Why it's Dean Keith Simonton, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis!
Hmmm, looks French.
Posted on 12/30/2003 7:28:49 AM PST by nolongerforsale
Many books and articles have been written by psychologists estimating the IQs of people like Isaac Newton and Louis XIV. These estimates may not be very exact, but a surprising amount can be learned by studying the biography of a person and noting their intellectual development.
Isaac Newton, Leibnitz, and Goethe have all been estimated to have had very high IQs, ranging from 160 to 200. Napoleon and Hitler have been estimated around 130-140. King Frederick the Great and Czar Peter the Great around 150. The kings of Europe as a group would be one of the most intelligent groups of people who ever lived, with about a sixth of them being geniuses.
Plato, in his book THE REPUBLIC, described an ideal society ruled by philospher-kings. The American Republic has been run by men of shockingly low ability. Few of them would even be included among the most intelligent 5% of the population. In terms of integrity and character, American politicians would rate little better than the inmates of prisons.
I came across an interesting study which estimated the IQs of American presidents. It comes from ADVANCES IN PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH, VOLUME 14, edited by Serge P. Shohov. New York, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2002. Chapter 6, "Intelligence and Presidential Greatness: Equation Replication Using Updated IQ Estimates" by Dean Keith Simonton. pages 143-153.
The article claims that the best presidents were usually those with the highest IQs. I would question this is in the case of Abraham Lincoln. He started the bloodiest war in American history. Of all the Western countries which had slavery, all of them except the United States and Haiti were able to abolish it peacefully. This might be a better country today if Lincoln had never been elected. Eisenhower isn't rated as very intelligent, but the country prospered under his rule.
Recently, a man sued in Connecticut for being denied a job as a police officer BECAUSE HIS IQ WAS TOO HIGH at 125.
Only in America can a man be denied a job as a policeman for being too intelligent, while stupidity is no bar to being president.
How can these estimates be so detailed as to include tenths of an IQ point? These are averages from a panel of experts based on many criteria.
Washington............................124.7
J. Adams...............................127.8
Jefferson..............................152.9
Madison................................127.8
Monroe.................................107.6
J.Q. Adams.............................133.8
Jackson................................115.7
Van Buren..............................118.7
W. Harrison............................120.7
Tyler..................................123.7
Polk...................................115.7
Taylor.................................109.6
Fillmore...............................114.7
Pierce.................................118.7
Buchanan...............................113.7
Lincoln................................129.8
A. Johnson.............................109.6
Grant..................................107.6
Hayes..................................120.7
Garfield...............................130.8
Arthur.................................130.8
Cleveland..............................116.7
B. Harrison............................114.7
McKinley...............................115.7
T. Roosevelt...........................130.8
Taft...................................121.7
Wilson.................................134.8
Harding................................101.6
Coolidge...............................106.6
Hoover.................................126.7
F. Roosevelt...........................130.8
Truman.................................123.7
Eisenhower.............................114.7
Kennedy................................139.8
L. Johnson.............................119.7
Nixon..................................125.7
Ford...................................115.7
Carter.................................121.7
Reagan.................................125.7
Bush Sr................................117.4
Clinton................................135.0
Bush Jr................................117.1
The problems of the world today are much too complex to be handled by such mediocrities. It has even been suggested that presidential candidates should be given IQ tests. It wouldn't be unreasonable to require candidates to at least be in the upper 1% of the population. That would be almost 3 million people, of whom over a million would be of the proper age, health, and so on.
One President with a high IQ who achieved his potential was Bill Clinton. Clinton had one of the highest IQs and was a Rhodes scholar, and even his enemies agree he was a very good president.
In my opinion, Thomas Jefferson was the best president of all, as well as the most intelligent. But he was a slaveowner who really didn't know much about politics or history. His ideas on how to run a country were mostly wrong.
He was talented at things like architecture and horticulture, though. He was accomplished in many areas.
Al Gore and William Frist would seem to be two politicians of good character and high intelligence. But even they aren't nearly good enough. And they are the best we have.
Today, the world faces overwhelming problems which could destroy civilization and bring on unimaginable catastrophes. The world today is being run by a chaotic system of bad governments and poor systems run by mediocre people with poor characters. To make things even worse, presidents spend almost all their time raising money, attending ceremonial occasions, and wasting time. Very little time is spent learning about the problems of the world and thinking about solutions.
The "smartest man in America" was on television. His IQ is estimated at over 200. He is a part-time bouncer in a bar. His opinions on politics and history were ignorant and ridiculous.
We need a leader with a very high IQ along with other excellent qualities. No one like that is famous anywhere in the world today or holds any public office. This must change.
It's still insipid.
>:P
Yeah - the fat tends to pad it out quite a bit. LOL
Obviously all the Republican presidents have LOWER IQs than the Dem-o-rat presidents in the 20th century. Surprise, surprise. </sarcasm
"His enemies" certainly includes most of the members of this forum. "[Clinton] was a very good president" does not seem to me to sum up in any way the consensus or average opinion of the members of this forum.
Gosh, that is interesting. I wonder if there's anything else they have in common?
Hmmmm.
Nothing's coming to mind, but gimme a minute...
Why it's Dean Keith Simonton, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis!
Hmmm, looks French.
Bwahaaaaaaaaa ... this Mensan thinks O'l Billy Bob needs another term ... in Leavenworth
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