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Good Question: What Is I.Q.?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - In the new CBS show "Scorpion," the main character is based on a real person who had an I.Q. of 197, the fourth highest ever recorded. Experts believe Albert Einstein's I.Q. was closer to 160.

So, what is I.Q.?

Good Question.

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to changes, to use information to solve problems," said Dr. Mary Wandrei, a psychologist who works with gifted and talented children. "It can help us understand intelligence, especially from an analytical view, learning how to analyze a situation, finding out the details that are relevant to the problem and using your mental capacity."

I.Q. stands for intelligence quotient.  The mean I.Q. is 100 and about 2/3 of people fall between 85 and 115.  One percent score below 68 and 1 percent score above 132.

Wandrei uses two different types of standardized tests, which can last between one and two hours, to measure I.Q.  Parts of the test includes talking, pointing at patterns and putting together puzzles and blocks.  She puts together the results of those tests, along with her observations, to give a range of scores.  She says psychologists don't like to share the questions because they don't want people to train for the test.

I.Q. is considered only one measurement of smarts.  Wandrei says the correlation between success and I.Q. is only between 40 percent and 60 percent when I.Q. is used to its full potential.

"I.Q. doesn't measure the kind of intelligence that helps us come up with novel solutions to problems," Wandrei said. "Creativity is not well-measured by I.Q. tests. Street smarts--practical intelligence --is not very well measured by I.Q. tests."

Instead, the tests are used to help understand better a child's educational needs.

Wandrei says I.Q. scores can change depending on how, when and where you take the test.  Environmental factors, stress, comfort with the tester can all factor into how well someone scores.

But, she says your I.Q. doesn't change much after the age of 6.  She says people can exercise their brains to expand their intelligence, but can't make major changes to their innate intelligence.

"You can't study your way to genius level."

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