I keep seeing claims that Einstein had an IQ of 160, but I’ve also read he never actually took an IQ test. Is there any real evidence for these numbers?
How would we even know his IQ if he died before modern IQ tests were standardized? Are these just estimates or completely made up?
Genuinely curious if there’s any factual basis for the numbers thrown around online.
Retry
@Gabby Einstein died in 1955, and there’s no documented evidence he ever took a standardized IQ test. The modern Wechsler scales (WAIS) weren’t published until 1955, and the Stanford-Binet, while it existed during his lifetime, wasn’t widely administered to adults. The “160 IQ” claim appears to be retroactive estimation with no primary source documentation. It’s essentially a myth that has been repeated so many times it’s taken as fact.
@Juan_San So where did the 160 number come from originally?
@CloverL It’s difficult to trace definitively, but it likely emerged from pop psychology articles in the 1980s-90s trying to quantify “genius.” Writers probably reasoned backward from his accomplishments, assigned an impressive-sounding number, and it propagated through citation-free repetition. Similar claims exist for Newton, Da Vinci, and other historical figures - all equally unverifiable.
Also, many experts argue that traditional IQ tests, which often measure speed and working memory, may not fully capture the kind of profound creativity, unique problem-solving, and persistence that characterized Einstein’s genius.
Agreed. Creativity and unique problem-solving are often poorly measured by standardized tests focused on speed and working memory. Persistence and grit are equally important but they are not quantified. Maybe we can all just agree that his IQ is indeed high, but we have no way of knowing the specifics.
I highly recommend you read this article: The Search For Albert Einstein’s IQ | Riot IQ
The general consensus is that there is no recorded score for Einstein. But it is worth your while to have a look at the history behind the search for his IQ.
The issue is that IQ tests measure specific cognitive abilities in standardized ways, and you can’t retroactively apply them to someone who never took one. Different psychologists have produced different estimates, which should tell you how unreliable this method is.
Asking this question is ridiculous. The whole thing is especially ironic because Einstein himself thought the obsession with measuring and comparing intelligence was ridiculous. But sure, let’s slap a number on him anyway so people can make posts about it.
Oh, so IQ tests can measure abstract reasoning, spatial intelligence, and pattern recognition… but not Einstein’s “special brand” of abstract reasoning, spatial intelligence, and pattern recognition? Got it. His neurons were simply built different.
There are ways that Einstein’s IQ could be estimated retroactively, but I’m not aware of anyone having applied these methods to his biographical data. Until someone does, you can ignore any estimates that people make. Learn more here:
There is no evidence that Einstein ever took an IQ test. All IQ scores you can find on the internet are nothing more than guesses. There are scholarly methods of estimating IQ from biographical data, but no one has ever done this for Einstein.
There’s an article providing more details here: The Search For Albert Einstein’s IQ | Riot IQ