The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History
Today I’d like us to look at the Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History, but first let’s take a look at what IQ refers to. (I know many of us have a rough idea but knowing what IQ really refers do won’t do us any harm 🙂 )
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded: What Is IQ?
IQ is an abbreviation of Intelligent Quotient which refers to the ratio of the mental age (MA) to the chronological age (CA) multiplied by 100 i.e. IQ=MA/CA x 100.
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded: CA & MA
Chronological age refers to how old a person really is (in regard to their birthday) e.g. if you were born in 12th December 2012 then in 12th December 2013 you’ll be 1 year old.
Mental age refers to how old a person is mentally i.e. their mental ability in regard to their chronological age e.g. If a child aged 12 might be able to read, understand or even reason on a higher level as compared to another child also aged 12, then the first child is said to have a higher mental age.
The mental age is usually computed on a standardized test.
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded: Example
If a teenager aged 17 is able to reason or answer questions like a 30 year old then the teenagers IQ is:
IQ=MA/CA x 100
= 30/17 x 100
IQ=176
NB: Because of the nature of the IQ formula, an individual’s IQ will usually drop once they start to age.
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded: IQ History
The abbreviation IQ originates from Intelligenz-Quotient, a German term originally coined by psychologist William Stern
Now that we have a better idea about what IQ refers to, let’s go ahead and look at the Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History
The holder of the Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History is Abdesselam Jelloul who scored an adult IQ of 198 in a test conducted in 2012.
The test to find out if indeed Abdesselam Jelloul had the Highest IQ Ever included 13 dimensions of intelligence which were:
- Analytical
- Spatial
- Logical
- Memory
- Musical
- Linguistic
- Philosophical
- Moral
- Spiritual
- Interpersonal
- Intra-personal
- Bodily
- Naturalist
The advanced IQ test that Abdesselam Jelloul took involved more measures that the ordinary IQ tests can’t access.
Aside from Abdesselam Jelloul who holds the title of The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History, there exist others who’ve also displayed very High IQ’s and below is a list of some of the 13 Highest IQ’s Ever Recorded In History inclusive of Abdesselam Jelloul.
13 Highest IQ’s Ever Recorded In History
| # | Name | Score | Details |
| 1 | Abdesselam Jelloul | 198 | Scored in a 2012 test including 13 dimensions of intelligence. |
| 2 | William J. Sidis | 197 | Child prodigy with exceptional mathematical & linguistic abilities. |
| 3 | Christopher Langan | 195 | Called “the smartest man in America”. |
| 4 | Garry Kasparov | 190 | Chess grandmaster, writer and political activist. |
| 5 | Leonardo da Vinci | ~190 | A genius polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, scientist… |
| 6 | Ludwig Wittgenstein | 190 | Philosopher primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics… |
| 7 | Sir Isaac Newton | ~190 | Physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist… |
| 8 | Bobby Fischer | 187 | A chess Grandmaster and a child prodigy. |
| 9 | Marilyn vos Savant | 185 | Magazine columnist, author, lecturer, and playwright. |
| 10 | Kim Ung-Yong | 170 | Korean civil engineer and former child prodigy. |
| 11 | Albert Einstein | 160 | Theoretical physicist (the general theory of relativity). |
| 12 | Akrit Jaswal | 146 | Child prodigy who performed his first surgery at the age of 7. |
| 13 | Grigori Y. Perelman | ? | Solved the Poincaré conjecture. |
(The Highest IQ Ever Recorded)
The following is the widely accepted IQ Score Ranking System that is used to establish people’s IQ’s.
Highest IQ Ever Recorded: The IQ Score Ranking System
| IQ Score | Traditional Ranking System |
| 140 + (~.25%) | Genius or near genius |
| 130 – 139 | Gifted |
| 120 – 129 | Very Superior Intelligence |
| 110 – 119 | Superior Intelligence |
| 90 – 109 | Average/Normal |
| 80 – 89 | Dullness |
| 70 – 79 | Borderline deficiency |
| 50 – 70 | Mild mental retardation |
| 35-50 | Moderate mental retardation |
| 20 – 35 | Severe mental retardation |
| < 20 | Profound mental retardation (1%) |
(The Highest IQ Ever Recorded: Table Source)
NB: An IQ score ranging from 90-109 is regarded as normal and is therefore the safe zone whereas anything above that range is considered superior and anything below that range is considered “needy”
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History: How An IQ Test Is Conducted
People going for IQ tests are generally assigned an average score of 100 and their actual IQ scores are compared against the average score of 100 in terms of the standard deviation which is taken as 15 e.g. If you score 5 deviations above the mean score then your IQ score would be 175 i.e. [100 + (15*5)]=175.
The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History: Things To Note Regarding An IQ Test
- The mean (average) IQ score is 100
- The IQ standard deviation is 15
NB:
- The highest IQ is 200
- To convert a child’s IQ score into an adult’s IQ score you need to do the following:
Child IQ Score/100*age/16*100 = Adult IQ Score. (The number 16 is used to indicate the age at which supposedly the IQ reaches its peak)
So there you have it, The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History as well as a list of some of the 13 Highest IQ’s Ever Recorded In History.
It might be a good idea to take an IQ test because you never know; you might be the next world holder of the Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History.
(The Highest IQ Ever Recorded In History: Images above courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net)
If you found value in the above post on the highest IQ ever recorded in history, then please leave a comment below and don’t forget to share!
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I needed to know what is IQ. Thx. Your information is great:-)
You’re very much welcome 🙂
My IQ is 120.