INSIDE THE MIND OF A GENIUS

What's going on inside the brains of those with truly exceptional mental abilities, and why are they so intelligent? Genetic analysis and Einstein's brain are providing us with some answers

- WORDS MUN-KEAT LOOI

When Albert Einstein died, his brain became a scientific curiosity.

In the months following the famous physicist’s death in 1955, pathologist Thomas Harvey dissected it into 240 blocks. Over the years, he distributed tissue samples and photos to a select group of scientists and, gradually, little clues to Einstein's genius emerged.

Humanity is utterly fascinated by intellect, and with good reason - a higher IQ is linked to better jobs, income and health, as well as a lower risk of accidents and premature death. In 1904, English psychologist Charles Spearman noticed that high-school grades in different subjects tended to cluster around the same children — those who were good at maths were usually good at English too. He proposed that there was some common factor, or ‘g’, for general intelligence, that could explain some of the differences between people's mental abilities.

Although controversial and still debated today, the theory largely stands — with evidence that different skills, including speed of thought and verbal, numerical and spatial reasoning, are all high in certain individuals. If we can figure out what influences ‘g’, we can get an insight into to what makes geniuses smarter than the average person, and maybe give us and our children a boost.

The crucial problem is, as with most things involving the brain, intelligence is complicated. Brain size was long thought to play a part in IQ, but though there is some association, bigger isn't necessarily better. One of the earliest findings from Einstein's autopsy was that his brain was smaller than most, weighing about 200 grams less than the average 1,400 grams.

What we do know is that our genes play a large part. It's estimated that 50 to 70 per cent of your intelligence is passed on from your parents. Studies of adopted children show that, while a child’s IQ may vary, it ultimately ends up closer to that of their birth mother than their adopted mother.