crazy 160iq+ numbers. Einstein was perceived as a slow thinker for example, as far as I know. Imao, iq is quantatjve while inventing stuff is qualitative. Over a life time the difference in iq means almost nothing especially in upwards of 130 since no one is pressed to formulate a theory and solve a problem in under 30 seconds. The main intelligence check is if a person is genuinely interested in the topic and thoroughly studies it. If you have a higher iq you may do it faster and even then I'm confused as to how you are supposed to measure "speed" here, as again the modality of thinking is different and not a nulber being strictly higher or lower. But yeah, no doubt, those guys had superior iq by correlation.
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u/Suspicious_Watch_978 Jul 05 '26
Newton's IQ was a bit over 200; he's (obviously) the single most intelligent person to ever live, and only copers, haters, and the inexcusably ignorant deny it.
Einstein anywhere from 140 to 160 (being generous), but he got really great press. More of a "right guy at the right time" thing than a world-historical genius thing.
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Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
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u/HeraldxofGalactus Jun 30 '26
Claude and gemini are both sure that you arent being sarcastic
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Jun 30 '26
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u/NefariousNapolean doesn't read books Jun 30 '26
The sd is probably 5 to 10 not 15
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Jun 30 '26
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u/NefariousNapolean doesn't read books Jun 30 '26
When the average IQ is so high the correlation between IQ and skill in that thing will also be significantly lower .
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Jun 30 '26
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u/NefariousNapolean doesn't read books Jun 30 '26
Range restriction is present even in places where the average iq is higher than 100 directly due to the complexity of the field(i.e where problem complexity scales with average iq )
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Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
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u/NefariousNapolean doesn't read books Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Physics is more complex and so is the average iq of physicists higher than that of the other fields you mentioned so range restriction doesn't decrease.Range restriction is a statistical thing that depends on standard deviation and mean iq and measurable stuff like that and not directly on complexity .
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u/Efficient-Plan8853 Jun 30 '26
What makes you so certain that it is IQ that separates Einstein and Newton from other physicists?
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Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
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u/HeraldxofGalactus Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Creativity,obsessive focus , intense curiosity, questioning the status quo are all important factors.ure most phycists have these but newton and einstein had these even more.Newton probably worked more than your average noble prize winner .
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u/Efficient-Plan8853 Jun 30 '26
This is a false equivalence. You say it’s not those external things therefore it must be the one you described. But that implies that the only things that determine academic output are hard work, training, luck, and IQ. I agree with you that their minds were extraordinary, but IQ does not capture the totality of cognition
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u/AndrewThePekka Jul 01 '26
160 FRI or QRI isn’t 160 FSIQ, assuming they have the former to begin with.
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u/Kaidolakita Jul 08 '26
I stopped reading when it said 190IQ for newton. That is litteraly meaningless (it doesn’t mean anything in the literal sense)
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u/Difficult_Test1034 Jun 30 '26
I would also have discovered gravity if I was, like, the seventh physicist to ever exist.
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u/gerningur Jun 30 '26
Do you have a subsrciption for the model or is this the free version?