Genius Test: The Complete Guide to Genius. Could You
Be One? (1996, 2006)
by British Mensa Ltd
by British Mensa Ltd
Reading this book – I
assured you – doesn’t make me a genius (though I felt like one when I read it
in public). But I believes that every one of us have a potential to be a
genius. What we need is not to find out who, but how. The aim of this book “is to examine what genius actually is, what
acclaimed geniuses of the past were like, and whether it is possible for us to emulate
them or, at the very least, to expand our own powers significantly. It is
fashionable in certain psychological circles to claim that we all have amazing
powers which, if only they could be unlocked, would astonish those who know us.
This might be true. It’s the unlocking that proves to be the problem.”
In this book, Mensa (is
the international society for people with a high IQ) help us to look at the
factors which make up the genius personality. If we know these factors, we can
cultivate and unlocked our own geniuses. #1
Obsession. “The only thing which seems to be true of all geniuses is that
they were totally obsessed with whatever it was they became known for”; #2 Vision. It is “the capacity to see
something which is not apparent to other people… without vision, genius cannot
exist”; #3 The Test of Time. It “is
the way in which [their ideas] stands the test of time”;
#4 Inspiration.
“…the genius must be able to inspire his public… it is that inspiration which
becomes a very powerful force in deciding whether the genius gets the
recognition he deserves”; and #5 Mad,
Bad and Dangerous to Know (or be curious). “There is no great genius
without some touch of madness,” write Seneca.
Since Mensa is full of
people with a high IQ, does it mean that the higher the IQ the more genius one
is? Not necessary. “I think that all geniuses must have been highly intelligent,”
said Robert Allan, CEO of Mensa Foundation for Gifted Children, “but by no means are all highly intelligent
people geniuses.” Good to know!
Inside this book, there
are lots of mental challenge exercises. To test IQ there are spatial reasoning,
numerical reasoning, vocabulary and verbal reasoning tests; to test Creativity
there are creative brainstorming and practical puzzles; to test Concentration
there are two tests to do; to test Knowledge Skills there are artistic
knowledge, literary quiz, music quiz, philosophy and science (my result is very
poor in this, though I thought I can get higher mark for philosophy and
science, but…); and lastly there are Personality Test which consist of
assertiveness, arrogance (the book claim that “to be a genius you probably need
to be arrogant.” Well), charisma, conceptual thinking, control, deferred
gratification, determination, enthusiasm, group dependence, inspiration,
obsessiveness, self-image and vision.
There are about a dozen of
tests/puzzles that I don’t know how to solve or have any answers for
(especially on Knowledge Skills. Very hard!). And there is one question that I
suspects to be an error (Test 1, Spatial Reasoning, Question 22, page 65. I
asked my friends but none of them can answer it). This is a fun book.
If you have read Tony
Buzan’s The Genius Formula or Edward
de Bono’s Serious Creativity or
Michael Gelb’s How to Think Like Leonardo
da Vinci, you going to love this one too!
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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