By: Arthur J. Jensen

In C. P. Benbow & D. J. Lubinski (Eds.), Intellectual talent: Psychometric and social issues (p. 393–411). Johns Hopkins University Press.

1996

Summary

• Genius.
  • Socially recognized outstandingly creative achievement.
• Multiple (common) traits combine to create (rare) exceptional achievement.
  • Exceptional achievement is a multiplicative function of a number of different traits.
  • Each of the traits is normally distributed.
  • In combination, they are so synergistic as to skew the resulting distribution of achievement.
  • Creates an upper tail of achievement, within which genius can be found.
• Questions:
  • How many traits?
  • What are they?
• Limits:
  • Upper limit seems to be astronomically higher than lower limit.
  • Upper limit can’t be characterized in terms of intelligence, problem-solving skills, etc.
• Genius likely requires
  • Giftedness, natural ability.
  • Creativity.
  • Productivity.

The main difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.

Giftedness, natural ability.

• Consisting of “g”, along with some particular aptitude or talent.
  • May sometimes appear to be elusive, magical.
• Does not assure exceptional achievement.
  • Probably a necessary condition for genius.
    • Giftedness and genius do not represent points on a continuum.
    • May even be orthogonal.
• Indication of ability, not of potential achievement.
  • In many cases, gifted people lack focus (many members of MENSA…)
  • Genius involves both ability and achievement.
• When giftedness interacts with other required variables, exceptional achievement (genius) may result.
  • Giftedness: normally distributed variable.
  • Genius: skewed distribution (multiple variables involved).

Creativity

• The bringing into being of something that has not previously existed.
• Our understanding of creative acts is practically nil.
• For example, chance configuration is not convincing.
  • Blind chance: random configuration of known elements provides original productive solution.
  • Requires critical selection and rejection screening, retention of promising candidates.
  • Similar to how new life emerges through the process of biological evolution (random mutation, natural selection).
  • Results in an inefficient and unlikely combinatorial and permutational explosion.
  • Also, not a helpful analogy to integrated complex neuronal actions involved in the manipulation of ideas.
  • Also, nature abhors a vacuum: intelligent people are unable to process anything in a purely random fashion.
  • [But, perhaps making random connections is relevant in this context.]
• Trial and error, yes.
  • But not random.
• Three sources of variance:
  • Ideational fluency: tap a flow of relevant ideas and play with them (brainstorming).
  • Relevance horizon: range or variety of ideas that seem relevant (>range, > creativity).
  • Suspension of critical judgement: intellectual risk takers.
• All of these features, when taken to an extreme, are characteristic of psychosis.
  • In many creative geniuses, the potential for psychosis is buffered by other traits.
  • “Psychoticism”: degree of aggression, coldness, impersonal, unempathic, creative.
  • Relatives of geniuses usually not generous in personal recollections.

Productivity

• Price’s Law:
  • K persons make N contributions in a certain field.
  • N/2 contribution attributable to SQRT(K).
  • As K increases, the ratio of SQRT(K) / K decreases.
  • Meaning, 50% of contributions allocated to a smaller portion of K as K gets larger.
  • Elitism of major contributors.
• Correlation between amount of contributions and importance.
  • High productivity is more common than great importance.
  • High productivity is no guarantee of great importance..
  • High productivity and triviality are more likely than low productivity and irrelevance.
  • But also, the greatest creative geniuses are often hugely productive.
  • And, the greatest creative geniuses have also often produced their share of trivia.
  • In short, high productivity is probably necessary, but not sufficient.
• May be associated not with will, but more likely obsession.
• Driven by high level of mental energy.
  • Heightened cortical arousal, brain stimulation.
    • Some type of brain / body chemistry.
  • Gout! (high serum urate levels).
    • Uric acid similar molecular structure as caffeine.

Other Characteristics of Genius

• Sensitivity to (cognitive) experiences.
• Unusually strong and long-term interests.
• Curiosity.
• Self-discipline.
• Expert level skills.
  • Mastery (automation) requires practice.
• Personal ideas and values.
  • Channels and focuses mental efforts (to the exclusion of everything else).

Educational Recommendations

• Cultivate and select for high ability (IQ / g) and some type of prediction of high productivity.
• A nation’s most important resource is the level of educated intelligence in its population.
  • It determines the quality of life.