What's a Genius IQ?

If you have your IQ (intelligence quotient) professionally tested, you will probably be told what range you fall into. However, maybe you have taken at at home test or you are simply curious about the different levels of IQ testing out there.

According to the IQ Comparison Site, Lewis Terman defined a genius IQ or "near genius" IQ as 140 or higher. A blog entitled "The Massive List of Genius" states that the highest IQ was achieved by a physicist named Kim Ung-Yong. He apparently achieved an IQ of 210. Therefore, the range for genius IQs is actually quite large. The definition is also a little bit ambiguous though, as one with an IQ of 140 could be considered either a "genius" or a "near genius."

Individuals Who Have Achieved Genius IQs

The Massive List of Genius blog lists a number of individuals who have surpassed the noted mark of 140. Some of the names might surprise you, while there are others who you probably have already suspected were quite intelligent beings. The individual's IQ score is listed next to his or her name.

• Christopher Michael Langan: 195
• Philip Emeagwali: 190
• Garry Kasparov: 190
• Marilyn Vos Savant: 186
• James Wood: 180
• Bobby Fischer: 167
• Stephen W. Hawking: 160+
• Leonardo da Vinci: 180
• Blaise Pascal: 171
• Martin Luther: 170
• Johann Sebastian Bach: 165
• Thomas Hobbess: 165
• George Eliot: 150
• Abraham Lincoln: 150
• George Sand: 143
• John Locke: 165
• Albert Einstein: 160
• Immanuel Kant: 159
• Charles Darwin: 153
• Thomas Chatterton: 156
• Benjamin Franklin: 160
• Robert Boyle: 160
• Linus Carl Pauling: 156
• Paul Allen: 160
• John H. Sununu: 180
• Benjamin Netanyahu: 180
• Andrew Wiles: 170
• Judith Polgar: 170
• Robert Byrne: 170
• Sharon Stone: 154
• Ludwig Wittgenstein: 190

Of course, you probably recognize names on this list from before the time that IQ tests even existed. In 1926, Dr. Catherine Morris Cox did a study on these very intelligent individuals from the past, and she made these educated guesses as to what IQ scores they would probably have received.

Other IQ Levels

Terman also classified the other IQ levels when he made his chart. As you now already know, the genius or near genius level is defined as 140 and above. The other levels of Terman's model are as follows:

• 120-140: very superior intelligence
• 110-120: superior intelligence
• 90-110: normal or average intelligence
• 80-90: dullness
• 70-80: borderline deficiency
• Below 70: definite feeble-mindedness

Below this level, people in the field have worked to put together a chart that defines different levels of "feeble-mindness" which generally includes mental disabilities. In modern times, people are generally more sensitive and do not necessarily use the term "feeble minded" to describe a person with a disability.

Terman's model is not the only one in existence for sorting out the different levels of IQ. David Wechsler developed a scale that does not include the term genius at all. You might be more familiar with this one, that has the following levels:

• 128+: very superior
• 120-127: superior
• 111-119: bright normal
• 91-110: average
• 80-90: dull normal
• 66-79: borderline
• 65 and below: defective

Considerations About IQ

If you are really interested in knowing your IQ, take an exam with a certified testing center. However, do not get upset with yourself if you do not achieve a genius or "very superior" level.

IQ tests primarily target the type of intelligence that one learns in a school curriculum. They are not testing your ability to be a professional athlete, an artist featured in the Metropolitan, or an astronaut who discovers a new planet. Do not feel defeated just because your IQ score is lower.