John Lennon's IQ

[nowheregirl]

I posted a link to an article in another thread that says John Lennon's IQ was "well into the 150s". Does anyone know whether that's true or where the writer of the article got that information from? I know that an IQ of over 140 is considered to be genius or near-genius level. I'm not denying that John's IQ could be that high as he was obviously very intelligent, but I've never seen an actual number mentioned in any other books or articles I've read. What do you think?

[Davey]

I Don't know...but I think it is quite true even if I can't imagine when He could have done that test

[lennonfan]

I did a quick search for some information on this , and I found this from 2001:

Beatles school reports for sale

Sir Paul McCartney had a higher IQ than George Harrison when they were 11, according to the former Beatles' secondary school entrance exam cards. In 1953, aged 11.2, Sir Paul had a rating of 137, while in 1954, aged 11.6, Harrison had one of 117. The cards will be auctioned at Phillips on March 30.


So if Paul and George had their IQs tested at school, maybe John did too. I'm sure John's would probably have been at least as high as Paul's. I think apart from his musical talent you have to be very intelligent to be as clever with words as he was (like in In His Own Write/A Spaniard In The Works and also in interviews etc).

[nocturnalquadruped]

lennonfan said:

I think apart from his musical talent you have to be very intelligent to be as clever with words as he was (like in In His Own Write/A Spaniard In The Works and also in interviews etc).

I believe Lennons use of words was in large due to a mild form of Dyslexia (did I spell that right) leading to mis-spelled words that John used for his whole life. Instead of allowing Dyslexia to be a handicap John used it to his advantage to create amazing words in a literary form. It is also a common belief that people who suffer from this disfunction are usually brighter than the average person.

[Sun King]

nocturnalquadruped said:

It is also a common belief that people who suffer from this disfunction are usually brighter than the average person.

Yes, I'd read that he was probably dyslexic. So were Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill apparently, among others, so maybe there's some truth to that theory.

[starshyne]

I am a reading specialist and have studied dyslexic students and it is true. Typcially a student with this learning disability are very smart when you talk to them. They know many facts, have a large vocabualary and just overall seem to be very smart. Then when they have to do something on paper, there is a break down and their work seems to be very low. This is because the brain isn't processing letters and numbers correctly. Some people reverse things, others do not. True dyslexia is actually rare, but many people can have parts of it (if that makes sense). I have also noticed that people with dyselexia seem to excell in other areas like sports, art, music, etc (fits John as well, doesn't it?). I don't know if John had any learning disability or what his IQ was, but it is interesting to think about.

[nocturnalquadruped]

I must confess the only reference I have encountered to John being Dyslexic (as far as I can recall) came from Goldmans book the lives of John Lennon.

[BudgieWudgieWeed]

When you've an IQ of over 130 you're concidered very smart, near-genius, and when it's over 140 you're concidered to be a genius. Usually people have an IQ of between the 90 - 110 and I know that in Holland the average is exactly 100. About 2% of the inhabitants have an IQ of 130 or higher...

Anyway, I don't really know whether to think John was dyslexic or not. I mean, usually dyslexic (sp?) people don't really like to read either, while John was the Beatle that read most, ever since he was little. My brother is only slightly dyslexic - mis-spells words and such (no instead of know, he doesn't seem to see the difference) and he already hates to read while I do love it, as well as both of my parents do. I don't know.

Also, I've seen some letters John wrote to Cynthia, and he didn't make mistakes in those. But that's just my vision, and everyone can have his or her own! (Hee!)

Edit: I just remembered - when it comes to people who are really smart, they usually experience the same as dyslexic people (as what starshyne's mentioning). They're especially really good at one area; sports, maths, languages or they're very creative. I've always counted John as one of the people from the latter group.

(Hehe, read some stuff about it a while ago - mum sort of forced me to do an IQ test - twas something like 132, can't really remember. Not too good with numbers xD)Wish you were here - Pink Floyd

[bungalowbill]

Interesting...if he'd had his IQ tested in school and it was really that high, it must have been pretty frustrating for his teachers seeing that he didn't have any interest in anything academic. It is possible that he was dyslexic, though I have also seen it suggested that maybe he had ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or ADD (attenton deficit disorder) - finding it difficult to concentrate, being disorganized and forgetful, impulsiveness, restlessness, etc, which also sounds like John and can affect adults not just children. Anyway, I have no problem believing John would have had an exceptionally high IQ.

[BudgieWudgieWeed]

bungalowbill said:

Interesting...if he'd had his IQ tested in school and it was really that high, it must have been pretty frustrating for his teachers seeing that he didn't have any interest in anything academic. It is possible that he was dyslexic, though I have also seen it suggested that maybe he had ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or ADD (attenton deficit disorder) - finding it difficult to concentrate, being disorganized and forgetful, impulsiveness, restlessness, etc, which also sounds like John and can affect adults not just children. Anyway, I have no problem believing John would have had an exceptionally high IQ.

But don't you think that it could also be just so that he was so very creative that his mind wouldn't keep still, not as in having ADHD or ADD, but just the way that he comes up with so many ideas that he has got a problem with concentrating. It's one of the things I identify with myself in the man, at least, and I don't have ADHD (alright, sometimes my parents tell me that I'm acting as if I have got it, and I haven't been tested for it but I don't think so)
Coming to think of it... Maybe I should get myself tested first before starting to talk about it like this. xD

[nowheregirl]

budgiewudgieweed said:

But don't you think that it could also be just so that he was so very creative that his mind wouldn't keep still, not as in having ADHD or ADD, but just the way that he comes up with so many ideas that he has got a problem with concentrating.

Maybe...if you notice when he was singing live he often forgot the words, and I think that could be because his mind was already racing ahead to the next line. Also he said that when he was writing his books he could only write short stories because he got bored if he tried to write anything longer.

[BudgieWudgieWeed]

admin said:

budgiewudgieweed said:

But don't you think that it could also be just so that he was so very creative that his mind wouldn't keep still, not as in having ADHD or ADD, but just the way that he comes up with so many ideas that he has got a problem with concentrating.

Maybe...if you notice when he was singing live he often forgot the words, and I think that could be because his mind was already racing ahead to the next line. Also he said that when he was writing his books he could only write short stories because he got bored if he tried to write anything longer.

Btw. I did a test about ADD/ADHD today, it said that I most likely have got it o.0

Anyway, I know he often seemed to forget the lyrics. I like that about him, it's letting you know he was nothing more than a normal human being, just like you and I are . I can't really remember any lyrics myself either, it just messes up in my mind (although it does help if I'm playing guitar, seen as the words are somewhat linked to the chords) and I just forget what I have to sing at the actual moment. Experienced it often enough last Friday (we had to go singing with a whole group, in the centre of the town I live in... without lyrics on papers >.< MURDER!). If I'm writing a story I write a short bit each time and then move on to another thing to do Helps me to concentrate

Eniweej. Enough about me xD . I do think there's quite a chance John had ADD/ADHD. Also because one of the side-effects is developing yourself very much at one subject, for example creativity and originality. Add that to the fact that people with a very high IQ do the same and your result is a genius who is just as human as we are

[misslennon08]

i dont know johnnys IQ,
but he seemed reallllly intelligent
just from the way he talked...
both the way he's used his wording
and how proper his vocabulary was..

[Alan The Walrus]

I have written about the issue of I.Q. many times. I.Q. is the be all and end all of intelligence but a cheap system the French used to exterminate 'undesirables'.

Einstein wouldn't do well on an I.Q. test, which just shows you.

[nowheregirl]

walrus said:

I have written about the issue of I.Q. many times. I.Q. is the be all and end all of intelligence but a cheap system the French used to exterminate 'undesirables'.

Einstein wouldn't do well on an I.Q. test, which just shows you.

That's true - we should remember that IQ tests are only one way of measuring intelligence.

By the way Alan, it's good to see you here again!