Join Tony Buzan - a leading authority on effective learning - on UKTV Documentary as he attempts to find out if you can train yourself to become a genius?

IQ
So how do you measure genius? Well, in France in 1904 Alfred Binet invented the intelligence quotient or IQ test to determine which children would not benefit from more schooling. Nowadays, it seems that to determine your IQ you simply watch Test The Nation whenever it rears its head on BBC1 and enter into some kind of witless battle with Ann Robinson. However it is more complicated than this. A person's IQ a score derived from a set of standardized tests that were developed with the purpose of measuring your cognitive abilities ("intelligence") in relation your age group. Expressed as a number, the average IQ in an age group is 100 in other words if you scored 115 then you intelligence is above-average compared to people of a similar age.

Nurture or nature
There are many factors that play a part in your determining your IQ, including education, mood, drive, energy, sensory receptors and perception, but in essence the test is really trying to see how far you can stretch your innate, genetically-given intellectual powers. But does this qualify to determine if someone is a genius? Don't forget that 'intelligence' can be defined in several ways and therefore, so can the term 'genius'. Wisdom is different from insight, which is different from knowledge, which is different from ability and so on. For example, Picasso was considered a genius because of his artistic skill, it would have been easy to find an 'average' member of the public who could outstrip him at algebra! So is genius an all round ability of a high level, or can excellence in one specific area be enough to be called a genius?

Split Down The Middle
One aspect integral to understanding the innate concept of genius lies in neurology, or the biological study of the brain. In particular the characteristics of the 'left brain' versus the 'right brain' have been studied in depth over the years. This idea suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different modes of thinking; the 'left brain' governs those phenomena that are logical, rational, analytical, and objective while the right brain functions on a level more random, intuitive and subjective. In general most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking, with those who are left handed being governed by the right side of the brain and vice versa, leading some to believe that left handed people are more creative. Some, however, are more 'whole-brained' and equally adept at both modes. So is a 'whole brained' person more likely to be a genius?

Thinking like a genius!
So how have some of the so-called geniuses of history functioned in their fields? Leonardo da Vinci believed that to understand a problem, you begin by learning how to restructure it in many different ways. He felt that the first way he looked at a problem was too biased. Similarly, when Einstein thought through a problem, he always found it necessary to formulate his subject in as many different ways as possible. He visualized solutions and believed that words and numbers did not play a significant role in his thinking process. Aristotle considered metaphor a sign of genius and believed that the individual who had the capacity to perceive resemblances between two separate areas of existence and link them together was a person of special gifts. All these serve as handy study guides and also suggest that you can train to be a genius by applying various disciplines.

Evil Genius?
Along with the notion of those individuals who have used their incredible minds to help the world, can there be an evil genius? Surely someone who uses their remarkable abilities for ill must qualify for that title? A staple element of any superhero or Sci-Fi tale, we are all familiar with the idea of a crazed genius character, bent on either world domination or world destruction, even though the latter always seems rather pointless; if you achieve this goal, what then?! In reality it could be argued that Hitler was an evil genius in the way he was so adept at public speaking that he managed to successfully convince a whole nation that his sick motives were justified. It could also be argued that Jim Davidson is an evil genius in that he still convinces enough people that he is funny to keep him in work. One shudders to think what he is currently planning...