> who are we to judge a great mind? we simply cant.
It's not like these "great minds" are alien superintelligences. How much smarter do you think they were than the average person, in terms of IQ? Maybe 2x maximum? Seems quite possible to judge. Tesla was not a Singularity.
IQ isn't an absolute score of intelligence, it's relative and assumes a normal distribution. Someone with a 200 IQ is not twice as intelligent as someone with a 100 IQ, they are ~7 standard deviations better on the score of a test designed to assess intelligence.
IQ is definitely not the end all-be-all of intelligence because you can train yourself to become better at taking IQ tests by taking IQ tests: that's what all those people with >180 IQ who are "the smartest people in the world" did. And of course intelligence is only part of the equation: people could be much smarter than Tesla but simply never become interested in electricity, and even very smart people can make mistakes and arrive at incorrect conclusions (perhaps due to ego as well - we are all human). There are also different forms of intelligence, as some people are much better than others at verbal/spatial/logical reasoning but perform averagely in other categories.
So in general I'd say IQ is not a good way to look at this. We should look more at the fact that mental illness can affect everyone, and if someone starts suddenly making provably false outlandish claims, that doesn't mean they weren't once a great scientist or very intelligent person.
> It's not like these "great minds" are alien superintelligences.
I disagree, I define a truly great mind as one that thinks very differently from others, and solves problems others can't. Not someone who can just solve problems more quickly.
Why do you think it matters what his IQ is? You can't measure someone's ability to think about new things with a test that asks you to solve relatively simple brainteasers. I am sure his IQ was quite high, but that doesn't mean someone with an equivalently high IQ could do what he did.
Unusual minds solve problems others can't, but also make mistakes others wouldn't. I don't claim to know which of these two phenomena is exhibited in Tesla's wild ideas.
IQ is an irrelevant metric. Look at his achievements pragmatically.
In terms of understanding of electric phenomena, its difficult to point at another with a similar level of understanding (or at least productive understanding).
With that in mind, it would seem he's quite a bit "smarter" than even very intelligent people, with the same life long pursuit.
> In terms of understanding of electric phenomena, its difficult to point at another with a similar level of understanding (or at least productive understanding).
Maxwell? Faraday? Heaviside? etc. Or are we explicitly talking circuits?
Im not from the field (speaking as an 'average joe' here), but i dont think genius come from brain mechanical power alone.
When you try to map some trends 'genius' people have that others dont, it comes to have some form of free/ilimited thinking, like kids often do, persistence and even stuborness based on faith that something others dont get it its actually possible, criativity, a good environment and in the end choose that path that im sure can become a big burden, that will require a lot of spirit, persistence and good will.
So i guess IQ tests alone will never be able to frame or to detect real geniuses in a objective automated manner.
Of course that more brainpower give you more chances to become a genius, but there are some traces of the personality that must also be there.
For instance, the majority of the smart people in the world, will not go through this route, giving they can just use their brains to get rich, famous, powerful and use it in a more egotistical and self-fulfilling manner.
It's not like these "great minds" are alien superintelligences. How much smarter do you think they were than the average person, in terms of IQ? Maybe 2x maximum? Seems quite possible to judge. Tesla was not a Singularity.