What is Ben Shapiro’s IQ?
Probably not on record, and only really relevant in a few aptitudes anyway. His academic achievements are certainly impressive, so I’ll allow that he’s book-smart in his own shallow way; he also lacks intellectual curiosity and honesty and actually kind of sucks at his claim to fame.
On top of that? His behavior is that of someone who’s spent his whole life being treated like an Indigo Child. Any score to which he’d admit would no doubt be inflated.
Based on only my personal opinion, having seen, read, or heard many things he has said or done, I think he probably has a very high IQ. Certainly over 130. How much higher is difficult to say without real testing.
He could be 140, or even 160+. IQ is a composite score from several different categories. It’s possible that he’s brilliant in a couple of categories, but average to good in other categories, which ends up bringing his IQ down from truly incredible to very high. I don’t know how good he is at math, for instance.
He is a very talented orator, particularly when involved in a debate. I don’t know that there is a single person I could think of that I’d put my money on against Ben Shapiro in a political debate.
That said, I don’t always agree with his positions, but the skill with which he is able to defend them in a debate would leave even a very intelligent person struggling to respond effectively.
What is Ben Shapiro’s IQ?
People should bear in mind that what a public personality says may not always be what a public personality believes. It’s entirely possible that some positions he takes are chosen for political or other purposes rather than out of a serious personal belief in the opinion. I bear this in mind when I hear him say things that I don’t agree with on intellectual grounds.
While I don’t personally view such fluidity as a particularly ethical quality, there is no doubt that it can be advantageous politically. And if you strongly agree with 90% of a political group’s ideology, and the other 10% is made of things you don’t care strongly about, the intelligent thing to do is to adopt and promote 100% of said political group’s ideology in order to curry favor with the political group and give said group the best possible chance to win office, to enact the 90% that you agree with.
In my opinion, Ben Shapiro is very likely one of the most intelligent voices in American politics today. My instinct is that he intellectually dwarfs me, but without direct interaction, I really can’t say, since no one ever responds to him with counterpoints that I would. I’d be very interested in meeting/speaking with him.
Let’s go over his feats. Ben Shapiro…
- Went to study at UCLA two years earlier than his peers
- Went to Harvard Law School and excelled at it
- Published 7 books by the time he was 33
- Is the youngest syndicated columnist in American history (at age 17)
Could rock the violin when he was 12 years old
- Never loses on the debating ground
- Tends to humiliate anyone he debates with logic and witty insults
- Is the epitome of intellectual honesty, demonstrated throughout the election when he was critical of his own side for supporting Trump, and never lied to push an agenda
My guess? It’s probably in excess of 140—maybe it’s 150, give or take, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was even higher. He has a style of speech that just seems from another world, his ability to recall relevant data and shut down his opponents and leave them flustered is a sight to behold, as is his ability to articulate himself with razor sharp precision.
I recently (as of writing this) got into an argument with a couple of users claiming Ben must not be that smart because of his transgender and religious beliefs. I was just like, “Seriously? That’s how you rebut him?”
full title of Daenerys Targaryen
Who has a higher IQ Jordan Peterson or Ben Shapiro?
As a fan of both, having watched dozens of hours of their videos and read a lot of their writing, as well as being a cognitive psychologist, I’ll take a crack at this.
Of course, it will be no formal assessment on my behalf, for I have not even personally met, let alone interviewed and tested, any one of them. This is just some entertaining, albeit reasonable, speculation.
Prof. Jordan Peterson himself stated that his IQ was slightly above 150. Apparently, Ben Shapiro also mentioned, in passing, having a similar level (something along the lines of “as someone with an IQ of 150+”), though such a statement was informed to me by a third party.
This is in agreement with my personal impression of their intelligence given their levels of education, background, performance in debates, and opus.
The answer to the question, therefore, seems to be a tie at slightly above 150. This is not to say that they are identical in thinking.
There are important common elements, such as extremely high levels of verbal reasoning and training in people-oriented fields (Peterson in Psychology, Shapiro in Political Science and Law).
They even both spent time at Harvard (Shapiro as a Law student, Peterson as a professor).
Both also are keen to “do their homework” before addressing or debating any issue, always coming into the discussion well-prepared, with full knowledge of the main facts and concepts, indicating not only conscientiousness but also the ability to read fast with a high level of understanding and retention.
Their logical-mathematical abilities are certainly above average, as one can tell from the way they construct their arguments and arrive at conclusions, but this capacity does not seem to be as exuberant as their verbal thinking.
But some differences can also easily be observed. Shapiro is amazingly fast in his verbal thinking, and almost never hesitates in speech, nearly always producing sentences with grammar that is borderline perfect.
Peterson is more deliberate, takes his time to carefully choose words, and does not seem to mind adjusting or even restarting his phrases as he speaks them if it occurs to him that they should be corrected or improved.
What is Ben Shapiro’s IQ?
Also, Shapiro’s style seems to be more of sorting things out in his mind with incredible speed before presenting the outcome in the form of speech, whereas Peterson forms the fundamental ideas beforehand, but does a great deal of thinking as he speaks, so one can actually “see” more of his mind at work.
Using boxing as a metaphor, I’d say that, in a debate, Shapiro is a “jabber”, hitting fast and often while dodging the opponent’s attacks, while Peterson is a “puncher”, blocking or defending his opponent’s attacks while waiting for the opportunity for powerful knockout blows.
As mentioned before, these are just a few fun musings on the intellects of two amazing and influential thinkers and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Conclusion:
In the June 16, 2018 edition of Daily Wire Backstage, Ben Shapiro mentions that he attended a magnet school for gifted children in junior high school.
Given that Ben grew up in LA, we can assume that he went to such a school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Such schools require their students to score in at least the 99.5th percentile for intelligence (IQ of 140 or above). Ben Shapiro also says, “I was certainly not the person with the highest IQ there.” He states that one girl at the school had an IQ of 180.
So far, we can safely say that his IQ was between 140 and 180.
Lots of people in this comment section are trying to use his academic achievements to pinpoint his IQ score. This is very fallacious.
The gap in achievement between someone with an IQ of 50 and someone with an IQ of 90 is a difference that cannot be closed by an extra effort from the person with a lower IQ. However, the difference between someone with an IQ of 140 and 180 definitely can.
For example, Einstein is predicted to have IQ of 160, whereas Chris Langan is predicted to have IQ of 200. Despite this, Einstein has contributed far more human knowledge than Langan, largely due to his work ethic.
Therefore it is highly possible that Ben had an IQ of 145, but has achieved what he has (skipping two grades, youngest syndicated columnist, summa cum laude from UCLA) because of his work ethic.
Given his comment about not having anywhere near the highest IQ, plus the fact that he has an evidently tremendous work ethic, I would put his IQ at around 150; very high, but not nearly as high as one writer who put his IQ at 166 to 174.
What is Ben Shapiro’s IQ?