What Famous People Think About IQ?
Intelligence and how we measure it – the intelligence quotient (IQ) – have long been debated. Many people think a high IQ is the key to success.
However, famous people from different areas often say that emotional intelligence, creativity, and character matter more.
Here's what some of them are saying:
"The energy you create around you is perhaps going to be the most important attribute - in the long run, EQ trumps IQ. Without being a source of energy for others, very little can be accomplished."
Satya Nadella - Indian-American businessman, CEO of Microsoft
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
Albert Einstein - German theoretical physicist, author of the theory of relativity
"It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently."
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Russian writer, philosopher and publicist
"I have no idea what my IQ is. People who boast about their IQ are losers."
Stephen Hawking - English theoretical physicist and cosmologist
"You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ."
Warren Buffett - American investor and philanthropist
"I think being emotionally intelligent is more important in every aspect of life – and this includes business. Being a good listener, finding empathy, understanding emotions, communicating effectively, treating people well, and bringing out the best is critical to success… If I had let my IQ and my school grades determine my success I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today, so I hope that nobody lets a standardised test result get in the way of a good idea."
Richard Branson - British business magnate and founder of the Virgin Group
"Winning a Nobel Prize is no big deal, but winning it with an IQ of 124 is really something."
Richard Feynman - American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate
Explanation: With this funny comment, Feynman mocks the idea that you need an extraordinary IQ for major scientific discoveries. He points out that passion and hard work are more important.
"Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven."
Edward de Bono - Maltese physician, psychologist, and creator of lateral thinking
"I was always the black sheep of the family and always told that I was dumb, and I had a low IQ and did badly in school."
Francis Ford Coppola - American film director and creator of the Godfather trilogy
"Develop all four intelligences. PQ (physical intelligence) which represents 70 trillion cells that fight disease and digest your breakfast. IQ (intellectual intelligence), EQ (emotional intelligence) the sensing and wisdom of the heart - and SQ (spiritual intelligence) having to do with meaning, purpose and integrity around your selected value system and your believed source. When combined, they change the world for good."
Stephen Covey - American leadership expert and author of 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'
"If we don’t plant the right things, we will reap the wrong things. It goes without saying. And you don’t have to be, you know, a brilliant biochemist and you don’t have to have an IQ of 150. Just common sense tells you to be kind, ninny, fool. Be kind."
Maya Angelou - American poet, writer, actress and civil rights activist
"I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues."
Franklin Roosevelt - 32nd President of the United States
The words of these famous personalities show that true intelligence is not measured by numbers alone, but by how we use our abilities in life.
More useful resources:
» What Is IQ?» People With the Highest IQ
» How Is IQ Measured? Understanding Average and High IQ Scores
» Is IQ Important?
» How to improve your cognition and brain function?
» What was Einstein's IQ?