Episode 23: Rethinking the Definition of Intelligence

Never afraid to bump up against some of psychology’s doctrines, Scott Barry Kaufman joins us for a discussion about how we evaluate gifted people. We talk about the role of IQ in that evaluation, and he reveals details of his personal journey as told in his book, “Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined.”


About the guest - Scott Barry Kaufman is a psychologist at Barnard College, Columbia University. Dr. Kaufman embraces a humanistic, integrative approach that takes into account a wide range of human variation – from learning disabilities to intellectual and creative giftedness to introversion to narcissism to twice exceptionality – to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling, and meaningful life. Scott writes the weekly column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American and hosts The Psychology Podcast. This spring, Scott will teach the course The Science of Living Well at Columbia University.

“It’s time for a more dynamic conceptualization of potential that takes into account each person’s unique package of personal characteristics, dreams, passions, goals, and development. That emphasizes the journey, not the product. That shifts from a single judgement day of standardized and decontextualized testing to an extended period of deeply personal engagement, problem solving, exploration, and revision.” - Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined

Links of interest: Beautiful Minds, The Psychology Podcast, Scott’s website, Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind, Resources, Facebook, Twitter