The snarling hyenas that inhabit the world of the main stream media are always looking for something, anything, in this Administration that they can distort in order to denigrate it, no matter how inconsequential. We have seen the “journalists” have a fit over what kind of shoes the First Lady wore to such and such a place. We have seen them be outraged when, at an event, President Trump had two (yes, two!) scoops of ice cream while everyone had one (oh, the horror, the horror!). And now, we see them magnifying an off the cuff remark by Trump—almost certainly a joke—about matching IQ scores with Rex Tillerson.
This follows on the heels of the fake news spread by “journalists” that Tillerson referred to Trump as a “moron.” Liberals, in all their smug arrogance, continually refer to themselves as being so much superior to conservatives, and to ordinary Americans. Liberals constantly tell each other how intelligent, how brilliant, how wonderful, how open-minded and tolerant they are while conservatives are crude, intolerant, and practically retarded. They really do believe this.
But let us suppose, just for the sake of argument, that Trump was serious and that Tillerson indeed said that and let us examine the concept of intelligence.
The question of what is intelligence, and how can it be measured, are issues that have captivated psychologists for over a century. Some are of the belief that we should look at intelligence as a broad, general, concept, referred to as . . . g. Other psychologists are of the equally firm opinion that intelligence comes in many forms: verbal, spatial, memory, mathematical, etc. Like the competing theories as to the makeup of light (waves or particles), they are both right. Regardless, after a century of research, we have devised several reliable, valid, IQ tests.
Comparing the IQ scores of two individuals is somewhat pointless because intelligence is composed of different components (depending on which psychometrician you ask, anywhere from 1 to over 100). True, you get an overall score, but much more importantly in the prediction of ultimate “success” (however you want to define “success”) is personality, particularly grit (and, yes, “grit” has become a psychological term). Let me present two actual, contrasting, individuals. Individual A has an IQ of 127, above average, in the Superior category. Individual B has an IQ of 144, in the Very Superior category (incidentally, as we get towards the ends of the distribution curve, the numbers acquire a greater weight). Individual A has advanced degrees, has published numerous books, carried out scientific research which have been published in technical journals, very early in his life. He was judged by his teachers as ambitious, arrogant, narcissistic, nonconformist, and an irritant. Individual B’s highest degree was an AA from a community college, owns a modest shop that was set up with an inheritance. He was judged by his teachers as a juvenile delinquent.
It’s the personality that counts. A high IQ is simply a tool. What you do with it depends on you. IQ is not a guarantee of “success,” but it sure helps to have it.
As for Trump, it would be nice to know out of curiosity his SAT score since the pre-1994 SATs have a fairly good correlation with one’s IQ. But without even looking at his SAT, I can tell you he has a high IQ. You don’t get to be a multimillionaire, and then president, against so many obstacles if you are “a moron.” This is just wishful thinking on the part of leftists (just like they tell themselves that he is a racist and a fascist, and etc.). If he was, indeed, “a moron” he would have become homeless in his twenties. “A fool and his money are soon parted,” observed Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately, liberals are self-delusional, condescending propagandists who believe that anyone who is not an unquestioning, conformist, liberal is mentally defective. Fine. Let them think that.
One last caveat: never, ever, try to find out what your IQ is. You will always be disappointed, regardless of what score you get.
Armando Simón is a retired college professor and is the author of A Cuban from Kansas, The U, The Only Red Star I Liked Was a Starfish, The Cult of Suicide and Other Sci-Fi Stories, Orlando Stories, Wichita Women, as well as numerous stage plays. They can be obtained at Amazon, Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble.
Views expressed in op-eds are not the views of The Daily Caller.