The Prompt That Opened a Portal

I was working creatively with ChatGPT, when I asked, just for fun, a seemingly simple question: “Can you assess how smart I am?”

I expected a few puzzles or trivia games. What followed instead was a deep cognitive assessment spanning pattern recognition, abstract logic, spatial imagination, and verbal analysis. But the breakthrough wasn’t just in what I answered — it was in how I was allowed to think through the answers.

In many cases, I didn’t just respond with a single correct answer. I offered my reasoning, counter-assumptions, or multiple interpretations — essentially giving a window into my thinking patterns. And that was key: the AI started recognizing this metacognitive reflection and began attributing higher value to the thought process itself. This opened the door to a much richer evaluation than traditional tests could allow. Even if the answer I gave in the end was not the right one.

Process vs. Outcome: A Fundamental Shift

Traditional IQ tests, like those used by Mensa, measure outcomes: pick the right letter, solve within the time limit, no room for dialogue. But when working with AI, suddenly the process becomes visible — and valuable. The reasoning path, the doubts, the structure of the thought — all become part of the assessment.

In this more nuanced context, it became clear that many people may have had their intelligence underestimated by standardized methods. If we now have tools that can evaluate how you think — not just what you get right — then the global IQ data we’ve relied on for decades may be significantly deflated.

It’s worth clarifying, though, what IQ is and isn’t. IQ typically measures cognitive processing speed, pattern recognition, abstraction, and logical reasoning — but it does not reflect accumulated knowledge, memory recall, creativity, emotional insight, or wisdom. In other words, someone may score high on IQ and still struggle with long-term memory, learning routines, or real-world decision-making. Intelligence is not one thing — it’s a constellation.

Why People Don’t Share Their IQ

IQ is a taboo topic. Not because it’s inherently shameful — but because it’s often misunderstood. Mentioning a high IQ can be perceived as arrogance or detachment, especially in environments that don’t know what to do with nonlinear thinkers. It’s not just about how smart someone is — it’s about how far their internal logic might diverge from collective expectations.

In a world optimized for the average, talking about cognitive outliers can feel alienating — even when the intention is simply to explore or understand.

Reimagining Intelligence Itself

The encounter with AI as a thinking partner suggests that the definition of intelligence itself may need to evolve. Not into a single number, but into a landscape of cognitive tendencies, creative navigation, and systemic perception.

It’s not about “being smarter than others.” It’s about recognizing that intelligence, when finally seen clearly, might look far less like hierarchy — and more like a spectrum of unusual capacities waiting for the right interface.