Albert Einstein Would Not Pass IQ Tests And That Makes Him A Genius

According to Stephen Hawking, in his new science series "Genius" on PBS, anyone can think like a genius. A psychologist, however, said no. 

Hawking on his show, is testing his hypothesis by going around and asking average human beings to answer big questions, such as "Can we travel through time?" By doing rounds, he expects to prove that the sheer power of the human mind is vast and unpredictable and as such, everyone can be considered a genius!

"It's a fun show that tries to find out if ordinary people are smart enough to think like the greatest minds who ever lived," Hawking said in a statement. "Being an optimist, I think they will." 

However, can people really be considered a genius if they can answer "big questions" like Hawking plans to ask? According to psychologist Frank Lawlis, the answer is, unfortunately, no. 

Answering big questions or genius-level question does not automatically translate to having a genius status. 

In fact, for Lawlis, geniuses are those who have too many questions and not the ones who have too many answers.

"The geniuses ask questions. They don't know the answers, but they know a lot of questions and their curiosity takes them into their fields," Lawlis told Live Science. "[They're] somebody that has the capacity to inquire at that high level and to be curious to pursue that high level of understanding and then be able to communicate it to the rest of us." 

Lawlis cited Albert Einstein and said that it is a big possibility that the renowned scientist will not even be able to ace IQ tests. Lawlis said that when you are being tested, you are answering questions that already have answers. A true genius knows that a question can have too many answers and is not shy to entertain these alternatives.

"It really comes down to thinking outside the box, and you really can't test that," Lawlis said. "When they take these tests, instead of directing their attention to the correct answer, they think of a jillion other answers that would also work, so consequently they get confused and do very poorly."