[psnajder]

I'm in the middle of the Einstein bio by Isaacson, who uses many of the documents referred to in this 2006 article to paint Einstein's private life as it complimented his public works. (I certainly recommend the book to you all!)

One of Isaacson's main points is that it was not mere intellect that made Einstein superior. Great scientists, such as Poincare, were working in the same fields at the same time, but were conditioned within the realm of university research to hold on strong to the classical beliefs of Newtonian science. The four papers Einstein wrote in 1905 (written during his patent office period while he was essentially blacklisted from a position at a university) each had the benefit of his outsider voice. While his work in college was above average, it did not translate into genius until Einstein had the ability to generate, on his own, a complete theory of how he intellectually envisioned the world. More important than Einstein's given intellect was his particular perspective.

Anyways, I find judging intelligence by means of a test is absolutely pointless; IQ, in particular, measures only a few ways that a person can be intelligent.

In conclusion, as always: Genius is as genius does.