Chimpy has the third lowest IQ of any president, Clinton fourth highest, according to study (mydd)

[jefferson_dem]

No surprise there...

From http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/5/30/131648/708 --

A political scientist friend of mine sent me an article yesterday that attempts to estimate the IQ of 42 of the 43 Presidents of the United States. You can read the entire article here, including the convoluted methodology. I would rather just cut to the chase and post the amusing results, ranked from highest to lowest:

Estimated Presidential IQ Range, Age 18-26. Source: Dean Keith Simonton, UC Davis
J. Q. Adams: 165-175
Jefferson: 150-160
Kennedy: 148-160
Clinton: 147-159
Carter: 144-157
J. Adams: 145-155
Wilson: 144-155
Madison: 135-160
T. Roosevelt: 142-153
Garfield: 141-152
Arthur: 141-152
F. Roosevelt: 140-151
Lincoln: 140-150
Filmore: 137-149
Tyler: 137-148
Pierce: 136-147
Hayes: 136-146
W. Harrison: 136-146
Van Buren: 135-146
B. Harrison: 134-145
Eisenhower: 134-145
Cleveland: 133-144
Nixon: 133-143
Polk: 133-143
McKinley: 133-143
Bush Sr.: 133-143
Jackson: 130-145
Washington: 135-140
Hoover: 132-143
Regan: 132-142
Coolidge: 131-142
LBJ: 131-141
Ford: 130-140
Truman: 130-140
Taft: 130-140
A. Johnson: 129-140
Buchannan: 129-140
Taylor: 129-140
Harding: 128-140
Bush Jr.: 129-139
Monroe: 128-139
Grant: 125-130

The paper actually goes down to a decimal point, allowing for tiebreakers. Also, if you remove John Quincy Adams, the range is fairly narrow, only 27-28 points from Grant to Jefferson at each's median. The paper also claims to have an extremely accurate methodology, and that there is a correspondence between intelligence and performance in the Presidency. Somehow, back in 2000, that completely backfired on Gore, who was widely considered to be much smarter than Bush. However, Bush somehow seemed to still win personality points more than Gore. Perhaps, now that people are sick of Bush and consider him a failure, we need to start pushing "gravitas" as an important characteristic of a chief executive. Also, I wonder which current Democratic candidate is the "smartest."

http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/5/30/131648/708

[BlooInBloo]

1. Should put "R" and "D" next to 'em, so we can eyeball their centers of mass.

[patricia92243]

7. My first thought - we usually think Democrats are more intelligent than Republics. Wonder if it is

true. I know Republics are more nasty street-fighter smart, but that is not intelligence.

[patricia92243]

2. kennedy was higher than Bill Clinton - who'd of thunk it!!

[DS1]

3. 129 at the minimum end is too high

Maybe 15 years ago, but not today.

Now I'd say he's around 105 tops

[lpbk2713]

25. I agree

I tend to think someone was being very generous.

[ShortnFiery]

34. 105 on a Good Day!

;)

[RebelOne]

4. False. It's been debunked.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/presiq.htm

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. And it's a favorite topic of RWers.

[onehandle]

12. Right. Here's the true order.

1) Every President except George W. Bush
2) A Brick
3) George W. Bush

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. Woot!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Libby2]

20. LOL! n/t

[Beausoleil]

21. That was a different study. n/t

[SmokingJacket]

29. Actually, it refers to a real journal article...

the journal Political Psychology. http://chris_bowers.mydd.com/images/user/217/Presidential_IQ.pdf

Not that because some academics say it's true, it's true. (I doubt Bush's is that high.) But it's not the same thing that Snopes cites.

[Sweet Freedom]

5. I'm pretty sure this is a hoax

You may want to look it up. Snopes probably has it (I can't check it at work because it's blocked)

[bunkerbuster1]

9. Of course it is

Please. IQ tests for the Founding Fathers?

Old, stupid shit, kinda embarrassing to see it posted here.

[RebelOne]

16. See my post above.

[Greyskye]

22. snopes blocked at work?

Damn. I was the person all the admins came to for years, since I would constantly send back to them Snopes references letting them know that their latest email blast to 500+ employees was a big fat lie! I hardly ever have to do that any more lol - they finally seem to have learned!

[Sweet Freedom]

44. Yeah, I'm surprised, but all the hoax sites are blocked.

I can't even use personal quota time to access them.

[jgraz]

6. Riiiight. If Chimpolini is above 90 I'll...well, I'll do something really unexpected

And you'll all be really impressed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. This is horse pucky

You can't get an accurate IQ unless you actually give an IQ test.

[Blackhatjack]

11. I wonder which current Democratic candidate is the "smartest." --Likely Edwards...

I don't have an IQ number to give you, but most Insurance Defense Attorneys will tell you he is the smartest they ever went up against. (He was also the most tenacious --but I doubt you get extra IQ points for that).

[brooklynite]

13. To paraphrase former Senator Hruska...

"Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre people. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they?"

In defense against charges that Supreme Court nominee G Harold Carswell was "mediocre", U.S. Senator Roman Hruska stated, "Even if he is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance?"...

[Gman]

15. Bush Jr. is no more than 100 - 105

and quite possible 98 - 99.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. NO! That's 3rd lowest IQ in the Dumb Turnip competition.

[theoldman]

18. A bunch of crap.

Very few of the presidents were in the genius category of 140 or higher. Most were just average, 95 to 105. Carter was actually tested to 165. All we can do is guess at Bush Jr. and I would say about 90.

[YOY]

19. Been debunked

Honestly, there is no way that man is over 100 points. For crissakes he still mispronounces 'Nuclear' even after people have harped him for it. If he's not an idiot then he's completely stoneheaded stubborn (aka idiot by choice.)

[WI_DEM]

23. I doubt the accuracy of this

[bdamomma]

24. why would anyone doubt that, he has displayed his low IQ a

number of times, he is dyslexic (no offense to those who do have this learning disability) and has some psychological and psychiatric problems that is why people (his immediate cronies including his mother and father) continuously protect him. They know he is a loose cannon.

[pnwmom]

28. What they're doubting is that his actual intelligence quotient is anywhere

near 129-139, which would put him in the gifted category in most public schools. ("Profoundly gifted" is above 145 or 150.)

There's no way Bush is much smarter than average, which is about 100.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. That's not really fair.

To Monroe and Grant.

[pnwmom]

27. Bush's I.Q. is off the charts -- much higher than anyone else's.

His Idiot Quotient that is.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

30. I'm not as concerned with Bush's IQ as I am with his lack of knowledge

of the world and his apparent lack of curiosity. I don't know Bush personally and, for all I know, he may be extremely well-read in a very wide variety of subjects relevant to his position. But the appearance is that Bush only surrounds himself with people who agree with him, that he does not read, that he does not expose himself to other points of view, but that instead he cultivates an anti-intellectual attitude.

I'd rather have someone of average IQ as President, but who has acquired the wide and profound knowledge to make judgements that take into account many possibilities and points of view.

[ShortnFiery]

37. Exactly! I forget the Professor's name at SDSU but he conducted a detailed study

during the late 1980s on GRE test scores and if they could predict academic performance. Mathematics and other hard sciences not withstanding, people who tested Average or a little Above were JUST AS LIKELY to graduate as those who scored in the Gifted Range.

His point that the most reliable factor with regard to predicting academic success (given people with a minimum "average" aptitude) was good old basic MOTIVATION.

This highlights the fact that Dear Leader appears to demonstrate an IQ barely scratching 95 IQ points because he is bereft of "intellectual curiosity." :wow: Nor does Bush BOTHER to apply the principles of critical thinking.

Why should our Idiot King bother to think? Grandpa and Poppy have handed everything to their heirs on a silver platter. Therefore, in his narrow mind, he is *the decider* as reality is what he makes it. After all, who is going to challenge him ... who is going to stand up and TELL HIM otherwise? :scared: :crazy:

The inadequate leader?

Mad King George?

On both emotional and intellectual planes, the answers to the above questions - "Hell yes!" ;)

[Igel]

31. The article was, indeed, published--snopes notwithstanding.

The thing snopes deals with probably prompted the UC-Davis psych prof to do his thing.

I'm not sure my link to the Blackwell-Synergy page will yield anything useful to those not accessing it from a subscribing institution, but here it is: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2006.00524.x

The citation is:
Dean Keith Simonton (2006)
Presidential IQ, Openness, Intellectual Brilliance, and Leadership: Estimates and Correlations for 42 U.S. Chief Executives
Political Psychology 27 (4), 511–526.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2006.00524.x

I have no clue how stringent the peer review is.

On edit: Usually IQ-based things bring out fervent deconstructions of the idea of IQ, as well as raising issues of multiple intelligences.

[Johonny]

32. You can't

measure the IQ of someone that is dead. The whole idea borders on the silly. Of course this doesn't stop people from trying...

[Odin2005]

33. W has the same IQ that I do? That can't be fuckling right.

I'd say he's between 105-115. I think this guy is overestimating the IQs of most of them by around 15 to 20 points. I don't think * is dumb, he's just ignorant, childish, and arrogant.

The position of John Quincy Adams and Jefferson at the top doesn't surprise me, though.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. Convoluted Methodology? You're Not Kidding

Think about the probability of all these presidents being in the upper 7% of intellectual capacity. I'll let you do the math, because that's where the fun is. But, trust me, the assumptions are pretty broad, hard to defend, and the probability just doesn't feel right to me.
The Professor

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

36. Reagan was an imbecile

This is bogus.

[ShortnFiery]

38. Yeah, but at least there was SOME strange genuine warmth underneath all that fluff.

Dear Leader is, IMO, a textbook case of an Antisocial Personality. We should thank God that he does not sport a higher IQ, otherwise he'd be able to "compensate and cover" in a much more effective manner. ;)

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

40. Very true n/t

[Madspirit]

39. Bush's IQ is not that high

They have him in the Bright range. The man is a dim bulb.
Lee

[mitchum]

41. How does anyone (even *) get ranked lower than Ronald Reagan?

He was stupid even for an actor

[Bluebear]

42. Bush 129-139? No way in hell. nt

[Rex]

43. Oh please, knock off about 20 points on all those.

Oh and knock off about 120 points on Jr and I bet it is right.