- from BrainIf you want to find out how long or short something is, you can use a ruler, but how do you measure “smart”? Albert Einstein, the most famous genius of the twentieth century, was way smarter than most people—but how much smarter? People are smart in far too many ways to measure on a simple scale. Though a genius in physics, could Einstein keep an audience laughing? Rihanna is a brilliant singer, but can she write a brilliant novel? Poet Maya Angelou had an ingenious way with words, but could she multiply five-digit numbers in her head? Probably no better than you can. Genius can apply to language, music, math, visual perception (art, engineering), body movement (dance, sports), and psychology. “IQ” stands for intelligence quotient. Maybe you’ve even taken an IQ test in school. Someone may have told you that an IQ score of 100 is average, and that higher scores mean greater intelligence, while lower scores indicate less intelligence. Don’t believe that, because we can be very smart and skilled in some areas but not in others, which makes it very hard to measure overall intelligence. That’s why the value of IQ tests is being challenged. Here are some things that critics of the IQ test say:• The questions test only language and math. • The questions tend to be written for people who are white and not poor. • The tests don’t allow for changes in intelligence. • Test givers make mistakes.