Back in my day—whichever day you care to pick—folks didn’t sit around wondering how smart they were. They had too much manure to shovel, bosses to avoid offending, or fires to light with hope. But now we’ve got time, coffee, and glowing boxes that ask us brainteasers and rate us like prize pigs.
And wouldn’t you know it, we’ve mistaken knowing how to solve puzzles for knowing how to live. But the real question ain’t whether you can outwit a Sudoku—it’s whether you’re willing to learn something you didn’t know yesterday. That’s where real smarts begin.
So, how smart are you? That depends. Can you admit you’re wrong? Can you learn from a fool? Can you look at the past and still believe the future might teach you something new?
IQ may measure how quick your mind moves, but wisdom comes from how often you let it change direction.
You only get smarter if you’re willing to learn. That’s the long and short of it—and probably the only test that ever mattered.
🧠 Were People 500 Years Ago Dumber? Or Just Bad at IQ Tests?
The short answer:
They weren’t dumber—just not trained for our modern mental games.
IQ tests don’t measure raw human intelligence. They measure how well someone does on a narrow set of skills:
- Logical reasoning
- Pattern recognition
- Verbal analogies
- Math-like problem solving
And guess what? Those skills only became widespread recently.
🧪 What Is an IQ Test, Really?
An IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test is a standardized way to measure specific cognitive abilities. Common types of IQ subtests include:
- Matrix reasoning (spotting patterns)
- Vocabulary (defining words)
- Arithmetic (mental math)
- Similarities (e.g., how are a lion and tiger alike?)
- Digit span (short-term memory)
These tests are normed so that the average IQ is always 100, and 68% of people fall between 85 and 115.
💡 Example IQ Questions (non-verbal)
1. What comes next in the pattern?
🟦 🟦 🟥 — 🟦 🟦 🟥 — ?
(a) 🟦 🟦 🟥
(b) 🟥 🟦 🟦
(c) 🟦 🟥 🟦
(d) 🟦 🟦 🟦
2. Which shape completes the matrix?
⬛ ⬛ ⬜
⬛ ⬜ ⬛
⬜ ⬛ ?
[Correct answer: ⬛ — pattern rotates diagonally]
Want to try a real one?
👉 https://www.mensa.org/workout (free 30-minute Mensa IQ challenge)
📈 IQ Over Time – The Flynn Effect
Psychologist James Flynn discovered that IQ test scores have been rising for over a century, about 3 points per decade. This is now called the Flynn Effect.
Here’s a rough chart of average IQ scores if we gave people from the past a modern test, without adjusting for cultural/educational exposure:
| Year | Adjusted Avg IQ (Modern Test) | Key Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1525 | ~70–75 | Pre-modern society, little formal education |
| 1825 | ~80–85 | Early industrial era, basic schooling begins |
| 1925 | ~90–95 | Urbanization, modern education spreads |
| 1950 | ~97 | Post-war school systems expand |
| 1975 | 100 | Flynn Effect reaches peak norming |
| 2000 | 105–110 | Technology + cognitive stimulation rise |
| 2025 | ~110–115 (est.) | Digital age, abstract reasoning in daily life |
Note: IQ test scoring is always normalized to keep the average at 100. This chart shows how past generations would score on today’s tests, not what their “official” IQ was at the time.
⚖️ Context Matters
A peasant in 1525 couldn’t solve a logic puzzle, but they could:
- Navigate a forest without GPS
- Memorize planting cycles
- Avoid dying from plague, heresy, or war
That’s intelligence too.
Meanwhile, a modern software engineer might ace the test—but struggle to survive one week without running water, electricity, or Google.
Here’s a chart comparing the estimated intelligence of the animals in your image (chimpanzee, elephant, dolphin, African grey parrot, human child) based on research in comparative cognition, problem-solving, tool use, self-awareness, and communication:
🧠 Estimated Comparative Intelligence Chart
| Animal | Estimated IQ Equivalent¹ | Key Abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Human Child (Age 3–5) | 90–100 (standard IQ range) | Language, abstract reasoning, planning, memory, emotional understanding |
| Chimpanzee | ~60–70 | Tool use, sign language learning, memory games, social politics |
| Dolphin (Bottlenose) | ~60–70 | Complex vocalizations, mirror self-awareness, cooperation, imitation |
| Elephant | ~50–60 | Long-term memory, tool use, empathy, mourning rituals, self-awareness |
| African Grey Parrot | ~40–50 | Vocabulary of 100+ words, reasoning by exclusion, basic math, mimicry |
📝 Notes:
- IQ Equivalent is a loose estimate. There’s no standardized IQ test for animals, so comparisons are based on behaviors analogous to human cognitive tests.
- IQ is not just brain size. It includes adaptability, problem-solving, communication, and abstract thinking.
- Some animal cognition studies even suggest African grey parrots outperform 5-year-old children on certain tasks (e.g. number differentiation, logical inference).
🔍 Sources & Research
- Irene Pepperberg’s work with Alex the African Grey
- Diana Reiss’s dolphin mirror studies
- Frans de Waal’s work on chimpanzee politics and empathy
- Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole’s elephant memory and social studies
We sit here with our glowing rectangles, patting ourselves on the back for solving puzzles our ancestors never saw. But if you dropped us in their world, we wouldn’t last a season.
Intelligence isn’t just what you know. It’s how well you adapt to your world. And every age has its own test.
✅ Want to Test Yourself?
Try these free, reputable IQ test sources:
- Mensa Practice Test – https://www.mensa.org/workout
- 123Test IQ Test – https://www.123test.com/iq-test/
- Brain Metrix – https://www.brainmetrix.com/iq-test/
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