Home Blog Page 1474

Can we tell if Donald Trump has a high IQ?

0
Donald TrumpImage copyright AFP

Question: How often does President Trump talk about IQ?

Answer: All the time.

When Mr Trump recently boasted that his IQ was higher than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s, it was part of a pattern.

In 2013, he tweeted that his IQ was “much higher” than Barack Obama and George W Bush.

He has also claimed a higher IQ than comedian Jon Stewart and British star of The Apprentice, Lord Sugar.

Despite this, Mr Trump has never revealed his own IQ. So can we work it out?

What is IQ?

An Intelligence Quotient is a score given to someone after taking an intelligence test.

There is no single “IQ test” – Mensa accepts results from more than 200 tests, including its own. Some tests last an hour, while some have no time limit.

Dr Frank Lawlis, the supervisory psychologist of American Mensa, says they usually test spatial, quantitative, and verbal skills.

Broadly, spatial questions are about shape and measurement; quantitative questions are mathematical; and verbal questions are about words – for example, how one word is similar to another.

Mensa accepts those who score in the top 2%. That equates – very roughly – to an IQ of 130.

Image copyright Mensa / Dr Abbie F Salny
Image caption Sample Mensa questions (courtesy of Mensa and Dr Abbie F Salny) *Answers at bottom of the page

Who were the smartest presidents?

“I don’t recall ever coming across a list of presidents and their IQs,” says Dr Barbara A Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia.

“But you can easily find a list of presidents inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in their universities.”

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa honours “the best and brightest liberal arts and sciences undergraduates from 286 top schools across the nation”.

Of the 44 presidents, 17 have been Phi Beta Kappa members. Bill Clinton, George H W Bush, and Jimmy Carter were the most recent.

Dr Perry puts forward, among others, Herbert Hoover (“a very, very bright scientist, a geologist”), Woodrow Wilson (“our only PhD president”), and William H Taft (“a brilliant lawyer”).

And, although a president’s IQ has never been confirmed, in 2006 the University of California estimated that John Quincy Adams was the most intelligent of all presidents.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at Yalta in 1945

Dr Perry also says some presidents have undeserved reputations.

“Gerald Ford was viewed as being a klutz, because he would trip in public, but that was so unfair.

“He had an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, where he was from, he was an Eagle Scout, he went to Yale Law School, and he was a star footballer on top of that.”

She also says that intelligence is only part of what makes a good president.

“It was the Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who famously said Franklin Delano Roosevelt had ‘a second class intellect but a first class temperament’.

“Roosevelt was re-elected in ’36 by two-thirds of the electorate.”

And who were the least smart?

“I would put Warren Harding in that category,” says Dr Perry. “He was a journalist by training.”

This is awkward…

“Some of my best friends are journalists!” says Dr Perry, laughing.

“And my brother is. But my point is, he wasn’t from Harvard or Yale, and he wasn’t a brilliant lawyer who ended up on the supreme court.”

So where does Donald Trump fit in?

“If he ever releases his IQ, I just have a feeling – especially since he is daring Tillerson to release his – that it’s higher than people would presume,” says Dr Perry.

“People who don’t like him say ‘oh he’s such an idiot, oh he’s so stupid’. But I bet you it’s higher than we might realise.”

Professor Fred I Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, lists six qualities that bear on presidential performance.

They are: public communication, organisational capacity, political skill, vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence.

“Trump scores low on emotional intelligence, cognitive style, vision, and organisational capacity,” says Dr Perry.

“Where he has been superb, in order to win the presidency, is public communication and political skill.”

Image copyright Mensa / Dr Abbie F Salny
Image caption More sample Mensa questions (courtesy of Mensa and Dr Abbie F Salny)

Dr Perry also points out Mr Trump’s business career – “he obviously had a certain native intelligence to be successful, such as he was” – and his degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

But – whether Mr Trump’s IQ is high or low – Dr Lawlis from Mensa says it doesn’t tell you everything.

“If you take someone we consider to be a genius like Einstein, he would probably not do well on an IQ test, because he thinks outside the box,” he says.

“He could probably think of a dozen answers to one question.”

Either way, the time for talking may soon be over – Mensa has offered to test both Mr Trump and Mr Tillerson’s IQ.

Answers

  • 1.1,155
  • 2.Jane’s daughter (Jane’s mother’s husband is Jane’s father, his daughter is Jane, and Jill is her daughter)
  • 3.Zipper (the others can be anagrammed into the names of cities: Rome, Paris, Chester)
  • 4.Cherries (Tabitha only likes food with two syllables)
  • 5.41
  • 6.Rachel

Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning

More on the US presidents

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionSeeing US presidents in a different light

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

Sadio Mane: Liverpool forward out for up to six weeks with hamstring injury

0
Sadio Mane scored 13 league goals for Liverpool last season

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane could be out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury picked up on international duty with Senegal.

Mane, 25, was substituted in the 89th minute of a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Cape Verde on Saturday.

He is set to miss Premier League games against Manchester United and Tottenham and both Champions League group fixtures against Maribor.

Mane has scored three goals in five league appearances so far this season.

Senegal, who are top of their World Cup qualifying group, face two crucial games against South Africa on 10 and 14 November, which Mane is also likely to miss.

He was suspended for three games earlier this season after being sent off in the 5-0 defeat at Manchester City, while he also missed the end of last term with a knee injury.

Liverpool won just once in seven matches in all competitions while Mane was at the African Nations Cup in January.

They average 2.2 Premier League goals with Mane in the team, compared to 1.6 goals in his absence.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

Egyptians take to streets to celebrate World Cup qualification

0

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

Malawi curfew over ‘vampire’ killings

0
The Malawian president has vowed to investigate the killing of five people accused of behaving like vampires.Image copyright Reuters
Image caption The killings have caused the president “grave concern”

At least five people have been killed in southern Malawi after they were accused of behaving like vampires.

Malawian President Peter Mutharika has vowed to launch an investigation into the killings.

A night-time curfew has been imposed by the government to prevent vigilante mobs from killing more people.

The UN says it has pulled staff out of two districts as the vampire scare swept the south of the country.

The people killed were suspected of drinking human blood as part of magic rituals.

The government-imposed curfew restricts movement to ten hours from 07:00 until 17:00 local time (05:00 to 15:00 GMT) .

Meanwhile, the president’s office said in a statement: “This development has been of grave concern to the president and the entire government.”

The UN said in a report that the vampirism rumours appear to have originated from Mozambique, and “speared across” the border to the Malawi districts of Mulanje and Phalombe.

But, it said, it is unclear what sparked them.

“Temporary suspension of UN activities in the area until the situation is normalised,” the report added.

As one of the world’s poorest countries, many aid agencies and NGOs work in Malawi.

Education standards are also low, with belief in witchcraft widespread and the country regularly dogged by “vampire” rumours.

A spate of vigilante violence linked to vampire rumours also erupted there in 2002.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

Harvey Weinstein: Paltrow and Jolie say they were victims

0
Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar-winning film producerImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar-winning film producer, has been accused of sexually assaulting three women

Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow are the latest actresses to allege they were victims of sexual harassment at the hands of producer Harvey Weinstein.

Both said the incidents happened early in their careers.

They join a string of actresses accusing the Hollywood mogul of sexual harassment, following an investigation by the New York Times.

Weinstein earlier denied raping three women after allegations were made in US magazine The New Yorker.

It claimed that he had forced sex on the three, who include actress Asia Argento.

A spokeswoman for Weinstein said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein.”

Paltrow and Jolie both sent statements to the New York Times after the initial story was published.

Jolie said in an email: “I had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did.

“This behaviour towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.”

In a statement, Paltrow alleged that, after Weinstein cast her in the leading role in Emma, he summoned her to his hotel suite, where he placed his hands on her and suggested massages in his bedroom.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Gwyneth Paltrow has joined the list of people accusing Harvey Weinstein

“I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified,” she told the newspaper.

She told her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt about the incident, and said he confronted Weinstein,

“I thought he was going to fire me,” she said.

‘Relationships were consensual’

The separate New Yorker report also says that 16 former and current employees at Weinstein’s companies told the magazine “they witnessed or had knowledge of unwanted sexual advances and touching at events associated with Weinstein’s films and in the workplace”.

The magazine quotes Italian actress and director Argento and Lucia Stoller, now Lucia Evans – who says she was aspiring actress when Weinstein approached her in 2004. Both say they were forced into sexual acts by the producer.

A third woman, who did not want to be named, said Weinstein “forced himself on me sexually”.

Argento said she has not spoken until now because she feared it would ruin her career to do so.

“I know he has crushed a lot of people before,” Argento told the New Yorker. “That’s why this story – in my case, it’s 20 years old, some of them are old – has never come out.”

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Asia Argento, pictured in 2009, has spoken to the New Yorker magazine

The story also includes audio of Weinstein admitting to groping Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, an Italian model who went public with her claims that Weinstein had touched her breasts and put his hand up her skirt without her consent.

Other allegations in the piece came from Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her role in Mighty Aphrodite for Miramax, Weinstein’s company. She told the magazine that Weinstein had harassed her and tried to pressure her into a relationship.

Roseanna Arquette also said that she rejected Weinstein’s advances and that she believes her acting career suffered as a result.

Weinstein’s spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister issued a statement in response to the article.

“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein,” she said. “Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.

“Mr Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr Weinstein has begun counselling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path.”

Hillary Clinton shared a statement saying that she was “shocked and appalled” by the revelations about Weinstein, who donated to her 2016 presidential campaign.

She also praised the “courage” of the women who have come forward.


Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

NFL and clubs to discuss anthem protest

0
NFL teams have been “taking the knee” during the American national anthem as a form of protest

The NFL will discuss the issue of players kneeling during the United States national anthem when it meets in New York next week.

Kneeling at NFL games has become a form of protest against racial injustice.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says disputes over the protests threaten “to erode the game’s unifying power” and called on clubs to resolve the issue.

Goodell said the anthem controversy was a “barrier to honest conversations and making real progress”.

In a letter sent to NFL teams, he added: “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem. It is an important moment in our game.

“We want to honour our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.

“We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues.”

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the protest last year when he sat down as the Star-Spangled Banner was played during a pre-season game in 2016.

He explained his gesture, which later became known as “taking the knee”, was meant to highlight racial injustice and police brutality against African Americans.

Roger Goodell has been the NFL commissioner since 2006

However, President Donald Trump has criticised players for the protests and pressed the NFL to ban them.

Goodell said the NFL had heard from players at its September meeting about why the issues were so important to them and how the NFL could support them.

In the letter, he added: “Everyone involved in the game needs to come together on a path forward to continue to be a force for good within our communities, protect the game and preserve our relationship with fans throughout the country.

“The NFL is at its best when we ourselves are unified. In that spirit, let’s resolve that next week we will meet this challenge in a unified and positive way.”

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

California wildfires: Residents find devastation in Santa Rosa

0

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

Alina Sheykhet murder: Pittsburgh police hunt her ex-boyfriend

0
This composite photo shows Alina Sheykhet, 20, and Matthew Darby, 21.Image copyright Facebook/Pittburgh Police

Police in the US state of Pennsylvania are seeking the ex-boyfriend of a college student found dead by her parents in her bedroom.

Alina Sheykhet, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene at her Pittsburgh home on Sunday from blunt-force trauma.

She sought a restraining order against Matthew Darby, 21, after he broke into her apartment last month.

Police have been unable to locate him. Mr Darby’s lawyer appealed to his client: “Turn yourself in.”

Attorney David Schrager said at a news conference on Tuesday: “You have not been charged. We can work through this.”

Police said Mr Darby is potentially armed and dangerous.

Ms Sheykhet, a physical therapist student at the University of Pittsburgh, filed a protection-from-abuse order against Mr Darby last month.

He was arrested and charged with felony criminal trespass after he allegedly broke into her apartment on 26 September.

In her request for a protection order, Ms Sheykhet said Mr Darby “climbed up the gutter on the side of the house and broke through the second-floor window of my home,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

“He did this because I left him and stopped answering his phone calls.”

Mr Darby is awaiting trial on rape and other sexual assault charges against him in Indiana County.

He posted a $10,000 (£7,500) bail in that case in March.

The bond was revoked on Sunday for a violation of bail release conditions. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for 17 October.

Ms Sheykhet’s parents reportedly went to pick her up on Sunday morning but her roommates said she was still sleeping, according to her father, Yan Sheykhet.

When she did not answer their calls, her father kicked open the door and found her on the floor, he told the Post-Gazette.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide and confirmed she had died from “blunt-force trauma”.

Police said on Monday they did not believe her death was a random act of violence and there was no immediate threat to residents and the university community, according to Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert.

The University of Pittsburgh said in a statement the campus was “saddened and extends its deepest sympathies to the student’s family and those who knew her”.

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS

Currency Exchange Rates

USD - United States Dollar
ZAR
0.06
EUR
1.17
CAD
0.73
ILS
0.31
INR
0.01
GBP
1.34
CNY
0.14
Enable Notifications OK No thanks